After man-of-the-match Clarke claimed the key wicket of Tendulkar for 80 shortly after lunch, Australia went on to take five wickets in the middle session.
“It’s a very nice wicket to have that’s for sure,” Clarke said. “To be able to get such a great player out is a very handy wicket so I was stoked with that.”
Australia eventually bowled India out for 400 in its second innings shortly after tea to take an iron grip on the four-match series.
“I think our execution was very good, Australia captain Clarke said. “I’d like to give a lot of credit to our bowlers throughout this test match as well. I thought the way we bowled in the first innings set the test match up for us.
“To be able to take 10 wickets on a really flat wicket out there today they deserve a lot of credit. They continue to perform in any conditions which is very pleasing for us.”
Ben Hilfenhaus took his second five-wicket haul from two watches with Australia-best figures of 5-106, while Peter Siddle took 2-88.
“He’s a very good bowler of a swinging ball, Clarke said of Hilfenhaus. “He can ball a lot of overs if the wicket does gets flat as we’ve seen here and he’s got his pace back which is great for the team.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni acknowledged his team were second best.
“We didn’t put enough runs on the board. To win test matches, of course taking 20 wickets is very important but also we need to give that cushion, having those extra runs on the board so that the bowlers can plan the opposition out.”
Tendulkar fell tantalizingly close to a 100th international century until part time offspinner Clarke managed to remove the Indian batting great to prolong his quest for at least another week.
Tendulkar was caught by Mike Hussey after Clarke (1-22) found the outside edge of the “Little Master’s” bat which deflected off wicketkeeper Brad Haddin’s shoulder to Hussey at first slip.
Tendulkar had been in fine touch throughout the first session and reached his 50 off 89 balls midway through the morning with a clip down to fine leg and appeared to be on target to score the milestone century that has eluded for 21 innings since the cricket World Cup in March last year.
Tendulkar’s next chance to reach the milestone will be during the third test at Perth starting Jan. 13.
The removal Tendulkar sparked the collapse of the Indian middle order, with four wickets falling for just 15 runs.
“We knew getting to the new ball was the key for us, it was about trying to contain runs from the 70th to the 80th over,” Clarke said. “If could manage to get a wicket that was a bonus, and fortunately I managed to spin one, which was a miracle for me.”
V.V.S. Laxman (66) was out shortly after Tendulkar to a fine delivery by Hilfenhaus which moved slightly off the seam to flick the off stump. It was the veteran’s first score over 2 in his four innings this series.
Hilfenhaus then captured Dhoni for 2 when he chipped the ball back to the bowler from a full length ball.
The umpires referred the decision to the television umpire to confirm it wasn’t a bump ball, but replays showed it lobbed off the toe of the bat.
James Pattinson (1-106) trapped Virat Kohli (9) lbw the next over.
Zaheer Khan and Ravi Ashwin shared a 56-run partnership in an entertaining cameo that included eight fours and a six, until Siddle had Khan caught by Marsh at point for 35 off just 26 balls.
The previously ineffectual Nathan Lyon (1-64) struck shortly after tea by trapping Ishant Sharma lbw for 11.
Hilfenhaus took the match winning wicket when Lyon caught Ashwin’s mistimed hit at mid-wicket.
“I think they’ve done really well, especially throughout this test match,” Dhoni said of the Australian bowlers. “It was quite a good test match from the Australia side.”
The collapse came after India had made a bright start to the day, resuming for 114-2 and taking 45 runs from the first six overs in its chase of Australia’s massive total of 659-4, which included Clarke’s unbeaten 329 — the fourth highest test score by an Australian — and Hussey’s 150 not out.
Laxman also was in his best form of the series and put on a 103-run stand with Tendulkar before Clarke intervened.
As a part time bowler Clarke has made a habit of taking wickets against India. From his 24 test wickets, 14 have been against India — including his best bowling figures of 6-9 in his debut in Mumbai in 2004 — but this was the first time he has taken Tendulkar.
Earlier, Siddle struck with just the second ball of his morning spell to remove Gautam Gambhir for 83.
After the acrimonious test here in 2008 when India spinner Harbajhan Singh was cited after a heated exchange with Australia allrounder Andrew Symonds, Clarke said the relationship between the team’s for this test has never been stronger.
“I think it’s very good, said Clarke. “It will always be very competitive because it’s India and Australia, there’s always that rivalry.
“Both teams really want to win. I think it’s great for the game that we are competitive and we fight hard to win the test matches but I can guarantee you off the field the relationship is as strong as I have ever experienced in my time.”
The series now moves to the WACA ground in Perth for the third test and Clarke said his team’s aim was to wrap up the series by going ahead 3-0.
“We want to win the series, simple as that, we want to win every test match we play,” he said. “We would love to win the series in Perth so there’s still a lot for us to play for. We haven’t won the series yet and there’s a lot of work that goes into that, and that starts tomorrow.”
