da marjack bet： Centuries from Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke pushed the game towards astalemate, but the story of the fourth day was Adam Gilchrist, and mostlikely the final innings of an exceptional career
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran at the Adelaide Oval27-Jan-2008
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Adam Gilchrist didn’t set the stage afire, but was warmly applauded by an appreciative Adelaide crowd© Getty Images
Centuries from Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke pushed the game towards astalemate, but the story of the fourth day was Adam Gilchrist, and mostlikely the final innings of an exceptional career. He didn’t make much ofa dent on the scoreboard, but those that witnessed a little cameo willnever forget the glimpses of greatness. Amid the outpouring of emotion,Australia gathered a valuable 37-run lead and then picked up the wicket ofIrfan Pathan, leg before to Mitchell Johnson, before India had wiped offthe arrears.Virender Sehwag was dropped by Clarke off Brett Lee, and survived two vociferousleg-before appeals as well before ending the day with a six and four offAndrew Symonds. India’s lead was a mere eight, and they faced the samestick-or-twist conundrum that was England’s undoing in the last AdelaideTest.All of that was peripheral though in the face of a hero’s last stand.Walking out to bat after Clarke’s innings of 118 had ended with a stunningcatch from VVS Laxman at second slip, Gilchrist received a standingovation from a crowd of 19,407. He was also clapped to the middle by theIndians, but the generosity ended there. Ishant Sharma was in the middleof a superb spell, and there was a sense of relief when Gilchrist struckone sweetly past him to get off the mark.A straight smack for four that nearly decapitated Billy Bowden was athrowback to the halcyon years, and there was a deft cut or two before hedrove Pathan straight to Sehwag at cover. As disappointmentstarted to seep through the stands, Ishant ran all the way from third manto shake his hand, and the rest of the Indians gathered in a group toapplaud him off.In the midst of all the sentiment, two superb hundreds were almostforgotten. Ponting had got to his before lunch, but after experiencingback spasms, he soon had Michael Hussey come out as a runner. The runs -there had been 103 in the morning – just kept coming though, with Clarkeeager to get to his own hundred. He got there with a single to cover offSehwag, and though it hadn’t been the usual ebullient and stroke-filledknock, it was vital in virtually eliminating any possibility of anAustralian defeat.Ponting got as far as 140 before an attempt to guide Sehwag past pointresulted in an inside edge on to the stumps. The partnership was worth 210by then, and India’s hopes of a series-equalling win were evaporating inthe afternoon heat.That didn’t stop Ishant from tormenting Symonds with some sensationalswing bowling. Two edges flew down to third man, and the ball whizzed pastthe outside edge on other occasions. Had he not got the wicket of Clarke,it would truly have been rough justice. After tea, he got Symonds too,chopping one on right after Australia had taken the lead.Pathan then picked up his 100th Test wicket by having Lee caught behind,before Harbhajan Singh and Sehwag wrapped up the innings. Anil Kumble,perhaps nursing a sore shoulder, bowled just nine overs in the day, and itwas noticeable that Sehwag was the more potent of the two offspinners onview.The morning session had been all about Australia grinding the bowlingdown. On a pitch that showed no great signs of deterioration, the new ballfailed to do the trick and the spinners got little purchase either.Ponting and Clarke went about run-making in steady rather than spectacularfashion, and India’s best chance of ending the partnership came a quarterof an hour before lunch, when Clarke moved away to cut Sehwag.The edge was travelling fast, but all Rahul Dravid could do was palm theball away from him at first slip. Clarke was on 84 at the time. Pontinghad enjoyed his slice of luck early in the morning, when a miscued hookoff Ishant just eluded Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s leap on the leg side. Ishantwasn’t as accurate or threatening in the morning as he was on Saturday,and with Pathan also unable to break through, Kumble turned to Harbhajan.Heroics with the bat aside, Ponting’s tormentor has had a poor game, andthe batsmen easily picked up singles and twos with pushes and drives intothe gaps. It took Clarke all of 126 balls to bring up his half-century,and he celebrated by clipping Ishant through midwicket.After all the criticism of the past few weeks and sly jibes about beingHarbhajan’s bunny, it was perhaps fitting that Ponting should get to a34th century off his bowling. After taking 114 balls for the first 50, thesecond had spanned just 69 deliveries.Kumble brought himself on soon after, but India’s fortunes didn’t changeon a baking hot morning. While Clarke slog-swept both spinners for four,Ponting did damage with the pull, effortlessly piercing the field whenKumble dragged it short.After the euphoria of the first two days, it was India’s turn to feel thepain and appear lost for answers. A soft ball didn’t help, but neither didtwo premier Australian batsmen determined not to cede an inch. The thirdcouldn’t make the same impact, but it was his 21-minute stint that manyfolk might talk about years from now when the I-was-there stories aredusted off.