Welcome to Grandstand's live coverage of day four of the opening Test between Australia and India at the MCG.
4:39pm: WICKET! U Yadav c. Warner b. Lyon 23 (India all out 169) - Listen to the dismissal
All over! Two balls after slamming a six, Yadav goes the tonk once again but David Warner takes a fantastic running catch at long on and that's a mammoth victory for a cock-a-hoop Australia by 122 runs.
4:35pm: India has reached drinks on 9 for 163, with Yadav on 15 and Sharma 6. Still 129 runs required for victory.
4:14pm: WICKET! MS Dhoni b. Pattinson 23 (India 9-142, Sharma 0*) - Listen to the dismissal
That's not the first time someone's chopped on this match and the end is nigh now.
4:05pm: WICKET! Z Khan c. Cowan b. Pattinson 13 (India 8-141, Dhoni 22*) - Listen to the dismissal
Khan chases a very wide one from Pattinson straight after bludgeoning that six and he's out. Very soft dismissal that one.
4:05pm: Zaheer Khan's not going to die wondering here. A four, then a six into the fourth row off consecutive Pattinson deliveries.
3:37pm: WICKET! R Ashwin c. Cowan b. Siddle 30 (India 7-117, 14*) - Listen to the dismissal
Goneski! Pup urges Siddler to pitch it up, he obliges and Ashwin lobs one which Cowan gleefully accepts. A quick-fire innings of 30 off 35 balls comes to an end and Australia is three away now.
3:30pm: We're back live with Dhoni facing the Tasmanian Hilfenhaus, who has seven wickets for the match.
During the tea break Jim Maxwell and the lads caught up with Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, who said he fully supports the DRS:
3:10pm: That's tea, with India in a dire position at 6 for 117 chasing 292 to win. Ashwin hit three fours off that last over from Siddle, by the way.
2:39pm: WICKET! S Tendulkar c. Hussey b. Siddle 32 (India 6-81, Dhoni 8*) - Listen to the dismissal
Siddle gets the great man with the first ball of his spell and India is capitulating now! Sachin takes the slow walk off the MCG for the last time in his glittering Test career.
2:35pm: Put your house on an Australian win now says @ricfinlay: "Highest 4th inns score ever made in Tests after being 5-69 or worse is only 253." Meanwhile, Dhoni gets off the mark by smacking Hilfenhaus over the midwicket boundary. Righto.
2:24pm: WICKET! V Kohli lbw. Hilfenhaus 0 (India 5-69, Tendulkar 28*) - Listen to the dismissal
Plumb! That's hitting middle and leg and while Kohli claims he got a nick, he's clutching at straws. The tourists are wilting in the face of some fantastic fast bowling by Australia.
2:20pm: WICKET! VVS Laxman c. Cowan b. Pattinson 1 (India 4-68, Tendulkar 27*) - Listen to the dismissal
Australia well on top here now, Laxman leathers one straight to Ed Cowan at square leg to continue his woeful run at the MCG. A few shaky moments for Pattinson as the video umpire checks whether he overstepped, but it's all good and Laxman's on his way.
2:00pm: Here's VVS Laxman, who averages 60 in the second innings against Australia according to Dan Lonergan. I'll add that he only averages about 17 on this ground though.
1:58pm: WICKET! R Dravid b. Pattinson 10 (India 3-58, Tendulkar 18*) - Listen to the dismissal
Bowled him! Pattinson sneaks one straight through the defences of Dravid, who doesn't move his feet and has his middle stump rattled. The Wall has been bowled twice this match, but make it three if you count the Siddle no ball. Trouble now for India, which still needs 234 runs to win.
1:53pm: India has moved to 2 for 55, still needing another 237 runs to win. Tendulkar is on 15 and Dravid 10. Can that man Tendulkar get that elusive 100th international century to guide his team to victory?
1:40pm: Cricket Australia has announced a crowd of 20,509 so far today, taking the aggregate to 184,501 for the four days. That's a record for an Australia-India Test here, beating the 181,503 who turned up to watch Tugga's last game at the SCG in 2003/04.
1:27pm: SRT strides to the wicket to much fanfare and duly dispatches Siddle for 3 to get straight off the mark.
1:25pm: WICKET! G Gambhir c. Ponting b. Siddle 13 (India 2-39, Dravid 9*) - Listen to the dismissal
"Fabulous cricket by Australia, they know Gambhir's a jabber," says Kerry O'Keeffe. Siddle pitches one that Gautam can't leave and he glides it to Punter in the cordon, India two down now.
1:16pm: Now we get a look at Peter Siddle for the first time this innings. Three slips and a gully in place for Gambhir, who almost inside edges the first delivery onto his stumps. The fourth delivery is leg-glanced by Gambhir for four before Siddle has an lbw appeal turned down from the sixth. Seemed to be in line so height appears to be the issue.
1:14pm: Hilfenhaus sends down the first ball of the second session, with Gambhir facing. He takes three through extra cover from the third delivery and then Dravid gets in on the act, with four leg byes followed by a drive straight down the ground. Very profitable first over for the tourists.
1:10pm: We've just added some more snaps to our photo gallery. Check it out here.
12:34pm: That's lunch on day four with India reaching 1 for 24, with Gambhir on 6 and Rahul Dravid 5. The tourists require a further 268 runs for victory.
12:27pm: From our stats man @ricfinlay: "Sehwag aver in India 58.19, away 46.90. 1st inns 66.54 2nd 30.67."
12:20pm: WICKET! V Sehwag c. Hussey b. Hilfenhaus 7 (India 1-17, Gambhir 4*) - Listen to the dismissal
Obviously that's a big, big scalp for Ben Hilfenhaus and Australia. Virender Sehwag chases the short and wide one, as he's prone to do, and it flies straight to Hussey who takes a sharp chance high above his head in the gully.
12:14am: And then there's this from Cricinfo stats man @rasheshstats: "India have successfully chased 200-plus in the 4th innings 5 times since 2008, more than any other side."
11:58am: India has never chased down more than 233 to win in Australia. Just saying. (Thanks @mcg). Below right is a list of the most successful run chases at the 'G.
11:55am: James Pattinson delivers the first ball of India's second innings to Gautam Gambhir and it's well wide of off stump. In fact it's called a wide.
11:45am: WICKET! B Hilfenhaus c. Laxman b. Sharma 14 (Australia all out 240, Pattinson 37*) - Listen to the dismissal
That's it but what a valuable partnership of 43 runs at the end there for Australia. India needs 292 runs to win this Test, that will be some chase. India allowed the last two wickets to put on 74.
11:35am: Ishant Sharma now after the break. He goes for just one run that over, off Pattinson who moves to 35.
11:30am: That's drinks and Australia has added a vital 50 runs in an hour for the loss of Hussey. Pattinson and Hilfenhaus have added 32 and this will be frustrating India no end.
11:28pm: Pattinson has moved to 32 and Ben Hilfenhaus 5, the partnership is worth 29 now and Australia is 277 in front. In other cricketing news, it looks like Shane Watson still won't be fit for Sydney.
11:14pm: Dropped! Pattinson on 15 skies one and Khan can't hold it running in from fine leg. Another one goes begging for Yadav as Pattinson takes two. (Listen here). He follows that up with another two and then a cracking pull shot to the midwicket boundary. If Pattinson's batting this well on this wicket, what will India do?
10:58pm: WICKET! M Hussey c. Dhoni b. Khan 89 (Australia 9-179, Pattinson 9*) - Listen to the dismissal
No mistake with this one and Hussey's on his way in the seventh over of the day. Shame he couldn't get to the triple figures. He and Pattinson added another 18 runs to Australia's total this morning and their partnership was worth 31. Hussey faced 151 balls and hit nine fours.
10:52pm: And another one for Hussey, on the same score. He gets a feather onto his pads down legside and Dhoni takes a diving effort, but umpire Marais Erasmus is put off by the pad noise by the looks. The lack of DRS is coming back to bite India now.
10:44pm: It appears Hussey might have had another life. Yadav has another lbw appeal turned down with the batsman on 80, but replays show it was likely to hit leg stump. Luck coming in spades now for the Western Australian, who was plumb lbw yesterday when on 31.
10:36pm: Cracking shot by Pattinson! Umesh Yadav's third ball of the day is battered away between extra cover and mid-off by the Aussie number 10. The Huss simply just has to lean on his bat at the non striker's end and marvel.
10:30pm: Zaheer Khan sends down the first ball of the day and it's wide of James Pattinson's off stump. Let's see if the Victorian can hang around and nurse Mike Hussey to triple figures.
10:28pm: Dan also spoke with MCG curator Cam Hodgkins, who said he was surprised that 15 wickets fell on this drop-in pitch yesterday. Cam says he aims to produce wickets to what Kevin Mitchell Jnr manages up at the Gabba. Nice blue skies have greeted the players in Melbourne again this morning.
10:25pm: Our man on the boundary Dan Lonergan has caught up with Australian batsman Ricky Ponting, who says it would be nice if Australia's tail could add a further 70 runs this morning to give India a tricky target of 300:
Meanwhile, if you missed anything on an eventful day three you can read yesterday's blog and match wrap, listen to the audio highlights or watch below. It was a cracking day of cricket.
Tags: cricket, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia, india First posted December 29, 2011 10:29:47
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