Sachin, Vijay dazzles under pressure: Match heading for a draw

Thanks to a 308 run partnership between Sachin and Vijay, Aussies have completely been on the backfoot for the entire day today and with that the series. The way the Aussies were made to grind, will take a huge effort from their bowlers in restricting India from a 1st innings lead. And while backing back after the 3rd days play, this has lead to a contrasting emotions from 2 captains - Dhoni was all at smiles with Sachin while Ponting was at his grim self..


Sachin walks back after being
unbeaten on 191



Tendulkar batted through the day, along the way recording his 49th Test century  as India all but demolished Australia's first-innings advantage. Tendulkar moved to 99 with a slog-swept six off Nathan Hauritz and repeated the stroke to move into triple figures while offering the spectators at long-on a catch. Tendulkar reached his century with two sixes off Nathan Hauritz. He has reached a century with a six on five occasions.  Nobody has scored more Test hundreds than Tendulkar, who celebrated his seventh in the past year with his usual bat-raise and glance to the heavens, but without any major display of emotion.

M. Vijay on the way
to a chancy 100



On the other hand, Vijay was generally not as forceful but was no less important for India. He scored slower than his partner but showed sublime placement on both sides of the wicket and occasionally went over the top against Hauritz. He  witnessed the ease with which his senior partner raced through the nineties but found it not so simple himself, and was stuck on 99 for more than 20 minutes. The Australians tried to dry up his options with short balls and when he eventually pushed a quick single to cover, he leapt for joy and was embraced by Tendulkar.

Johnson picked up 2 wickets today, but Hilfenhaus and George were the stand-outs while Hauritz seemed to get his line back by the evening session. But the off spinner has no wickets for himself.

Tomorrow's first session is crucial for Australia. If they manage to dismiss India before Lunch, the match will become evenly poised like the one at Mohali. However, should India bat out for a good portion of the day tomorrow, the home side could well be in a commanding position. But Dhoni can be with all smiles as the match is heading for a draw.