India secure stunning win in final Test
Pakistan Times Sports Desk

BOMBAY (India): India salvaged their bruised pride by winning the fourth and final Test against world champions Australia by 13 runs in a heart-stopping finish here.

Harbhajan Singh grabbed 5-29 and Murali Kartik 3-32 as the tourists, set a modest victory target of 107, were shot out for 93 just before stumps on the dramatic third day here on Friday.

Australia, however, wrested the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by winning their first series on Indian soil since 1969. They won the first Test in Bangalore and the third in Nagpur.

The second Test at Madras was drawn after rain washed out the final day’s play with India on 19-0 needing 229 for victory. After 18 wickets had fallen on the second day on Thursday, the treacherous Wankhede stadium track claimed 20 victims on the third day of the bowler-dominated Test.

The match was played over less than 15 of the scheduled 30 hours after just 11 overs were bowled on the rain-ravaged opening day.

The Australians seemed headed for an easy win when India, trailing by 99 runs on the first innings, were bowled out for 205 after losing their last six wickets for 23 runs.

Australia’s unlikely bowling hero was 23-year-old boy wonder Michael Clarke, who picked up six wickets for seven runs with his left-arm spin when summoned in desperation by captain Ricky Ponting. Clarke, who had bowled just one Test match over since his debut in the first match of the current series, ran through the Indian lower order in the space of 29 deliveries.

Some 35,000 home fans cheered lustily as the Indian bowlers turned the match on its head by taking wickets at regular intervals.

Zaheer Khan had Justin Langer caught behind second ball and Kartik removed Ponting and Damien Martyn in the space of six deliveries to reduce the tourists to 24-3.

Harbahan ensured the pressure was kept up by having Simon Katich caught in the slips and clean bowling Matthew Hayden round his legs for 24. Kartik bowled Clarke and Harbhajan forced Adam Gilchrist to sky a catch to Sachin Tendulkar on the mid-wicket fence as Australia collapsed to 58-7.

The Australian tail wagged a bit before Harbhajan sealed India’s win by dismissing Michael Kasprowicz and Glenn McGrath in one over. Earlier, Tendulkar and Venkatsai Laxman boosted India’s second innings by striking batting form for the first time in the series.

The duo put on 91 for the third wicket after McGrath had removed both openers in his first two overs to reduce India to 14-2.

Tendulkar made 55, his first double-figure knock in four innings since returning from a tennis elbow injury that kept him out of the game for almost three months.

Laxman, who aggregated just 54 runs in the series, walked out at number three instead of captain Rahul Dravid and hammered 69. Tendulkar was dismissed just before lunch when he miscued a sweep off debutant off-spinner Nathan Hauritz and was well caught by Clarke running back from short-leg.

Laxman fell after the break, giving a return catch to Hauritz after taking consecutive boundaries off the previous two deliveries.

Clarke, bowling left-arm spin, dealt India a major blow when he had Dravid caught behind by Gilchrist to claim his first Test wicket and then picked up five more in quick succession.

Dravid, who made 27, became the third Indian after Sunil Gavaskar and Tendulkar to complete 7,000 Test runs when he reached five.●