Related Links : India’s Tour of Australia 2007/08 : Scorecard
Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson continued to be the biggest players of the Sydney Test even on the final day’s play which allowed Australia to pick up a 16th consecutive test win! Battling out for a draw, India were in control through a good partnership of Dravid and Ganguly until both were controversially sent back to the pavilion. With those massive turning points, Australia clinched onto an infamous win which came nervously with just a few minutes left in the match Michael Clarke was the man with the golden arm today. Clarke got only a run with the bat but he was the man who won the match towards the end taking three wickets in the space of 11 deliveries! Andrew Symonds was another player who had that luck with his arm as he took three massive wickets which were instrumental for breaking India’s fort.
When play resumed on the final day, Australia were still in search of some runs to feel secured enough of not losing the match. They looked to have overdone that as they set a target of 333 which was well out of reach for the Indians. Australia declared their second innings after getting to 401 for 7 leaving India just a little over two sessions to survive for a draw. Michael Hussey, the overnight batsman helped himself to an unbeaten 145 (from 259 balls with 16 fours). Symonds, who was another overnight batsman got 61 (from 100 balls with 7 fours) in a partnership of 128 with Hussey that batted India out of the game. Symonds was officially dismissed in this test match for the first time when he was given caught behind playing a rash shot off RP Singh. Gilchrist and Hogg went cheaply as Australia were looking to wrap up their innings. Kumble finished with a hard working 4 for 148.
In just the couple of overs that were possible before the lunch break, Wasim Jaffer returned back to the pavilion for his fourth single digit score in this series. He was caught in the slips after pushing Lee without any footwork. After lunch, Stuart Clark got two brilliant off cutters to get rid of the first innings centurions – Laxman and Tendulkar. First Laxman (20 from 34 with 3 fours) was lbw as he missed a delivery that kept slightly low and then Tendulkar (12 from 16 balls) half heartedly tried to leave a rising delivery which forced its way back onto the stumps. India now had to rely on an out of form Rahul Dravid and a not so technically strong Ganguly to get them out of the woods.
Ganguly started to play a beautiful innings with his wonderful strokeplay through the offside. Dravid at the other end survived a few close calls but showed lot of determination to grind the bowling. Just when things were looking to have settled down, Steve Bucknor lifted his finger up to rule Rahul Dravid caught behind off Andrew Symonds. Dravid left the field in anger as it was the ball only took the pad and the bat was no way close! Dravid made 38 (from 103 balls with 6 fours). Three balls after his dismissal, Symonds struck again and this time it was the wicket of the lover boy Yuvraj Singh, who failed to score again in front of his girl friend Deepika Padukone. Symo found a genuine outside edge this time round sending Yuvraj for a 3-ball duck.
India were staring at defeat with Ganguly and an uncertain Dhoni in the middle. But both kept their wickets intact to raise the hopes of a draw. There was a lucky moment for India when Ganguly was put down by Clarke off Symonds when he was trying a cut shot. Ganguly went past a fifty but that was all he could get as he was controversially given caught in the slips by Umpire Mark Benson. The bowling change did the trick for Ponting as Lee came back into the attack to produce an edge that was taken by Clarke in the slips but it was no way convincing that he had taken it cleanly. Ganguly (51 from 56 with 9 fours) stood his ground in doubt but Umpire Mark Benson on the word of Ricky Ponting raised his finger up. A number of replays supported Ganguly’s cause with Clarke grounding the ball in his catch but that didn’t matter as the damage was already done. Hopes were lost at this stage but Dhoni and Kumble came good together to keep the Aussies waiting. Their partnership started to last more than 20 overs and it was again Symonds to break the partnership. He did that when Dhoni did the mistake of padding up to a fast off break from Symonds outside his offstump. Dhoni lasted 82 deliveries making 35 with 6 fours.
First innings half centurion, Harbhajan joined his Captain to keep the fight going. The pair of Kumble and Harbhajan looked comfortable and almost saw the game through on their own. Ponting’s last throw of the dice in bringing Michael Clarke did the trick as he got turn and bounce to force Harbhajan to edge one into the slips. Clarke then got RP Singh out lbw in the next ball itself as the former offered no shot to an arm ball. In the penultimate ball of that same over, Clarke got the final man, Ishant Sharma to be caught at slip to help Australia go 2-0 with a 122-run win. The Indian Captain, Anil Kumble was stranded with a gritty 35 (from 82 balls with 6 fours). The Man of the Match was given to Andrew Symonds for his all round contribution. The third test match is at Perth from the 16th.