Tendulkar misses ton as India gift lead to Australia

Share

Mohali: India suffered a dramatic batting collapse after Sachin Tendulkar missed his 49th century by a whisker to eventually fold out for 405 in their first innings at stumps on day three of the first cricket Test against Australia here today.

Tendulkar (98) fell short of his 49th Test century by just two runs as, riding on Mitchell Johnson's five for 64, Australian bowlers made a splendid comeback and dismissed the last six Indian batsmen in the final hour of the day for just 51 runs.

Having scored 428 in their first essay, Australia will go into the penultimate day of the match with a slight edge over the home team after registering a 23-run first innings lead.

Part-time off-spinner Marcus North turned out to be party pooper for Indian fans, trapping Tendulkar leg before two runs short of century.

Tendulkar's 189-ball innings consisted of 13 boundaries, bulk of which was hit through region between point and extra cover. Along with Suresh Raina (86), he added 124 runs for the fifth wicket to lay the foundation for a big score.

India were cruising along at that stage with scoreboard reading 354 for four and with Raina for company, it looked as if Tendulkar would provide a substantial lead for his team. But it was not to be as after Tendulkar's dismissal, the lower middle-order fell like a pack of cards with Johnson inflicting the maximum damage.

Text: PTI

Images: AP/AFP

Image: Mitchell Johnson pegged back India with a five wicket haul

Scorecard | Coverage: India vs Australia