Australia 'A' were 113 ahead in their second innings after dismissing the Indians for 245 on the second day of the three-day tour game in Hobart, Tasmania, on Saturday.
At close of play, the hosts were 57 for the loss of three wickets. Brad Hodge (11) and Michael Clarke (22) were holding fort.
Morning session
It was a quiet start to the proceedings for India as Matthew Nicholson and Damien Wright kept Akash Chopra and Deep Dasgupta on their toes by bowling to a plan. The bowlers were keen to impress the selectors, David Boon and Allan Border, who were present at the ground.
Dasgupta was dismissed early, playing across the line to Shaun Tait. The wicket-keeper-batsman was beaten for pace and caught in front of the stumps for 21, after adding only three runs to his overnight score.
The arrival of Sachin Tendulkar almost immediately enlivened the session. The master batsman had six boundaries in his first 30 runs, which came off only 24 balls. Wright was the bowler who suffered at his hands the most, being struck for three consecutive boundaries in one over.
Chopra, at the other end, was intent on playing the anchor role in the innings. But just when one thought Tendulkar would tear the Australia 'A' bowling attack to shreds, he decided to settle down and play a long innings.
But Wright eventually got his man. A well-directed bouncer got Tendulkar's wicket. The Indian maestro hit the ball well, maybe too well, straight to Tait, who was stationed at fine-leg.
Tendulkar, who must have been hoping to discover some form ahead of the third Test at Melbourne, was dismissed for a well-made 36 off 45 balls, including seven boundaries.
Virender Sehwag was in next and his arrival is always accompanied with a sense of excitement. He always goes for his shots and risks are part and parcel of his style. This innings seems to be no different.
He was lucky to survive a dropped caught and bowled chance by Wright when on 13. He continued unperturbed to end up with 20 off 17 balls at lunch.
Post-Lunch session
Sehwag continued in his merry way, trying to hit every ball for a four and it was not even remotely surprising to see him get dismissed. He bats with scant disregard to the situation and even though 35 runs were added with Chopra, of which he scored 30, one expects better shot selection from a batsmen of his class.
Tait got Sehwag's wicket after he had been smashed square of the wicket for four. The ball was too close to cut and Sehwag only managed to edge it to wicket-keeper Seccombe. (139 for 5)
Sourav Ganguly was in next and he was soon sent back to the pavilion. He would have been very annoyed by the manner of his dismissal though. Fishing outside the off-stump he gave a simple catch to Hussey off Nicholson. (149 for 5)
Nicholson was in the midst of a brilliant spell of bowling. Giving nothing away, he has bowling figures of 16 overs, 11 maidens, 21 runs and two wickets and will fancy his chances of making it into the Test team.
Chopra, though, continued to look very solid at the other end. Unperturbed by anything that the Australia 'A' bowlers could throw at him, the opener got out in the only way it seemed possible. He was run-out by a brilliant throw from Hussey, who threw the stumps down even as he was turning from the slips. (150 for 6)
Balaji was a surprise number seven given that Murali Kartik and Irfan Pathan are both known to be good batsmen. Tait snapped him up nice and easy. A bouncer to soften him up was followed up by a late swinging yorker which caught Balaji plumb in front of the stumps. (162 for 7)
But Kartik and Patel combined well to put on a frustrating partnership for the Indians and bail them out of trouble. The two had put on 62 when tea was called.
Post-Tea session
The Patel-Kartik partnership came to an end almost immediately after tea. Kartik was run-out by a direct throw from Rofe, who was fielding at mid-off. But he committed the most basic of errors by taking a diagonal path to the other end and was caught out by a few inches.
Basic commonsense would have dictated that he try and come between the ball and stumps but Kartik did the opposite and paid the price. The left-arm spinner scored 26 and put on 66 runs with Patel. (233 for 8)
The biggest tragedy was that Parthiv was stranded on 49 as a result of the run-out. He did not get to his half-century. Playing away from his body outside the off-stump, he edged a simple chance to Love, at first slip, who made no mistake and gave Nicholson his third wicket. (233 for 9)
One would have expected the Indians to declare at this stage but Ganguly chose to bat on, giving Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra a knock in the middle.
The duo batted for almost eight overs and added 12 runs to the total before Pathan, who had looked secure at the wicket, was dismissed. Wright took a good catch in the gully region. (245 all out)
Australia 'A' took a lead of 66 into their second innings.
But the Indian bowlers, especially L Balaji, stuck to their task in real earnest and claimed all the first innings half-century makers -- Rogers, Hussey and Love - in quick succession to reduce Australia 'A' to 28 for three.
Balaji's line of attack was much closer to the stumps and that paid dividends. His run to the wicket was also much smoother that it was in the first innings and was the best Indian bowler on view today.
Michael Clarke came in and immediately attacked anything that was even remotely loose. He raced to 22 off 23 balls and was giving company to Brad Hodge (11) when play drew to a close.
It was odd, though, not to see Nehra get a bowl in the second innings. He bowled only 10 overs in the first innings and did look rusty. One wonders if he is back to full fitness?
Scoreboard
Socreboard
Australia 'A' (Ist Innings): 311 for 5 decl
India (Ist Innings):
A Chopra run out 46
S Ramesh c Wright b Nicholson 4
D Dasgupta lbw Tait 21
S Tendulkar c Rofe b Wright 36
V Sehwag c Seecombe b Tait 30
S Ganguly c Hussey b Nicholson 5
P Patel c Love b Nicholson 49
L Balaji lbw Tait 8
M Kartik run out 26
I Pathan c Wright b Nicholson 11
A Nehra not out 0
Extras: (lb-4, nb-5) 9
Total: (all out, 82.5 overs ) 245
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-51, 3-104, 4-139, 5-149, 6-150, 7-162, 8-233, 9-233.
Bowling: Matt Nicholson 21.5-13-25-4, Damien Wright 16-9-33-1, Cameron White 13-1-60-0, Shaun Tait 20-2-85-3, Paul Rofe 12-2-38-0.
Australia 'A' (2nd innings):
C Rogers c Chopra b Balaji 2
M Hussey c Tendulkar b Pathan 7
M Love b Balaji 11
B Hodge batting 11
M Clarke batting 22
Extras: (b1, lb1, nb2) 4
Total: (for 3 wkts, 18 overs) 57
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-9, 3-28.
Bowling: Pathan 8-1-18-1, Balaji 9-2-34-2, Kartik 1-0-3-0.
