Tendulkar and Laxman keep Bulls at Bay

The Queensland Bulls had the upper hand as India played their first day's cricket on their Australian tour at The Gabba today. At stumps on day one of the four-day tour match, India are 9/273. A 136-run partnership between VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar prevented matters from being much worse.

With Queensland captain Stuart Law putting the Indians into bat, the tourists lost their first wicket without a run on the board in the third over when Devang Gandhi was caught behind off the bowling of Andy Bichel. A partnership of exactly 100 followed between Sadagopan Ramesh and VVS Laxman before Ramesh (43) fell to a smart stumping by wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe off the bowling of left-arm spinner Matthew Anderson.

Ramesh's departure brought Rahul Dravid to the crease for his first appearance on Australian soil. Two balls later, the much-anticipated batsman was gone, being trapped lbw by Anderson.

With India 3/100, Tendulkar came to the crease. After hitting Anderson for four from the second ball he faced, the Indian captain retreated into his shell for a while, before taking a liking to the normally-economical swing bowler Adam Dale. Tendulkar took fourteen runs, including three boundaries, off one Dale over shortly before the tea break.

Tebdulkar brought up his half-century shortly after the interval when he hit Bichel to mid-on for three. Sachin's 50 came from 78 deliveries.

Laxman played a number of fine shots to the boundary throughout the day, and when on 95 despatched Anderson to the fence on three consecutive occasions. Laxman's hundred came from exactly 200 balls from his eighteenth four of the day. The very next over saw Tendulkar despatch Bichel for four fours, two driven forward of off, one cut past second slip and a bouncer pulled to the leg side.

Scott Muller, back in the Queensland side after his two-match sojourn as an Australian Test bowler, returned to the attack and removed Laxman for 113, Geoff Foley taking the catch at second slip. Laxman's innings included twenty boundaries.

With Tendulkar looking set for a big score in his first innings of the tour, Muller struck again beating him with a beautiful delivery that dislodged the stumps. Tendulkar made 83. Three balls later, MSK Prasad was gone, caught by Seccombe to become Muller's third victim of the day. India were now 6/245.

Andrew Symonds removed Vijay Bharadwaj (5) and Anil Kumble (5), with Andy Bichel claiming the scalp of Venkatesh Prasad (1) shortly before stumps. At the close, Kumaran was 14 and Mohanty 4.

Scott Muller, who has been the unwitting centre of a controversy this week, was easily the best of the Queensland bowlers, taking 3/27 from twenty overs. Television microphones at the Hobart Test against Pakistan last week caught a voice, thought at the time to be an Australian team-mate, saying that Muller "can't bowl and can't throw". Today he proved his worth as a bowler, though the Indians will be happy if he doesn't earn a recall for the three-Test series.