Team India snatch initiative back

It wasn8217;t about the pace 8212; it was about the swing. It wasn8217;t about the carry off the wicket...

It wasn8217;t about the pace 8212; it was about the swing. It wasn8217;t about the carry off the wicket 8211; it was about putting the ball in the right areas. Two of India8217;s best fast bowlers are nursing injuries back home, but on the Perth pitch, the new crop of Indian bowlers went back to age-old practice of moving the ball in air and pitching the ball further up to create a doubt in the mind of the batsmen. And to their credit, they made enough impact to make Australia admit that their world record of 17-in-a-row win may be in jeopardy.

Fantastic performance by the three seamers and a stupendous achievement from the lone spinner meant India snatched back what they had handed over to the opposition yesterday. The initiative is sitting pretty in the visitors8217; dressing room. India are 52 for the loss of Wasim Jaffer, and when added to the first innings surplus of 118 gained after bowling out Australia for 212, the overall lead works out to be 170 8212; the figures translating into a comfortable position to sleep on after the second day8217;s play.

Today, Jaffer flattered to deceive again but Virender Sehwag scratched around to survive the evening hours on 29, while night watchman Irfan Pathan did better than his early-morning duty.

Earlier, in the morning, India ended their first stint at 330. Pathan knew he had a more important role to play with the ball. Sharing the new ball with RP Singh, the left-arm duo waged a C-fare against the left-handed openers and emerged quick-time winners too.

Within the eight overs the Indians bowled before lunch, Pathan trapped debutant Chris Rogers leg before wicket 8212; though the latter was a touch unlucky to be ruled out. The ball had pitched on the leg and slid further.

Both Pathan and Team India are trying to make a comeback in this series. Pathan soon got a ball to move away from Phil Jacques who edged it to VVS Laxman at second slip. Not to be left behind, RP Singh almost did an encore with Michael Hussey at the receiving end and India literally, swung the match in their favour8212;12/1 became 13/2 and then 14/3, before Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke tried to restore some sanity.

That wasn8217;t to be. India8217;s plan for Perth worked just perfectly. The seamers were told to bowl like they would on Indian wickets, try and imagine the orange cones that guided their line and length during practice, keep the seam slanting slightly towards slip to get that extra movement away with the breeze and bowl up all the time, use the bouncer sparingly, and only to keep the batsman on the backfoot.

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RP was lively, running in with rhythm, arcing his back perfectly while approaching the crease and releasing it further up. Pathan used his non-bowling arm a lot more and got appreciable movement in the air, while the tallest and youngest of this young attack, Ishant Sharma, hit the deck appreciably. Ishant rattled Ricky Ponting in his first over of the day with a beauty that moved a fraction away as Ponting hung his bat out, and Clarke was done in by some extra bounce.

But to the visitor8217;s dismay, Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist stunned them with a superb counter-attack an hour before and after tea. Symonds was savage against the seamers, and he greeted Anil Kumble with a four and six straight back to reach his half-century off just 44 balls. Symonds soon became part of history 8212; he was Kumble8217;s 600th victim 8212; as India finally managed to break through the sixth wicket partnership of 103 runs.

Gilchrist reached his half-century from 59 balls and eight boundaries but RP came back in his second spell to dismiss him after getting hit for three fours in a row. He then went round the wicket to wipe off the tail with two wickets in an over. Kumble picked the final wicket of Clark to terminate the hosts8217; innings in exactly 50 overs.

Australia were wiped off in nearabout four hours. It was four years back that Australia last lost a home Test 8212; against India. But conclusions will only be drawn after three more sessions of play. Will the batsmen please stand up?

Scoreboard

India 1st Innings Overnight297/6

MS Dhoni lbw Clark 19

I Pathan lbw Johnson 28

A Kumble c Rogers b Clark 1

RP Singh c Hussey b Johnson 0

I Sharma not out 0

Extras: 19-lb,9-nb,9-w 37

TOTAL: all out, 98.2 overs 330

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Fall of wickets: 1-57, 2-59, 3-198, 4-214, 5-278, 6-284, 7-328, 8-330, 9-330.

Bowling: Lee 24-5-71-3, Johnson 28.2-7-86-4, Clark 17-4-45-2, Tait 13-1-59-0, Symonds 10-1-36-1, Clarke 6-1-14-0.