Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008/09, 4th Test

India Taken A Lead Of 86 Runs In 1st Innings, 3rd Day Nagpur Test

Nagpur:With his captaincy, MS Dhoni transformed the green Jamtha outfield into a desert for the Aussies by employing an 8-1 field placing for most part of the first half of the day. After dryying out the runs in the first session Dhoni went for the attack with a potent combination of pace and spin as the Australian were bowled out for 355, giving India a vital 86-run lead in the final Test in Nagpur.

The Indians have comeback strongly on the third Day of the Test match, as they have scalped important wickets after lunch. Earlier, katich and Hussey laid the foundation for the Aussies.

Highlights of the Day

Simon Katich duly completed his century, but Mike Hussey missed his by just 10 runs, run-out 90, as Australia were all out for 355 in their first innings, thereby conceding a lead of 86 runs. India were 0-0 when stumps day three.

After out of 90 on Saturnday, Michael Hussey became the first batsman to record a century and three fifties in the ongoing series. This was the second time he was dismissed in his 90s after his 91 against England in 2006-07.

11 wickets claimed by Zaheer Khan in the series so far - his best performance in a home series.

Australia run-rate in the first innings equals their lowest scoring rate against all opponents in a completed innings since January 2000. In 134.4 overs, they score 355 runs by RR 2.63. In the first innings of Mohali Test, they had scored 268 off 101.4 overs at the same run-rate.

Fifth century scored by Simon Katich in his 30-Test career, 2nd against India.

The wickets of the two Michaels, Clarke and Hussey, and Shane Watson in the space of 37 deliveries undid plenty of hard work and turned the match India's way during a gripping afternoon session. Harbhajan took three wickets, while Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra get two wickets each and Simon Katich 102 wicket to go Zaheer Khan.

The first session plan was simple: Bowl well outside off, dry up the runs and make Australia force the pace. Right at the end of that period, Zaheer slipped a reverse swinging yorker to take out Katich. Then the frontal attack began. Hussey fell for 90 and White resisted valiantly but all the bowlers chipped in to earn India an 86-run lead

Session By Session
1st Session - Runs 42, Wkts 1, Overs 24
2nd Session - Runs 49, Wkts 3, Overs 29
3rd Session - Runs 74, Wkts 4, Overs 33.4
Brief Score: India 0 for no loss & 441 (Tendulkar 109, Ganguly 85, Sehwag 66, Laxman 64, Dhoni 56, Krejza 8-215) lead Australia 355 (Katich 102, Hussey 90, H Singh 3/94) by 86 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball-details