Determined Australia make India toil

India v Australia, 3rd Test, Feroz Shah Kotla, 3rd day

Determined Australia make India toil

Australia 338 for 4 (Ponting 87, Hayden 83, Katich 64, Hussey 53, Clarke 21*, Watson 4*, Sehwag 3-66) trail India 613 for 7 dec by 275 runs

Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden led a solid collective effort from Australia on the third day in Delhi, although by the close there was no guarantee they would avoid the follow-on. Virender Sehwag went from fifth bowling option to major striker with three wickets, including two key breakthroughs in the final session that left Australia needing 76 more runs to ensure India would bat again.

It was a difficult day for Australia and the stumps scorecard did not fully reflect the gripping nature of the contest. There were no mammoth individual efforts like those from Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman; the most impressive aspect of Australia's batting was simply their group fight.

Replying to 613 is a psychologically difficult task and India's bowlers did not make it any easier. Even without Anil Kumble for one and a half sessions - he went to hospital for treatment on a cut finger after getting his hands to a fierce Hayden stroke at short midwicket - the attack was constantly threatening.

Sehwag, India's prime offspinner in the absence of Harbhajan Singh, was as dangerous as any of the specialists as he spun some deliveries sharply while others sailed straight on towards the stumps. He gave India momentum at key intervals and his removal of Michael Hussey and Ponting after tea sparked something in his team-mates.

Hussey had worked incredibly hard for his 53, only to see his dead-straight bat beaten by a superb offbreak that clipped the off-stump. Ponting had already departed to a ball that pitched in the rough and turned back to rattle his stumps and the two blows came at just the right time for India.