The events on the first day of the fourth Test almost followed the trend of this series. An Indian captain called the right side of the
coin and promptly said, ‘We will bat’. Virender Sehwag once again began his ride on top gear but departed after giving India a flying start. Rahul Dravid continued with his poor form and VVS Laxman didn’t fail to contribute another beautiful innings.
The only deviation, a pleasant one, was provided by Sachin Tendulkar. After failing to reach triple figure in the series, despite essaying many innings that promised more but never materialised into something big, the master obliged by scoring 109 as India finished at 311 for 5.
The breathtaking shots Tendulkar played during his 40th Test hundred were equally matched by the many breathless moments the champion gave to his fans as he lived a charming life. On way to his second Test hundred of the year – the earlier one came against the same opponents in Adelaide – Tendulkar got life on three occasions.
It was Jason Krejza who failed to hit the stump with Tendulkar stranded in the middle of pitch following a moment of indecision in going for a run. As Laxman backed off too far, Tendulkar had no option but to go for the run. Luckily Krejza was off the mark and the master blaster survived.
The off-spinner felt the most of burnt for missing the chance as the next two lives that Tendulkar got came off his bowling.
Tendulkar, playing on 85, gave charge to Krejza but miscued the ball to mid-on, where Mitchell Johnson dropped the catch. A few overs later, Sachin played the same shot to the same bowler, in the same area and the result was also the same.
He was dropped, this time on 96, with Brett Lee being the culprit. Aided by the sloppy Australian fielding, Sachin reached his hundred with a four off Krejza.
But in-between the hiccups the master blaster played with authority and in the company of Laxman (64) took India to safety after the loss of three quick wickets just before the lunch.
Tendulkar’s first three scoring shots were all boundaries. But after the departure of Sehwag, he adopted a watchful approach and consolidated the innings with Laxman.
The three quick dismissals prior to lunch marred an otherwise fruitful morning session for the hosts. After cruising through the most part of the morning session India suddenly lost wickets in a cluster.
Sehwag and debutant M Vijay were hardly troubled by the Aussie pace as they scored at almost five runs per over. India cruised to 59 in 12 overs without losing any wicket.
With a leather hunt looming large, Shane Watson struck for the Aussies, removing Vijay. In the next over Krejza scalped his first Test wicket as he got Rahul Dravid for a duck. But the biggest blow came three overs later. Krejza snapped up Sehwag, who dragged the bowl on to his stumps attempting a cut to a ball which cramped him.
After scoring 70 in the first hour of the play, India lost three wickets in just five overs. But the Tendulkar-Laxman duo averted further damage. The duo added 146 runs for the fourth wicket before Laxman got out to Krejza.
