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05-Jan-2012 07:36:00 GMT
Australia v India, 2nd Test, Sydney, 3rd day

India Face Tough Task After Clarke Triple

Sydney: Clarke's 329* helped Australia take a 468-run lead. Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar took the Indian second innings to 2-114 at stumps on the third day of the second Test against Australia at the SCG. India trail by 354 runs with 8 wickets in hand.

Ben Hilfenhaus clean bowled Rahul Dravid 'through the gate' as India lost their second wicket.

This is the fourth time in four innings that Dravid has been clean bowled. Once of a no-ball off Peter Siddle in the first innings at the MCG, then by Hilfenhaus in the same innings, again in the second by James Pattinson and now in this innings.

Dravid came forward to drive to a full delivery outside off, but exposed a huge gap between bat and pad while playing for the outswinger, but the ball came back in and went through the gap to crash into the stumps.

Dravid hit 6 fours in his 29-run knock and added 82 runs with Gautam Gambhir for the second wicket.

Batting positively, Gambhir hit his 19th half-century off 54 deliveries.

India lost their first wicket in the second innings when David Warner took a superb diving catch at point to dismiss Virender Sehwag (4) off Ben Hilfenhaus.

The breakthrough came after captain Michael Clarke hit an unbeaten 329 and alongwith Michael Hussey (150*) put up a 334-run stand for the fifth wicket before declaring the Australian first innings at 4-659.

Clarke declared after scoring an unbeaten 329 with Australia 468 runs ahead. He was just five away from going past Mark Taylor and Don Bradman's highest Test scores of 334.

Clarke reached the magical figure of 300 soon after lunch. Clarke's record triple-century came in 432 balls with the help of 37 boundaries and a lone six.

The duo also took Australia's lead past 400 runs after the lunch break.

After resuming at 4-482, Australia added 101 runs in the first session to reach 4-583 at lunch, with Clarke on 293 and Hussey on 111 in an unbeaten 258-run partnership.

In the process, Michael Clarke also broke the record for the highest individual Test score at the Sydney Cricket Ground and the best score by an Australian captain in Australia, beating Sir Don Bradman's 270.

Hussey, who struck his 16th Test hundred off 188 balls with the help of 11 boundaries and one six, led Australian first innings with Clarke.

Earlier on Day 2, skipper Clarke stood tall as he struck his maiden unbeaten double ton while Ricky Ponting marked his return to form with a sparkling 134 as Australia stretched their lead to a mammoth 291 to bat a hapless India out of the game in the second Test on Wednesday.

Clarke, who batted the whole day for an unbeaten 251, and Ponting, who hit his first century in two years, toyed with the ineffective Indian bowling attack as Australia piled up 482 for four in reply to India's first innings 191 all out.

It will now be a herculean task for the Indian batting line-up, which has come a cropper in three successive innings in the series, to escape from defeat with three days still left on a SCG pitch which does not have much for the bowlers.

India searched for a wicket all day, from the old ball to the new ball but they could not stop the home batsmen from plundering runs at will. They could grab just one wicket -- that of Ponting -- at the expense of 366 runs, the break-up being 120, 123 and 133 runs from three sessions of play.

While Ponting ended his century drought of two years, 17 Tests and 33 innings -- this being his 40th hundred in his 160th Test, Clarke notched up his 18th in his 78th Test. This was Clarke's second century of the Australian summer this year.

Brief scores
India
191 and 2 for 114 (Gambhir 68*)
Australia 4 for 659 dec (Clarke 329*, Hussey 150*, Ponting 134, Zaheer 3-122)
Status India trail by 354 runs


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