CRICKET: Australia were kept waiting and India hoping by a day of resourceful batting in the third Test but the hosts seem destined to begin Steve Waugh's farewell match in Sydney on equal terms in the series.
Despite another five hours of yogic self-mastery from Rahul Dravid, India finished the day by being bowled out for 286 in one delivery short of 100 overs, leaving them with a lead of 94.
Sunil Gavaskar's India claimed a famous victory on this ground almost 23 years ago, routing Greg Chappell's Australia for 83 as they chased 143. This pitch, however, despite its quirks, is not so inimical to batting, as the visitors demonstrated.
The Australians dented Indian resistance after 20 minutes when the captain Sourav Ganguly repeated Waugh's third-day experience of ducking into a short ball and being forced to retire. In Ganguly's case it was his head that bore the brunt of a short delivery from Brad Williams and his savoir-faire that was briefly disturbed.
Sachin Tendulkar, having succumbed to his first delivery three days earlier, almost self-destructed for a king pair. He punched his first ball into an on-side gap, set off anxiously, retreated hastily when sent back and might have been embarrassed by a nimbler fielder than Stuart MacGill.
Tendulkar provided some justification for the view that he had been out of luck rather than out of form. He revived all his dormant strokes, driving and cutting severely. He might have enjoyed himself too much. After a 44-run effort as crisp and compact as one would hope to see, he drove loosely at a wide delivery from the in-form Williams.
VVS Laxman, as in the first innings, was a little passive and indecisive; as in the first, he guided a MacGill leg-break to slip. But a revived Ganguly returned, playing impressively straight to counteract those deliveries that kept low.
Dravid, in the meantime, went on in his unflustered manner game pared back to a few favoured strokes, seemingly involved in a different game from his comrades. In the first over, with the second new ball, he faced his 1,000th delivery of the series with the same unwavering intensity as he had faced his first.
With India leading by 61, Brett Lee moved the ball away as he had not before and Dravid wearily followed it, ending an innings of five and a half hours, most of it in enervating heat. He had not made batting look easy but he had made it appear possible, which was more than could be said for India's tail.
Agit Agarkar at least registered his first run in four Test innings at Melbourne; but a solitary run was what it remained.
The principal beneficiary was Williams, who maintained an off-stump line that was impressive in its monotony.
He is the token Victorian presence in this match, even though he represents Western Australia. He did his home town a favour as the ground authorities declared free entry for the last day.
