Revisit Grandstand's live coverage of the fourth day of the final Test between Australia and India in Adelaide.
WICKET - V Kohli run out Hilfenhaus 22 (India 6-166, Sharma 2*) - Listen to the dismissal.
Well this makes absolutely no sense. Kohli tries to protect nightwatchman Sharma (in the middle to protect number 7 Saha) by attempting a suicide single off the final ball of the over. Ben Hilfenhaus runs around from mid on and pulls off a remarkable piece of fielding with a direct hit. The rash Kohli on his way.
WICKET - VVS Laxman c. Marsh b. Lyon 35 (Indian 5-162, Kohli 20*) - Listen to the dismissal.
What a catch! Shaun Marsh takes a cracking reflex grab at short mid wicket. Laxman can hardly believe it. He whipped that furiously off the back foot. Another Indian veteran departs for the final time and the crowd once again recognises his contribution over a classy career. Not this series though, just 155 runs at 19.37 for VVS.
5.53pm: Entry to the Adelaide Oval will be free for day five. Yes.. we are going to day five.
5.40pm: It's Clarke Time. The skipper to roll the arm over with just a few overs left in the day.
5.36pm - DROPPED CATCH
Ricky Ponting grasses one at second slip. Even the best make mistakes. Harris, bowling at good pace, gets Laxman flashing at one and it zips right into those trusty palms and then out again.
5.25pm: Lazy Laxman survives a direct hit, Kohli gets flashy cut through through gully but the Aussies are having a nice old chuckle out in the middle. Has somebody told them there is a 60 per cent chance of rain in Adelaide tomorrow?
DRINKS - INDIA 4-121 (VVS Laxman 9*, V Kohli 8*)
4.52pm: Siddle has had two massive appeals for lbw against VVS. Both turned away by umpire Dharmasena. The Victorian is fired up and has a few choice words to the Indian veteran and is told to cool it by Dharmasena. Siddle is in no mood to be told off and turns his back on the umpire muttering to himself. He might be called into the match referee's office by the end of the night.
WICKET - S Tendulkar c. Cowan b. Lyon 13 (India 4-110, Laxman 6*) - Listen to the dismissal.
The last we see of Sachin Tendulkar in a Test innings on these shores. Lyon has asked some good questions and an inside edge floats up off his front pad and Ed Cowan swallows it up at short leg. The crowd stands again to applaud the Little Master off the field. He cuts a disconsolate figure as he trudges off and is no doubt disappointed he couldn't find more runs this innings and this series (287 runs at 35.87).
WICKET - R Dravid c. Hussey b. Harris 25 (India 3-100, Tendulkar 9*) - Listen to the dismissal.
Dravid's series is over (194 runs at 24.25). At least it wasn't bowled. Good reward for Harris, who persisted on a good line and length. The 39-year-old leaves the field in Australia for the final time. A legend of the game. Amazing career stats, but his number may be up now.
3.25pm: Sachin strides to the crease for the final time in a Test match in Australia. He will get the same reception when he leaves, but will there be something special in between?
WICKET - V Sehwag c. Ponting b. Lyon 62 (India 2-80, Dravid 14*) - Listen to the dismissal.
A terrible ball by Lyon. Full toss and somehow Sehwag gets a leading edge that goes straight up in the air. That should have gone into the Chappell stands. What a waste. Lyon almost looked embarrassed he got a wicket from that delivery. Sehwag 198 runs at 24.75 for the series.
HALF-CENTURY VIRENDER SEHWAG - Listen here.
What a whirlwind knock this has been from Sehwag. Just 36 balls to get to 50. Typically flighty but brutal at the same time. Eleven boundaries and six singles.
2.49pm: At the other end, Nathan Lyon is introduced in place of Siddle. This will be interesting with Sehwag showing no signs of letting up. Of Viru's 36 runs, 32 have come from boundaries.
2.48pm: Hilfenhaus is back into the attack for Harris. He has bowled Dravid three times this series.
2.35pm: Sehwag means business. He is throwing the bat at everything and has so far got away with it. Couple of lovely shots in there as well. The captain is 31 off just 21 balls.
2.30pm: Peter Siddle is into the attack, replacing Hilfenhaus at the River End. What's the over/under on how many overs it takes him to get a wicket? Around 3.5?
WICKET - G Gambhir c. Haddin b. Harris 3 (India 1-14, Sehwag 10*) - Listen to the dismissal.
Harris puts it in the zone and yet again Gambhir is playing in front of himself with hard hands and gets a meaty edge. The opener either refuses to adapt to Australia's quick conditions or can't. Gambhir's series ends with a disappointing 181 runs at 22.62.
2.06pm: So close! Sehwag flays at one wide outside off stump and Michael Hussey is just a fingertip away from taking a terrific catch at gully and handing Hilfy a Test hat-trick.
2.05pm: Ben Hilfenhaus is on a hat-trick from the first innings.
2.02pm: Ryan Harris opening the bowling. Another chance for the Indian openers to get some runs.
1.50pm: AUSTRALIA DECLARES 5-167, LEADS BY 499 RUNS
Australia makes India come out to field for a bit after lunch before declaring. The magic number is 500. Very interesting reaction by Michael Clarke in the pavilion. He looked quite frustrated when he waved Ponting and Haddin in. Were they taking too long to get to the desired target? Nevertheless, Australia has just under five sessions to bowl India out for the eighth time this series.
12.55pm: Ricky Ponting 2012 has now scored more runs than Ricky Ponting 2011 (415 runs at 31.92). Year of the Tasmanian Tiger.
12.50pm: Brad Haddin is scratching around early. Would be surprising if Zaheer Khan wasn't subtly warming up in front of Sehwag right about now. Go on Viru, bring the big Zak on for a bit of Test match drama before lunch.
WICKET - M Hussey lbw. Sharma 15 (Australia 5-147, Ponting 51*) - Listen to the dismissal.
Mr Cricket departs, playing outside the line and struck firmly on the front pad. Umpire Dharmasena takes an age to raise the finger. Ishant Sharma finally gets some reward. He's worked hard without much luck this series. That was just his fifth wicket of the series. Michael Hussey's stats v India: 293 runs at 58.60.
HALF-CENTURY - RICKY PONTING - Listen here.
Ricky Ponting has six Test centuries at the Adelaide Oval. He now has six fifties. Could be a big 2012 for Punter. Bowlers around the world are writing angry emails to the Indian team with the subject line "Thanks for nothing."
12.25pm: DROPPED CATCH
Ponting checks one of his patented hook shots and it goes high in the air. Rahul Dravid, running backwards, gets his hands on it but can't take the catch. Another tough chance. Never easy looking over your shoulder. Although the Indian batsmen should get used to it....
WICKET - M Clarke c. Saha b. Yadav 37 (Australia 4-111, R Ponting 34*) - Listen to the dismissal.
The skipper is out caught behind. He doesn't seem too happy about the decision, touching his pad and shaking his head as he walks off. He'll have to be content with 626 runs at an average 125.20 this series. Not too shabby. The fourth best by a captain in a series behind some greats in Gooch, Bradman and Lloyd.
11.55am: DROPPED CATCH
Ravi Ashwin is into the attack. Clarke drives a flat one straight and the off-spinner can't hold on. A tough chance - that was travelling.
11.52pm: Ponting and Clarke have put on 58 for the fourth wicket. Interestingly, every time they've gone past 50 against India (three occasions) they'e converted it into a partnership over 200. Boom or bust.
11.42am: Looks like Ponting and Clarke and setting themselves for some quick runs now. They've made the Indians sweat enough and the lead is past the 420 mark. The highest ever second-innings chase is 7-418 by the West Indies against Australia at Antigua in 2003. The highest in Australia was South Africa's 4-414 in Perth just over three years ago.
11.30am: With all due respect to Australia's brilliant performance this summer, there is a much more interesting Test series going on in the desert. Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal has number one ranked England in a spin after day two of the second Test in Abu Dhabi:
11.23am: Clarke and Ponting just going along at a steady pace. Not a lot of intensity in the Indian field. They could use a bit of inspiration from a catch like this perhaps:
11.05am: There has been plenty of chat this morning about young Virat Kohli's comments last night. He certainly is a thorny character. In some ways that is exactly what India needs from its next generation. But he obviously needs to be mindful of what he says so early in his career, especially as he will be earmarked as a future leader. By the same token, explicit abuse from the crowd towards players should not be tolerated anywhere in the world.
11.00am: Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting start the day at the crease. I wonder if the Indian bowlers got any sleep last night knowing that? Zaheer Khan to start us off.
10.55am: Before the start of play Peter Walsh caught up with Australian quick Ben Hilfenhaus. The big Tasmanian has enjoyed an outstanding summer after seemingly being plucked out of the Test wilderness. He tells Walshy a lot of the credit belongs to the way the Australian attack has bowled as a unit.
10.50am: Thanks for joining once again. Another hot one in Adelaide. Can India show some spine today and finish the series with a match-saving performance with the bat? It'll be an uphill battle on a dry pitch that is beginning to break up.
On day three, Australia bowled the Indians out for 297. Virat Kohli's determined 116 and a few late wickets were the only highlights for the tourists. If you missed any of the action look no further than below:
Tags: cricket, sport, australia, india First posted January 27, 2012 10:59:50
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