Queensland poised for victory over India

Queensland will need to score just 81 runs on Monday morning to give India a first-up loss to start their Australian tour. Trailing by 124 runs on the first innings, India were dismissed for 204 in their second innings on stumps at day three Sunday at The Gabba, Brisbane.

Queensland, resuming at their overnight score of 7/363, lasted twelve overs on Sunday morning before being dismissed for 401. T Kumaran took two of the three wickets to fall this morning to finish with 5/67. Though this is his first first-class appearance in Australia, it is not his first time in this country, having recently done a stint with the Australian Cricket Academy which included accompanying the Academy on their New Zealand tour.

Devang Gandhi (13) registered his second failure of the match when he snicked Andy Bichel to the waiting gloves of Wade Seccombe. Ramesh fell for an identical score when caught by Stuart Law to become Scott Muller's first wicket of the innings.

VVS Laxman picked up from where he left off in his first innings 113, playing the senior role in an 85-run partnership with Rahul Dravid. Laxman and Dravid shared the spoils in plundering Bichel for fifteen runs in one over, and Laxman's 50 came up in 74 deliveries.

When on 73 Laxman was caught behind trying to drive left-arm spinner Matthew Anderson. He hit twelve boundaries in his innings, which ended at the tea break with India 3/125, one run in credit.

Dravid had played a patient knock, but lashed out on 36 with a six off Anderson to long on. Next ball he was not so successful, Muller taking the catch. Vijay Bharadwaj failed to score before giving Muller another scalp, caught behind by Seccombe.

Soon after, Muller had the prize scalp of Sachin Tendulkar (27 in 51 balls, five fours). The recently-discarded Australian speedster had taken his third wicket of the innings to match his three on Friday, a fact he reinforced as he motioned to the stump microphone and apparently uttered the words, "six wickets for the match, Warnie".

With India holding a slender lead, MSK Prasad (16) and Anil Kumble (10) looked likely to play out time on the third day, until a late collapse saw the final four wickets fall for seven runs. Matthew Anderson finished off the day by removing Venkatesh Prasad and Debashish Mohanty in the space of three deliveries.