Indian tail fights back to frustrate Aussies
Posted on Oct 11, 2008 at 09:30 | Updated Oct 11, 2008 at 22:25
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Bangalore: Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan staged a majestic rearguard action with a fighting 80-run eighth wicket stand as India reached 313 for eight off 101 overs in their first innings before bad light stopped play on the third day of the first Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday.
Harbhajan, who scored a fighting 55 off 110 balls with five boundaries, was the last man out in the day caught by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin off Shane Watson while Zaheer was still going strong on an unbeaten 35 off 68 balls with five hits to the fence along with his skipper Anil Kumble, who is yet to score.
For the Aussies Mitchell Johnson took four for 62 while Watson finished with two for 37. Brett Lee and Michael Clarke finished with a wicket each.
Rain stopped play for 28 minutes after Sourav Ganguly' fell for a determined 47. Just before the stoppage, Zaheer and Haddin had a heated argument when the later tired to sledge the batsman from behind the wicket.
The tourists took the second new ball in the 87th over with India's score reading 250 for seven with the intention of wrapping up the India innings but the Indian lower order batsmen, particularly Harbhajan, took on the Aussie speedsters with grit and determination while Zaheer played sensibly and the new ball turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the pair added 46 runs from eight overs after bringing up the 50-run partnership off 85 balls.
Harbhajan smacked Brett Lee to the mid-wicket boundary and then followed it up with a hooked four when the bowler tested him with a bouncer to race away to 44 off just 25 balls and then completed his fifth half century in Test cricket with a lofted on drive off Stuart Clark to the long on boundary.
From the other end, Zaheer cut and drove Shane Watson for two consecutive boundaries and then rightly ignored the bowler's sledging tactics.
Ganguly, who has announced his retirement from international cricket after the Australia series, was trapped leg before the wicket for a fighting 47 off 115 balls with three fours. He added 37 invaluable runswith Harbhajan for the seventh wicket to help India avoid the follow-on.
Earlier, the hosts added 65 runs but lost four wickets in the morning session but recovered some what to add another 77 runs losing just two wickets between lunch and tea.
After lunch, former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid was adjudged leg before of Shane Watson after the Indian completed his 23rd half century to equal former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar's record on Indian soil.
Dravid, who was clearly unhappy with the umpiring decision, and his former skipper Sourav Ganguly added 49 runs off 104 balls for the fifth wicket after India had lost four quick wickets in the morning. Dravid scored his 51 runs off 104 balls, with seven fours.
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Total Comments: 3
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Posted By Lviss
Time and again either Zaheer and Harbhajan have shown the resolve to stand firm and bring some respectability to the
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Posted By ritwik70
In the morning yesterday,before the match started,all the TV channels ( including yours),were talking about how the nation is fervently
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Posted By S.Raghavan
Zahir and Sharma have bowled 60 overs for 168 runs and have purchased 9 wickets on a helpless wicket; Kumble
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