Australia Too Hot For Stone Cold India

Ricky Ponting pulls Ashwin

You could script it but no one would have believe that a down and out champion could rise so far as to assume the mantel of his former glory, but after encouraging displays in Sri Lanka and South Africa, Ricky Ponting has returned home to provide a glut of runs against India. Failing only in Perth, Ponting added to his record with another unbeaten century, this time adding 251 for the 4th wicket against India in Adelaide. His day started auspiciously, with ominous signs in the 20th over as he played a glorious straight drive and and a back foot cover drive for four from Umesh Yadav, before pulling him powerfully to forward square leg. As the day wore on, he batted with respect for the Indians but no compassion. Only Ishant Sharma kept him controlled.

Ponting's century, as classy as it was, was not the main story of the day. The headlines belonged to captain Michael Clarke who adopted an aggressive response to the Indians from the time he near ran onto the Adelaide Oval at the fall of Cowan's wicket. Whilst his aggression needed some luck - you make your own they say - his attitude was as rewarded as the Adelaide crowd who were dazzled by his batting. At 38 he slapped at a wide ball from Sharma and edged through the vacant first slip. Sehwag had allocated one man for the slips and had him standing at second and then near the end, Sharma found his edge with the second new ball and Laxman dropped a diving effort to his right at second slip.

Ishant Sharma had no luck

Ishant Sharma has had that sort of a tour ... consistently bowling well, finding edges and watching his hard work get dropped in the dirt.

Clarke and Ponting were superb. Taking advantage of a badly constructed Indian attack which needed Ohja rather than Sehwag doing the second spinner's role, they were further aided by Yadav having a terribly off day. He had four spells, none of them very good, with length being the major problem. You can't bowl full tosses and long hops to high quality batsmen and hope to get away with it. There is little doubt of his potential but until he can avoid displays such as these where he goes at more than seven an over, he can't play Test cricket. Sehwag tried things for the first two sessions but had plainly had enough after tea. When Yadav went for 12 with his first over and a new ball in hand, he was immediately replaced by Ravi Ashwin. Dave Warner played two maidens from the off spinner and then looking to take Zaheer Khan off his stumps, he instead walked across and was lbw. The replay indicated it would have skimmed a bail which can only raise further doubt re the tracking technology. The naked eye would have it hitting two thirds of the way up leg. When Ashwin bowled Shaun Marsh three overs later, a ripple of surprise ran through the crowd. Marsh is so bamboozled at the moment that he let a straight ball through his defence and lost his off stump. It was a cunning delivery and not the off break Marsh expected but it should have been easily defended.

Michael Clarke hit 82 in bomdaries

Cowan looked very good in adding 53 with Ponting but he was again fooled by Ashwin, who sent down a top spinning dipper which duped Cowan into a drive but it didn't make it all the way to the proposed point of contact, causing Cowan to slightly lift his drive and have Laxman take a very good diving catch at short cover.

There after, Clarke and Ponting took the Indians apart. Clarke trailed Ponting by 37 when he came in, outscored his senior partner at all stages of the partnership and eventually went past him by the close. Clarke has scored 140 of the 251 partnership.

Its a belter of a pitch and if the Indians weren't 0-3, with the captain suspended, Laxman, Sehwag and Dravid in terrible form and Tendulkar and Kohli with the handicap of expectation on their shoulders, it would be easy to still imagine this as a high scoring draw. There is more to taking wickets than the state of the pitch. Five years ago, England made 500 large in the first innings, led by a few and then rolled over like drunk ducks in lake of lager at the merest nasty looks from Shane Warne. The Australian pace attack has the same look in their eyes.

4-0 is still looking awfully good.