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Australia tour of India 1st Test: India v Australia at Bangalore

Ponting century sets up Australia

Ricky Ponting erased 12 years of doubt over his record in India by striking a defiant century that gave Australia a marginal edge on the opening day in Bangalore. However, a late pair of wickets - Ponting departed for 123 and Zaheer Khan removed Michael Clarke in the final over - brought India back into the contest on what had until then been a frustrating day for the hosts. At the close Australia had reached 254 for 4 with Michael Hussey unbeaten on 46.

Zaheer's final strike - he trapped Clarke plumb lbw for 11 - gave India's fans cause to cheer on the first day of Test cricket in the country since the frenetic and colourful IPL. The contrast between the game's longest and shortest formats was stark as Australia's batsmen spent most of the day grinding down the India bowlers.

The man most responsible for the tough contest was Ponting, who in the lead-up declared that it was up to him to set the batting standard for Australia despite his disappointing average of 12.28 in his eight previous Tests in India. Australia's two most unflappable batsmen, Simon Katich and Michael Hussey, gave Ponting exactly the support he needed as he began to master his long-time tormentor Harbhajan Singh and his newer nemesis Ishant Sharma.

The two men bowled admirably and created opportunities but the pitch offered them little assistance. When Harbhajan finally picked up Ponting, lbw attempting to sweep a ball that might have missed leg stump, it came as a major relief to India, who had seen a few doses of luck go the other way throughout the day.

Katich and Hussey both prodded within centimetres of short leg against the spinners. Hussey got a thick outside edge off Kumble that Mahendra Singh Dhoni could not get his gloves to in time. Ponting survived a couple of tight lbw calls early and, after he had reached triple figures, was reprieved when replays suggested he was caught and bowled by Kumble off a delivery that was adjudged to be a bump ball.

But nothing should take away from Ponting's brilliance. Rarely can a 33-year-old veteran of more than 100 Tests claim to make a genuine career breakthrough, but Ponting's history in India was so poor that his century was exactly that.

The 2008-09 version of Ponting was more patient and less tentative than on his earlier trips. Until this innings, Harbhajan had an undeniable hold over Ponting and had dismissed him eight times in Tests. But Ponting watched the ball more closely this time and eliminated his bad habit of lunging outside off stump, a custom that had brought so many edges to Harbhajan over the years.

Instead, he trusted his judgement. He left the ball where appropriate and picked the right deliveries to hit; he twice lofted Harbhajan over wide midwicket for four. He also survived his mini-battles with Ishant, whose steepling bounce and tendency to jag the ball in had troubled Ponting earlier this year.

A couple of cracking back-foot drives through extra cover off Ishant were particularly impressive, as was the slap through cover off Zaheer that brought up his half-century. When the hundred arrived with a cut through point off Kumble, Ponting refused to smile, instead willing himself to go on with the innings.

The burden on Ponting would have increased considerably had he been regularly losing partners. Katich's determination was therefore a godsend for the captain. Katich was also under pressure to justify his selection after he was preferred over the incumbent Phil Jaques as Matthew Hayden's opening partner.

His experience and composure provided a calming influence on Ponting, who had joined him in the first over of the match following Hayden's early departure. Katich handled the first 15 deliveries from Harbhajan, which allowed Ponting time to get a look at his major danger without having to face up.

Katich was scratchy in the opening hour but as his confidence grew he worked easy runs through the leg side via his habit of walking across the stumps. His half-century came from 122 deliveries with a boundary forward of point off Harbhajan and it was the sort of watchful innings that made it hard to believe he had scored 184 in a single first-class session for New South Wales last season.

His stand with Ponting was worth 166 when Katich's concentration finally waned on 66 as he edged behind when Ishant seamed the ball away. It was a well-deserved reward for Ishant, who tried valiantly to extract anything from the benign surface. Nearly two full sessions had passed since India had had any reason to celebrate after Zaheer struck with the third ball of the match.

Hayden was given out caught behind off a Zaheer outswinger, although the ball appeared to miss the outside edge as bat hit pad. It was the perfect start for India, who had lost the toss and were staring at a long Australia batting order with the debutant and powerful striker Cameron White listed at No. 8.

The rest of the wickets did not come as swiftly. But India can be happy with their fightback after Ponting and Katich threatened to bat them into the ground. The first day has set up an intriguing battle; the second day could well be one of the most decisive of the series.

Poignant moment of the day
The Australians were going to cap their 402nd Test cricketer today and the choice was between Cameron White and Jason Krejza. Before the start of their warm-up session the players gathered in a circle, along with the coaching staff and chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch, and White was presented with the baggy green. The baggy green is a really big deal so White, who was visibly thrilled, wore his new head gear through the warm-up session while the others had their VB caps on.

Setback of the day
Matthew Hayden is Australia's best batsmen in Indian conditions and his preparation for this series has been intense. He's batted in the nets longer than others and went through his routine of shadow-practicing and meditating on the pitch at the Chinnaswamy stadium on the eve of the match. However, when the Test began, he was dismissed the first time he hit the ball. Or did he? After letting two deliveries from Zaheer go past his off stump, he pushed forward at the third as the ball moved away from him. The ball was close to the outside edge. The bat was close to the pad. Asad Rauf took a while but eventually ended Hayden's all too brief stint.

Anticipated battle of the day
Harbhajan v Ponting. Harbhajan had bowled 2.3 overs before Ponting faced him for the first time. Anticipation built up in the crowd, Anil Kumble added a silly point to the existing close-in catchers - short leg and first slip, and kites hovered overhead. The big screen even flashed a timely message: "Ponting has been dismissed by Harbhajan eight times in Test cricket." Harbhajan skipped in and delivered but his first challenge was weak: a flat ball on leg stump. Ponting moved back and nudged the ball off his pads towards the fine-leg boundary.

Shot of the day
There was no time that Ponting looked more like the batsman who has dominated attacks everywhere in the world but India than when he brought up his half-century with a superb cover drive. Things went relatively smoothly for him as he changed gears regularly during his knock, but the effortless way he reached only his second half-century in India was outstanding. Zaheer Khan pitched up and Ponting swung through the line as the ball cracked twice - first off the bat, then off an advertising board.

Direct hit of the day
One of Australia's strategies was to pressurise the Indian fielders with quick running between the wickets. So when Simon Katich glanced Kumble towards long leg, they immediately decided on taking two. Sehwag was the fielder and he surprised many, perhaps even Katich who was forced into a full length dive, with a direct hit from the boundary. Rauf called for the third umpire but Katich was so confident he had made his ground that he even picked up the uprooted stump and put it back in its place, ready to continue hurrying the Indian fielders.

Acceleration of the day
Katich had scored only 3 off the first 34 balls he faced from Harbhajan, content with blocking and thwarting India's plans. However, Harbhjan offered him two freebies when Katich was in his forties. The first was short and wide and Katich cut it wide of slip for four and moved on to 49. A ball later he drove a half-volley firmly through cover to bring up his half-century and emphasise that Australia had made the right choice by picking him as opener.

Record of the day
Ponting celebrated his first century in India while completing his third run before flourishing his bat like a warrior would with a sword. Not only had he kept his vow of improving his average in India, but he had also broken a record. The century was Ponting's 16th as captain, he was previously tied with Steve Waugh and Allan Border on 15





Cricket - India vs Australia 12:00AM EST 10/9







Cricket - India vs Australia 12:00AM EST 10/9


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