BANGALORE, 9 October 2004 — Australian bowlers led by Glenn McGrath’s four-wicket haul quashed Indian hopes of a fight back to tighten their grip in the first Test yesterday.
Fast bowlers McGrath and Jason Gillespie ran through the tail with the new ball to dismiss India for 246 to take a big first innings lead after amassing 474 all out batting first. Australia then opted against the follow-on, reaching 127 for four wickets in their second innings at the close to extend the overall lead to 355 runs.
First innings centurion Michael Clarke (11) and Damien Martyn (29) were together after openers Justin Langer (0), Matthew Hayden (30), Simon Katich (39) and Darren Lehmann (14) were out. Australia were favorites to push for victory by building their lead further on day four to bring pressure on the host batsmen, who will bat last on a breaking pitch.
Australia chose not to enforce the follow-on because of the pitch and their experience on the previous tour three years ago. Australia lost regular wickets in their second innings.
Left-hander Langer was trapped lbw by Irfan Pathan playing half forward for a fourth ball duck before Hayden was run out to a direct hit by Harbhajan Singh from square-leg going for a quick single.
Katich edged a drive against Kumble to slip fielder Rahul Dravid for 39 before Darren Lehmann gloved a catch to silly mid-off against Harbhajan Singh.
India, reeling at 150 for six overnight, added another 96 runs before being dismissed half-an-hour before tea.
McGrath, back in the side after a long injury lay-off, was the chief wicket-taker with four for 55 as Australian fast bowlers came on top of a slow pitch to share eight wickets.
Wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel (46) and tailender Irfan Pathan (31) clung on to add 60 runs for the seventh wicket to prevent a total collapse, and their last four wickets added 110 runs.
But the fightback subsided once the new ball was taken. Gillespie bowled Patel middle-stump with his first delivery with the new ball and then pegged back Anil Kumble’s off-stump after he made 26 to wrap up the innings.
Leg spinner Shane Warne gave Australia the initial breakthrough by having Pathan caught behind to reduce India to 199 for seven at lunch. McGrath, meanwhile, put his performance in the Test down to a new pair of shoes.
The 34-year-old had ankle surgery last year and only returned to the Test side in June for the home series against Sri Lanka. McGrath struggled to regain his pace, raising doubts he would survive on the flat subcontinent pitches, until he borrowed his teammate Shane Watson’s shoes. “I swapped my boots over to a pair that weighed half as much,” McGrath told reporters. “I felt a lot lighter on my feet, I was going through the crease a lot better, and it gave me a lot more energy,” added the pace bowler, who is the fourth highest Test wicket-taker in history with 444.
Court Suspends Indian Board Officials
An Indian court has suspended all newly elected office-bearers on India’s cricket board, including President Ranbir Mahendra, because of the alleged misconduct of the board elections held last month. The Madras High Court yesterday appointed retired Supreme Court Judge S. Mohan as an interim administrator to run the affairs of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) until the case was decided.
“The court said the present board should be restrained from functioning because the election was illegal,” Nalini Chidambaram, the lawyer for the petitioners Netaji Cricket Club, a local Madras club, said.
The Madras court had last month asked S. Mohan to oversee the BCCI elections to ensure that there was no disqualification of candidates or voters by the outgoing office-bearers.
But it later reversed the order after the BCCI gave an undertaking to the court that there would be no disqualifications of any candidate.
