Double trouble at Vizag

The match needed either a declaration from the Australians or a fine performance from the Board XI bowlers to stay alive as a contest. But neither was forthcoming.

Except a brief but fiery burst from Test discard Abey Kuruvilla, none of the bowlers looked capable of taking wickets. Skipper Dravid employed all but wicket keeper Saba Karim in the attack.

Slater continued from where he left yesterday treating the bowlers with contempt. He completed 150 off the third ball in themorning. He then hit Kuruvilla for a straight four and then lofted Harbhajan Singh to race to 199. After completing his double century, he lofted Harbhajan Singh for a towering six over long off. But the young off-spinner had him trapped lbw off the next ball. He hit 22 fours and six sixes in his 207 which came off only 236 deliveries.

Unlike Slater, Ponting was less adventurous and flamboyant. He hardly took risks and played each ball on its merit. He will be a stumbling block for India in the ensuing Test series.

Resuming on 41, he needed 13 balls to complete his fifty and another 69 balls to race to his century. He completed 150 off 74 more balls. Seldom in his five-hour stint at the wicket, Ponting played a wrong shot. It was an innings full of concentration, application and discipline. He perished at 155, snapped by Karim off Kuruvilla. He added 206 runs for the second wicket with Slater and then 97 for the third wicket with Mark Waugh.

After Ponting’s exit, Kuruvilla had Healy lbw. Earlier, theMumbai speedster rattled the off stump of Mark Waugh, a beneficiary of two fielding reprieves. He made 51. This was a fiery little spell from Kuruvilla in which he claimed three wickets in quick succession.

However, that was the best period for the Board President’s XI. Venkatesh Prasad, who replaced him, immediately removed Adam Dale. Thereafter, the last wicket pair of Robertson and Kasprowicz hung on to force a draw. Skipper Steve Waugh, who was down with flu, did not bat.

SCOREBOARD

B P XI (1st innings): 329-4 decl
Australia (1st innings; overnight 269-1): M Slater lbw b H Singh 207, G Blewett c Kuruvilla b Sanghvi 57, R Ponting c Karim b Kuruvilla 155, M Waugh b Kuruvilla 52, I Healy lbw b Kuruvilla 3, P Reiffel run out 2, S Warne c Kuruvilla b Sanghvi 2, G Robertson not out 25, A Dale lbw b Prasad 5, M Kasprowicz not out 24; Extras (b14, lb3, nb18): 35. Total (for 8 wickets in 138 overs) 567.

Fall of wickets: 1-168, 2-374, 3-471, 4-486, 5-496, 6-502, 7-512,8-521.

Bowling: Prasad 23-2-87-1, Kuruvilla 18-0-105-3, Yadav 4-0-8-0, Sanghvi 34-1-119-2, Harbhajan Singh 31-3-127-1, Kanitkar 15-1-59-0, Laxman 3-0-9-0, Pratap 7-0-24-0, Dravid 2-0-5-0, Ramesh 1-0-7-0.

Result: Match drawn