MELBOURNE, 27 December 2003 — Virender Sehwag savaged Australia’s depleted bowling attack to put India in command in the series and on the opening day of the third cricket Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here yesterday.
Sehwag was in imperious form and propelled the tourists to a commanding 329 for four at the close of the first day with India needing only a draw to hold on to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with the final Sydney Test to play.
India lead the four-match series 1-0 after their fighting four-wicket victory in the second Adelaide Test last week.
The Delhi right-hander helped himself to 195, an innings lavished with 25 boundaries and five sixes off 233 balls for the highest first-day Test score at the home of Australian cricket.
Sehwag’s swashbuckling effort bettered Australian Clem Hill’s previous highest first-day MCG score of 182 back in 1897-98 and surpassed Sunil Gavaskar’s 118 in 1977-78 as the highest Indian score here.
Sehwag, by virtue of his all-or-nothing batting style, had some fortune along the way profiting from a muffed run out on three and dropped on 66, but it was an innings to be long remembered by the 62,613 Boxing Day crowd.
He ultimately died by the sword, attempting to bludgeon his sixth six off left-arm part-time spinner Simon Katich only to be caught by a diving Nathan Bracken at long on 11 overs from stumps.
At the close, skipper Saurav Ganguly was not out 20 with V.V.S. Laxman on six.
It was the fourth Indian century of the series and exposed the limited Australian resources without their Test bowlers injured Glenn McGrath (430 Test wickets) and Jason Gillespie (185) and drug-suspended leg-spinner Shane Warne (491).
Sehwag should have been run out in the first half-hour when he was meters out of his crease going for a second run only for wicketkeeper Gilchrist to fumble scooping up bowler Lee’s throw.
Sehwag was dropped by Katich at backward point off Bracken when on 66 and had another close shave on 36 when he survived a tight stumping chance off leg-spinner Stuart MacGill that took several minutes for adjudication by the third umpire that led to a all clear and the smacking of MacGill for two superb boundaries in the same over.
Australia had some successes late in the day, removing out-of-form Sachin Tendulkar for a first-ball duck, dismissing Adelaide Test double-centurion Rahul Dravid for 49 and opener Akash Chopra for 48.
Sehwag with Chopra put on 141 for the first wicket, flourishing after a helmet-denting opening spell by Australia’s new ball bowlers. Chopra, more sedate than the audacious Sehwag, attempted a sweep shot off MacGill only to dolly a catch to Katich at short leg just after the post-lunch session.
Chopra, who survived a run out on 44, batted for just over three hours with six boundaries off 138 balls. Sehwag was whacked on the helmet twice by tearaway Lee with Bracken clanging Chopra’s lid in a fierce opening salvo. Chopra later sought a replacement helmet.
Dravid, who scored a record 233 in Adelaide, offered a leading edge attempting to clip Steve Waugh through mid-wicket only to be caught by Damien Martyn one short of his half-century. It was Waugh’s 92nd Test wicket.
Tendulkar dismayed his legion of fans when he again failed for his second duck of the series, when he was brilliantly caught down the leg-side by a diving Adam Gilchrist off Lee. In four innings, India’s batting hero has scored 0, 1, 37 and 0.
Ganguly, who won his second toss of the series, had a life on nine when he tried to avoid a lifter and Lee missed a sprawling return catch.
Australia are fighting to stay alive in the series they were expected to dominate. It is the first time in almost 10 years that Australia have been 1-0 down in a home Test series since losing to South Africa in the second Sydney Test by five runs in January 1994.
Australia have to win either in Melbourne or Sydney (Jan. 2-6) and avoid defeat and to prevent losing their first home series since going down 2-1 to the West Indies in 1992-93.
The Indians left out young paceman Irfan Pathan for the return of strike bowler Zaheer Khan, who missed the winning second Adelaide Test with hamstring.
