CRICKET/ Test match:India forced a draw from the fourth Test against Australia thanks to some stirring resistance from Virender Sehwag at the Adelaide Oval.
Sehwag batted into the final session on his way to making 151 and the Indians will head home with a 2-1 series defeat but having regained some pride after losing the first two Tests.
With Ricky Ponting off the field because of a back injury, Adam Gilchrist captained the Australians for his final day of Test cricket. Gilchrist's final international appearances will come in the upcoming Commonwealth Bank one-day series.
The tourists had resumed on 45 for one, eight ahead, and securing the win which would have tied the series was always likely to be tough task.
Fittingly, Gilchrist - who set a world record for Test dismissals on Friday - took Sehwag's scalp.
The 29-year-old tried to open the face of the bat to play the ball behind point but sent a slight edge through to Gilchrist, who had to be alert for the catch.
Sehwag's departure brought Sachin Tendulkar to the crease and the Australians thought they had dismissed him in somewhat bizarre fashion when a powerful cover drive appeared to hit Phil Jaques full on the boot before ballooning to Andrew Symonds, who took a catch at mid-off.
However, after the incident was referred to the third umpire, television replays showed the ball hit the ground in front of Jaques before deflecting into the air.
Sehwag then decided to accelerate his innings and cut Stuart Clarke to the boundary to bring up his half-century before following up with a leg glance for four.
He then targeted Brad Hogg's bowling, hitting the spinner for a huge six over wide long-off before finding the boundary with a cover drive that split the field. Hogg endured some fierce punishment and conceded 42 runs in the five overs he bowled before lunch. Sehwag completed a 13th Test century from just 123 balls after taking a single off Mitchell Johnson in a knock that included 11 fours and two sixes.
However, Tendulkar departed two balls later for 13 when he attempted a quick single after playing a short-of-a-length delivery from Johnson down into the pitch.
He was sent back by Sehwag and was well short of his ground when the bowler produced a direct hit on the stumps.
Even when Sehwag departed, captain Anil Kumble seemed intent on batting on until the bitter end and there was a late cameo for Harbhajan Singh before his skipper accepted the inevitable and declared on 269 for seven, 232 in front.
Overnight: Australia 563 (R T Ponting 140, M J Clarke 118, M L Hayden 103, P A Jaques 60). India 526 (S R Tendulkar 153, A Kumble 87, Harbhajan Singh 63, V Sehwag 63, V V S Laxman 51; M G Johnson 4-126) and 45-1.
India Second Innings
V Sehwag c Gilchrist b Symonds 151
R Dravid retd hurt 11
S Tendulkar run out 13
S Ganguly c Hussey b Johnson 18
V Laxman c Gilchrist b Lee 12
M Dhoni c Hayden b Lee 20
A Kumble not out 9
Harbhajan Singh c Ponting b Hogg 7
I Sharma not out 2
Extras b9 lb9 w3 nb5 pens 0 26
Total 7 wkts dec (90 overs) 269
Fall: 1-2 2-128 3-162 4-186 5-237 6-253 7-264
Did Not Bat: R P Singh.
Bowling: Lee 27-3-74-2; Johnson 16-1-33-2; Symonds 22-4-52-1; Clark 12-3-37-0; Hogg 12-3-53-1; Clarke 1-0-2-0.
Australia drew with India
