BANGALORE: Sachin Tendulkar fell 14 runs short of equaling the Test run-scoring world record yesterday but played a key role in helping India draw the first cricket Test against Australia.
India needed a ground-high fourth-innings score of 299 on the final day for an unlikely victory and had 177 for 4 when bad light ended the match 10 overs early.
The crowd had grown throughout the first two sessions in the hope of seeing Tendulkar overtake West Indian Brian Lara’s record of 11,953 Test runs. But after falling for 49 in the last session, Tendulkar will have to wait for the second Test in Mohali starting Friday to try again to achieve the milestone. With the light deteriorating after tea, the umpires conferred a couple of times about the conditions and the disruption affected Tendulkar, who drove rookie spinner Cameron White to Michael Clarke at cover. The catch gave White his first wicket in Tests.
Tendulkar departed after facing 126 balls and the match was delayed for 39 minutes 5.4 overs later due to bad light. There was another 22-minute delay before play finally finished with V.V.S Laxman on 42 not out — he had shared a crucial 61-run partnership with Tendulkar — and Saurav Ganguly unbeaten on 26.
Tendulkar, who walked out requiring 64 to become Test cricket’s leading scorer, hit 10 runs off Mitchell Johnson in the penultimate over before lunch, but was much more cautious for the remainder of his innings. He added only 31 in the second session and was in control until mis-timing White. Australia ended Tendulkar’s useful 53-run stand with Gautam Gambhir when Johnson bowled the Indian opener with a slow off-cutter that sneaked between bat and pad. India was 77-3 and the dismissal gave the tourists hope of going 1-0 up in the four-match series. Tendulkar preferred to work the ball or defend and until his dismissal had only one moment of trouble when, on 31, he drove at Cameron White and edged for four over the head of Matthew Hayden at first slip. India’s run-rate slowed when Laxman arrived after Gambhir’s dismissal and the hosts’ push to reach the safety of stumps was helped by the gloomy conditions. Australia had resumed the fifth day at 193-5 and added 35 runs in five overs before skipper Ricky Ponting declared the second innings at 228-6. The Australians started aggressively, removing dangerous opener Virender Sehwag for 6 in the sixth over and Rahul Dravid 20 balls later for 5.
