Quicks fire Australia to 122-run win
Australia's fast men obliterated India with bowling of sustained hostility and direction to deliver a handsome 122-run victory to the hosts, on day four of the first Test at the MCG
25/12Result
1st Test, India tour of Australia at Melbourne, Dec 26-29 2011
-
![Australia]( "Australia")
333 & 240 -
![India]( "India")
282 & 169 (47.5 ov)
Player of the Match
25/12Result
1st Test, India tour of Australia at Melbourne, Dec 26-29 2011
-
![Australia]( "Australia")
333 & 240 -
![India]( "India")
282 & 169 (47.5 ov)
Player of the Match
Day 4
MCG victory needs repeating - Clarke
Michael Clarke is conscious of going to Sydney with a greater accent on repeating the good of Melbourne while remedying the bad.
Australia make for compelling viewing
Michael Clarke's side is not a great one, but just about everything Australia have done in their past five Tests has made for compelling viewing. Whether good or bad, it has been impossible to look away
'It's a dream come true' - Pattinson
James Pattinson, the Australia fast bowler, has described his first Boxing Day Test as "a dream come true" after he won the Man-of-the-Match award in the 122-run victory over India
Overseas chases a struggle for India
India have chased 200-plus targets quite successfully in the last few years, but those instances have all been in the subcontinent. Overseas, the numbers don't look so pretty
Cowan pokes Siddle, Tendulkar leaves for four
ESPNcricinfo presents Plays of the Day from the fourth day of the first Test between Australia and India in Melbourne
India's batting woes abroad continue
The fact that India were rolled over twice by Australia's second-choice pace attack suggests the failures in England were not an aberration but confirmation of a trend
India must learn to get tail out - Dhoni
After India's 122-run loss at the MCG, India's third first-Test loss on their last four tours, MS Dhoni said it was the batting that let the side down
Day 3
Hilfenhaus, Yadav shine on bowlers' day
Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey fought to hold Australia's second innings together, after the top order melted away against Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma on a helter skelter day three of the first Test at the MCG
Comfortable chasing under 300 - Sehwag
Virender Sehwag and Ricky Ponting feel the Test is finely balanced going into the fourth day, which could also prove to be the final one
Experienced hands rescue Australia
Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey have both been under pressure, but their recovery act, on a day when the other batsmen continued to show frailties, will reinforce the selectors' faith in them
'The best bowling attack I've played with' - Sehwag
India's bowling department has been over-reliant on Zaheer Khan in recent times, but Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav's impressive performances in Melbourne have given the attack a sense of completeness
Hilfenhaus learns some new tricks
From a bowler who swung the ball but did little else, Ben Hilfenhaus has transformed into one with subtle variations that will test the best batsmen
Laxman's MCG jinx continues
India's fourth-innings mettle will be tested again in Melbourne, while Michael Hussey showed he isn't finished just yet
The segway strikes again
ESPNcricinfo presents Plays of the Day from the third day of the first Test between Australia and India in Melbourne
MCG pitch gives Test perfect narrative
The MCG has provided the pitch and the stage to two less-than-perfect teams to weave together the perfect narrative that has kept everyone - batsmen, bowler, and spectators - interested
Day 2
Dravid, Tendulkar lead strong reply
Driven largely by Tendulkar's stand of 117 with Dravid, India reached a threatening 3 for 214 in reply to Australia's 333
Cowan treated for sore back
Australia are hopeful that their best batsman from the first innings, Ed Cowan, will be fit on the third day in Melbourne after he spent much of the second day in the rooms receiving treatment for a sore back
Tendulkar's promise of a glorious summer
Sachin Tendulkar batted with fluency and control to help India break the trend of batting failures that had blighted their start to overseas tours in recent times
The helmet that took out Joe the Cameraman
ESPNcricinfo presents Plays of the Day from the second day of the first Test between Australia and India in Melbourne
Australian seamers show mettle against the best
India were undoubtedly on top, but James Pattinson and his fast-bowling colleagues showed a willingness to toil hard against the best batsmen in the business
Day 1
Cowan, Yadav shine on see-saw day
Australia's batsmen scrambled to 6 for 277 against a shrewd and opportunistic India on day one of the Boxing Day Test, and would not have progressed that far without a meritorious debut from Ed Cowan in front of 70,068 spectators at the MCG
Where's the cauldron?
The MCG on Boxing Day is supposed to be a heaving, roaring giant bowl of Test cricket-loving humanity, no?
Patient Cowan earns the MCG's respect
It is to Cowan's credit that in his first Test innings, he played his way and was not caught up in the occasion, nor the quick tempo set by his partners David Warner and Ricky Ponting
Cowan calls for uniformity in DRS use
Ed Cowan has reiterated Australia's calls for a uniform approach to the Decision Review System on a day when he and Michael Hussey fell to decisions that would have been overturned had they been reviewed
Not a bad first day for poor starters
It was a day when both teams' weaker suits - Australia's batting and India's bowling - came face to face, and India didn't come out looking out of place
The lethal drizzle and Cowan's distinction
ESPNcricinfo presents Plays of the Day from the first day of the first Test between Australia and India in Melbourne
Ponting's century drought continues
The stage was set for Ricky Ponting to make his first hundred in almost two years, and while he looked fluent at the crease, in the end the wait continued
Others
India need to rethink strategy against tail
Australia's last four wickets outscored India's by 79 runs over both innings at the MCG. In a series that could be decided by lower-order contributions, MS Dhoni may need to change his defensive tactics
Dhoni backs umpires over DRS
India will not support the DRS until they are convinced that the technology is 100% perfect, captain MS Dhoni has reiterated
Ponting's fine, Ponting's odd
In Melbourne he began both innings serenely, before losing form a bit. He now seems to need to think where once he barely had to
'We couldn't be more prepared' - Haddin
Brad Haddin has said Australia have mentally recovered from the defeat to New Zealand, and are ready for the Indian challenge