Wheels within wheels

Less than a minute later, before the small crowd had settled back into their seats, he was walking back. The reception at his entry and cheers at his exit mingled homogeneously as the left-hander got a leading edge to the first delivery he faced, off-spinner Jason Krezja taking a brilliant return catch diving forward.

From Ganguly8217;s perspective, Sunday would8217;ve been heartbreaking. After preparing for this moment for days, he would8217;ve liked to sign off in style, perhaps even make up for his missed century in the first innings.

But, in hindsight, the legend of Dada was perhaps only emboldened by the worthless digit against his name. In a sport that holds a 8216;century8217; in highest esteem, the only other score given as much reverence, with its own custom-made term, is a 8216;duck8217;. By lucking out, the former skipper unwittingly ensured that the record books wouldn8217;t forget his last outing even after his era was relegated to distant memory.

Other ironies

Apart from Ganguly, there were several other ironies to consider on a day when India changed gears constantly before setting Australia an improbable victory target of 382 on a wicket that still encourages a dash of flair from stroke-makers.

Krejza, considered a hopeless pick at the start of the match, became the most successful foreign spinner in a Test match in India by grabbing four more wickets to take his tally to 12; Rahul Dravid, once above reproach, sank deeper into the quagmire with a nervy knock of three; and Harbhajan Singh, defying the law of averages, again tormented the world champions he loathes so fervently with a resolute half-century.

Sunday began almost like the first morning of the Test had, Virender Sehwag in full flow and debutant Murali Vijay 8212; whose routine at the crease has shades of Wasim Jaffer and Dravid in it 8212; showing no signs of anxiety. The openers gave India just the start they wanted, knocking off 98 before lunch with Sehwag leading the charge on 59.

The game slowly started to change in the second session, however, after Shane Watson, his uncanny knack of breaking partnerships continuing, trapped Vijay lbw with a full delivery that swung in.

Despite suggestions that Dravid would be dropped down the order, Dhoni gave him a vote of confidence by sticking with him at number three. But the 35-year-old, who finished the series with 120 runs at an average of 17.41 on the back of the series in Sri Lanka, where he8217;d averaged 24.66, couldn8217;t help edge a delivery from Watson that drew him into the shot before gently shaping away.

Closing in on his century, Sehwag was caught down the leg-side, cramped for space by Brett Lee, leaving Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman to steady the ship from 142-3 as Australia8217;s chances suddenly started getting brighter with the lead marginally over 200.

But Krezja, relentless despite being punished for 73 runs from his first 13 overs, had other ideas. The off-spinner, unafraid to toss the ball in the air, got Laxman with the ball of the match. Pitching on the rough outside off-stump, the ripper turned sharply, beating Laxman8217;s lunging forward-defence, taking a faint edge, and crashing into leg-stump.

Recovery agents

The in-and-out drama surrounding Ganguly unfolded soon after, and when Tendulkar was run-out, caught mid-pitch after a misunderstanding with skipper MS Dhoni, it seemed India8217;s grand design to save the Test by being ultra-defensive on Saturday would prove to be fruitless in the final analysis.

But with part-time bowlers in operation because Ricky Ponting was hopelessly behind the over-rate, Dhoni and Harbhajan capitalised, mixing up their naturally unconventional strokes with perfect defensive prods, both scoring half-centuries in an invaluable seventh-wicket stand of 108.

Just when it seemed India were reaching a point from where safety was guaranteed, Krejza and Watson again turned the tide, each striking twice more to stop India on 295, inches short of surefire security.

Then, finally, after the Test had witnessed almost four full days of blatant defence, the Australians made an aggressive statement in the penultimate over, starting their chase by whacking Zaheer Khan for three boundaries.

It8217;s a long road ahead for the visitors but, despite the odds, Matthew Hayden and Simon Katich have at least made their intentions clear: see you in the morning, boys.