Umesh Yadav gave an early wake-up call to Ricky Ponting as he bowled a short ball that hit the batsmans helmet grill. This early success proved a blessing in disguise for Ponting and the Australians,especially after the lunch break. The Indians fell into the trap of pitching too short often to Ponting in the second session. All three seamers started their spells in the second session with a bouncer to him. Zaheer and Yadav were put away with disdain for boundaries,while Ishant whose second offering was also short was also punished similarly. Zaheer in particular didnt have the pace or the incisiveness to bother Ponting with his bouncers,and at least on three occasions spoiled a steady over by leaking away a single or two to a Ponting pull-shot. Umesh kept trying his luck,and was hit for another boundary. Twenty-seven of his 47 runs after lunch came via the pull-shot,and even R Ashwin was sucked into missing his length. Ed Cowan too flourished at the other end against the Indian inconsistency,and the pair put on 71 in 15 overs. And a period of play where the visitors should have ideally kept the pressure on the two Australian batsmen-one a debutant and the other playing to keep his place in the team-they fell to the short-ball trap,and let them get away.
