On his first real day at the office in his 100th Test match, Glenn McGrath showed why he ranks among cricket’s all-time greats. He first turned up with the bat at No 11 and added 20 runs for the last wicket with Michael Clarke, even hooking two shots to the boundary to take his team to 398. Then, as the Indians composed their reply, he pulled out all stops to put in a display of accurate, tight, controlled fast bowling to choke a much-vaunted batting order. At the end of the day, India were 146 for 5 in 77 overs, still requiring 53 runs to avert the follow-on. The maximum damage was done in the post-lunch session, when McGrath — supported by on-form Gillespie — hit the right spot right from the start. Bowling from the pavilion end, from where even Zaheer Khan had a lot of success, McGrath kept a superb line outside the off-stump as the Indians struggled to score late in the day. The wicket is still, as McGrath himself said, a ‘‘good batting wicket’’ but it appears the Indians were not convinced. Sehwag gave them a typical rapid-fire start, blasting 30 runs off the first 3 overs, out-Ozzing the Australians in attacking play. Yet in the 12 overs between hhis dismissal and lunch, India scored just 5 runs as they downed shutters and went on the defensive. Their run rate at stumps was below 2, a bizarre statistic on Day 2 of a Test they must be pretty keen to win. Not just bizarre, dangerous too. For like the Arsenal football team, the only way to beat the Australians is to attack and put them off their stride. Defend, and they will swarm all over you. Against India today, their strategy was simple: keep a nagging, perfect line and length, restrict the strokeplayers to defensive shots and eventually the batsman will make a mistake. The Australians, as coach Buchanan noted later, had done their homework very well. While the field spread out when Sehwag was at work, it was later packed on the off-side. There was bounce, as both McGrath and Buchanan acknowledged, but it was not by any means ‘‘quick’’, though there was some movement off the seam. Hence it was essential that Gillespie be played carefully. Tendulkar and Dravid did just that but it was Gillespie who won as he tested Tendulkar out in his 48-minute stay. Back after a lengthy lay-off, he clearly looked to be playing himself in one shot at a time and was tested by a barrage of short balls before being finally trapped in front of the wicket. If Tendulkar’s stay was a disappointment, Laxman’s over over in the blink of an eye, failing to hit away a short ball from Warne and falling to the leggie for the third time in the series. Dravid, India’s mainstay of the past couple of years, played away from the body to a ball outside the off-stump, just about showing his frustration at the crawl in the middle. Dravid’s dismissal was proof of what Buchanan said about his bowlers. ‘‘I guess once Sehwag got out, they (India) had to revisit their plans and we just did not let them get any momentum.’’ It was left to Mohammed Kaif — caught off a no-ball — and Parthiv Patel to restore some order and pride. Indeed, another couple of innings like this and Parthiv could probably confirm his place in the side as a batsman. Their revival act notwithstanding, India are still in hot water. And on Thursday will have to contend with Michael Kasprowicz, who missed out on the action today. The first sessions on the first two days have been the most productive for seam bowlers and Kasprowicz is surely one who would appreciate that. SCOREBOARD
