Paine 92 gives Australia slight edge

Australia blunted India's bowlers and blossomed under Tim Paine's guidance as he narrowly missed a maiden century in his third Test. Showing impressive determination, he first stabilised his team with Shane Watson and then lifted the pace with Johnson during an energetic 82-run stand.

The gains came after Watson's assured 126 set the platform while Zaheer kept interrupting the tourists to prevent a damaging score. Having crawled 71 in the opening session, Australia relaxed through Paine and Johnson after lunch and started to swing freely against the tiring spin duo of Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha.

Paine also increased his rate, lifting Ojha over midwicket for consecutive boundaries in his most memorable burst, and showed his comfort at this level. Dropped by MS Dhoni on 0 yesterday, Paine refused to submit to the various tensions and played the sort of settling innings the injured Brad Haddin could not have managed.

At times it was easy to wish for some Haddin extravagance, but Paine delivered an old-fashioned display, just as Watson had done so purposefully. In the first hour Watson and Paine scraped 25 as they followed the extra cautious method of the previous afternoon.

The stress eased for Paine after drinks in the morning when he glanced his first four from his 61st ball, gaining confidence from the unshackling. He drove and late cut Zaheer for another couple of boundaries and was soon comfortable in the humid conditions and on the turning surface.

In the end Paine struck 12 fours from 196 deliveries, showing his ability off both feet, and his sharp reading of the slow men. He was dropped by Dhoni again on 86 but VVS Laxman quickly made up for the mistake with a sharp catch low down at second slip to give Zaheer his fifth breakthrough.