Hilfenhaus rattles up India to set up tense finish!

Tags: Australia tour of india - 2010, AUS v IND 1st Test at Chandigarh - Oct 1 - 5, 2010, India, Australia, Ishant Sharma, Benjamin William Hilfenhaus

Published on: Oct 04, 2010

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A tense finish is on the cards at Mohali with India needing 161 more runs for a win but with just six wickets in hand!

Final Session, Day 4

A tense finish is on the cards at Mohali with India needing 161 more runs for a win but with just six wickets in hand! Australia have indeed bounced back strongly and are favourites to win the match after capturing four important wickets in 17 overs. Sachin Tendulkar is holding India's fortunes and has got Zaheer Khan, the night watchman giving him company.

India had earlier did the cleaning up job perfectly to bowl out Australia for 192 in 60.5 overs. Zaheer Khan got his reverse swing going to claim three wickets to wrap it up for India. The yorker which demolished the stumps of Hilfenhaus brought up the 250th Test wicket for Zaheer.

The hosts needing 216 for a win were let down by a rank bad decision from Billy Bowden who gave Gautam Gambhir (0) lbw despite an inside edge. Hilfenhaus who took this wicket in the first over of the innings went onto dismiss Sehwag (17) and Raina (0) with rising deliveries. Doug Bollinger played his part too by having Rahul Dravid feeling away from his body to edge one behind to get the second wicket before Hilfenhaus came back for his twin strikes. At Stumps on Day 4, Sachin Tendulkar is batting on 10 and Zaheer Khan on 5 having survived 19 balls efficiently.

Afternoon Session, Day 4

Australia are on the mat with an overall lead of just 188 runs and have got only four wickets in hand! The inexperienced Tim Paine is left with the bowlers to try and bat out time and at the same time stretch Australia to a safer total to avoid the danger of losing the match on the final day. Harbhajan Singh turned things around in the afternoon session by capturing the wickets of the left handed Hussey and North.

First it was Pragyan Ojha who provided a massive breakthrough when he changed to round the sticks and foxed Simon Katich in edging a straighter one to MS Dhoni. Katich was digging in stubbornly with 36 from 118 balls before he paid penalty for playing for the non existent turn from Ojha in the 41st over. Just a few minutes before Tea, a shocking lbw decision from Ian Gould saw the wicket of Michael Hussey go to Harbhajan Singh. It was a near yorker that pitched outside leg from over the sticks and Hussey (28 from 72 balls) failed to connect his paddle sweep and was given lbw.

In the last over before Tea, Harbhajan drifted in an arm ball which forced a bat pad inside edge from North (10) which was caught at silly point. Australia at Tea are in tatters at 165 for 6 in 49.5 overs.

Morning Session, Day 4

A struggling Ishant Sharma revived himself to take three quick wickets and bring India strongly back in the first Test at Mohali. Australia at lunch on Day 4 have been shaken up at 100 for 3 in 23 overs which gives them an overall second innings lead of 123. Shane Watson provided the impetus for the Aussies with an attacking 56 from 59 balls which included 7 fours and a six.

Watson was dismissed in the 19th over by Ishant Sharma with the first ball off a new spell. The opener tried to manufacture a pull out of nowhere and could only drag it back onto the stumps off the bottom edge. In the same over, Ishant got Ricky Ponting pulling a rising delivery flat and straight into the hands of Raina at backward squareleg. The very next ball, Michael Clarke was caught flicking Ishant uppishly to mid wicket but that turned out to be a noball! Ishant luckily got the wicket of Clarke again without having to pay any penalty. Michael Clarke couldn't keep his eyes on a nasty lifter and the ball hit the gloves and lobbed up to MS Dhoni for a simple catch down the legside.

Ishant Sharma has superb figures of 5-2-25-3. At lunch, the Aussies have Simon Katich on 24 along with Hussey who is on 0.

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