Aussies on top after Clarke's memorable 151 on debut
Two sensational hundreds, two sensational balls, and a thoroughly ruthless and professional performance helped Australia assume control on the second day of the first Test at Bangalore
The Bulletin by Wisden Cricinfo staff
25-Jun-2005
India 6 for 150 (Ganguly 45) trail Australia 474 (Clarke 151, Gilchrist 104, Harbhajan 5 for 146) by 324 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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Two sensational hundreds, two sensational balls, and a thoroughly ruthless and professional performance helped Australia assume control on the second day of the first Test at Bangalore. With their miracle workers gone, India found themselves staring at defeat, 324 runs behind with only four wickets left.
It was a perfect day for Australia. Adam Gilchrist and
Michael Clarke dominated the first three hours with
sparkling footwork and spanking drives, and then their
bowlers coaxed life out of what had seemed a
featherbed pitch till then. Glenn McGrath showed what
Australia had missed during their home series last
year by winkling out two wickets in his first two
overs and Michael Kasprowicz, who won Australia a
Test at this ground in 1998, showed how to bowl on a
slow pitch by striking two vital blows after India had
steadied themselves through an enterprising
partnership between Virender Sehwag and Sourav
Ganguly. Shane Warne then capped a great day for Australia by claiming VVS Laxman with a ball he will
cherish: it drifted in, pitched on a perfect spot on
leg, and beat Laxman's prodding bat with sharp turn to
hit off.
The hope for India lay in an early breakthrough - but it
didn't come until the last ball before lunch. In those
two hours, Gilchrist left the Indian spinners clueless
as he struck a fine balance between caution and
attack. He scored quickly, but differently to his usual approach, choosing
to go down the ground instead of behind square as
has been his custom. He carted both
Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh straight for sixes in
their first overs, and then opened up the field and pushed
around for easy runs. All through the morning, the
Indians posted two men on the fence for the
sweep, but unlike Matthew Hayden yesterday, Gilchrist didn't
fall for the trap.
His first sweep didn't come until he had 87, a controlled four to
long leg, and his century came up a couple of overs
later, with two successive cover-driven fours that
beat long-off. It wasn't his usual swashbuckling
style, but the hundred still came off 103 balls and the
Indians just didn't know where to bowl to him. He fell
on the stroke of lunch, to a brilliant return catch,
as Harbhajan dived full-length to his right to latch
on to one that skimmed inches above the ground (5 for 423).
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Gilchrist also played a crucial part in guiding Clarke
to his hundred. With three figures in sight, Clarke was
a bundle of nerves early in the day. His first two fours
came through edges, before he survived a huge
leg-before shout against Kumble. With a seven-two
field against bowling that was directed outside off, Clarke swished and missed, changed his gloves,
and made frequent forays to square leg between balls.
But as soon as he traded his helmet for a baggy green
cap, Clarke got to the landmark with a clipped two to
midwicket, becoming the first Australian since Greg
Blewett in 1994-95 to score a century on Test debut. The
next 50 runs were made in unfettered style, and he
sprayed the bowling to all parts as India's slow
bowlers, especially Kumble, were found wanting.
Just after lunch, Kumble was thumped for two fours and
a six over midwicket, as Clarke moved his feet with
ballet-like precision.
He fell immediately after reaching his 150 as an
attempted cover-drive off Zaheer Khan took the edge and
went straight through to Parthiv Patel (8 for 471). Harbhajan mopped up the tail in next to no
time to finish with an expensive five-for - but by then, India were already requiring a mighty turnaround.
McGrath struck with the fourth ball of the Indian
innings as Aakash Chopra shouldered arms to one that
darted back in. Replays showed that the ball might have
gone just over the stumps (1 for 0). But the body blow
came in McGrath's second over as a peach of delivery,
pitched outside off and cutting in, sneaked through
Rahul Dravid's defence to crash into the stumps (2 for 4). McGrath had struck twice in six balls, and Dravid
left to a stunned silence at his home ground.
Ganguly scythed through that tension with two gorgeous
cover-drives that had everyone gasping. He didn't hold back
when the ball was dug in short, and rolled his wrists
while executing the pull. At the other end, Sehwag let
rip as the cover fielders chased some lashed drives.
After bowling one over before tea, Warne returned in the 20th over of the innings. Sehwag immediately made room for himself and the ball teased
the fielder at short extra cover before escaping the
grasp of the one at mid-off.
But the introduction of Kasprowicz provided Australia with the double break. Ganguly
was cut in half in Kasprowicz's first over, as he
intelligently varied the pace of delivery as well as
the extent of seam movement. Sehwag chipped a straight
one uppishly to midwicket, where Justin Langer leapt up and latched on (3 for 87). And then Ganguly was done in by a
brute of a cutter, and only managed to edge it to
Gilchrist (4 for 98).
Until he received that Warne Special Delivery, Laxman looked in
regal touch, with a couple of sublime flicks of McGrath and
Kasprowicz. It took a ripping, accurate legbreak to
get him out and India finished the day seeking a
miracle of Kolkata '01 proportions.