Aussies in India October 11

End of Day Three : Aus : 430 all out.
Ind : 313 / 8. ( Harbhajan 54, Rahul 51, Sourav 45)

The turbanator just showed the heart he has, he is one who is always ready to fight and not give in. He didn’t do well with the bowl and the fighting cricketer that he is he tried his best with the bat and probably have saved India the blushes.

Starting the day a lot was expected from the opening pair, however Gautam was taken by Brett Lee lbw where the latter would have been better playing straighter rather than across. Sehwag would be rather disappointed with the shot he got out to. But if you live by the sword you die by it.

The script was perfect for the fab four to silence the critics. However Sachin and Laxman couldn’t do much. Rahul had his customary fighting innings and got a fifty and although he was disappointed with the Lbw he got he was probably out. This innings will help him in a lot of ways in the coming test matches as he got good match practice in the middle on a deteriorating pitch against quality bowling. Sourav also stuck it out for a 45.

The batsmen especially Sehwag, Rahul & Sourav would be rather disappointed to have not converted their starts into something more substantial. India looked like folding with a lead of over 150 runs but thanks to the grip and determination shown by Harbhajan & Zaheer we eventually managed to bat out the whole day. This will give the dressing room the much needed fillip. I have always heard from former champions that if the tail gets runs it means the team is fighting.

How the test shapes from here is what is most intriguing. Australia would like to take the remaining two wickets as soon as possible and a lead of around a 100 would be really handy. For Australia it would be a blessing in disguise if they would get bowled out rather than having to declare as that would make things difficult.

This is why people like Sehwag are worth their weight in gold. The opposition captain will always have him in the mind when he is looking to declare. The fear players like Sehwag create in opponents minds cannot be measured.

Also we had the first argument in the test match between Zaheer & Haddin. However nothing serious and probably it will be brushed under the carpet.

Tomorrow being a Sunday there should be a large crowd and the atmosphere will build up and that should make for a nice day.