India now be Champion,-not Challenger

Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra combined for seven wickets as India handed Australia just its second series defeat in three years, completing a 172-run victory Monday to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar cricket trophy 2-0.

The top-ranked Australians were dismissed for 209 in 50.2 overs just before tea on the last day, chasing an unlikely 382 to win the fourth and final Test and force a 1-1 series draw.

Spinners Harbhajan (4-64) and Mishra (3-27) built on the fine early work of paceman Ishant Sharma, who took 2-31, and only when opener Matthew Hayden plundered 77 did the Indians look in any danger of giving up their advantage.

India, which last held the Border-Gavaskar trophy in 2004, took the lead in the series with an emphatic, 320-run victory in the second Test in Mohali last month.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's captain-elect following the retirement of Anil Kumble after the third Test, said the series win over Australia was a fitting farewell to international cricket for Kumble and Sourav Ganguly, another former captain.

"It's very important. It's one of the series everybody was looking up to. It's more than the India-Pakistan rivalry right now," he said. "It was important to catch the moment."

Ganguly, who bowed out with 85 and 0, said it was time to step down and he was happy to exit on a high.

"We played outstandingly to win 2-0 against the best team in the world, it is very, very satisfying," he said.

Australia's only other recent Test series defeat occurred in England in 2005 when Ricky Posting's lineup handed over the Ashes for the first time in almost two decades.

"It's been a fair result, to tell you the truth," Ponting said. "From the start of the second Test in Mohali, we've been chasing our tails and India deserve the 2-0 result.

"It would have been an unbelievable run-chase if we could have got there today - with wearing wickets and good spinners, and fast bowlers doing their job, after lunch we were out of the game. We weren't good enough here or in Mohali."

The Australians, who resumed Monday at 13-0, needed the fourth-highest successful chase in Test history to pull off a series-tying win and began wanting 369 runs in 90 overs.

They scored 98 in the first session but lost three wickets by lunch - including two in the first six overs - and another seven went after the break.

When Hayden and Michael Hussey were sharing a bright 68-run stand for the fourth wicket Australia had a slim chance of staying in touch, but they were removed in consecutive overs to leave the tourists struggling at 154-5.

Hussey received a sharp delivery from Mishra's first over and the ball lobbed to Rahul Dravid at first slip.

Hayden's cavalier innings came to an end when he was lbw to a quicker ball from Harbhajan in the next over.

The opener had stroked eight fours and a big six over long-on during his 93-ball innings, but needed more help from his partners to push Australia closer to the formidable total.

Things improved for India when wicketkeeper Brad Haddin (4) chipped to Sachin Tendulkar at mid-on, giving Mishra his second wicket and Tendulkar his 100th test catch.

Australia then lost 7-59 and the match ended when Harbhajan got an lbw decision against No. 11 Mitchell Johnson.

"We've been totally outplayed," Ponting said. "With the exception of the first test in Bangalore, in every other game we've got back to level and never got in front.

"Coming here on the third morning I was really upbeat at where the game was going, then India adapted a certain style of play and made it difficult to score and chipped in with a few wickets."

Sharma, who was man of the series for his 15 wickets, was the best of the bowlers in the morning session, but it was Mishra and Harbhajan who created the most trouble.

Sharma struck in the fifth over when opener Simon Katich (16) skied an attempted pull shot and wicketkeeper Dhoni took a running catch in front of his slips.

Australia's situation worsened in the next over when Ponting (8) was run out by Mishra's direct hit and Clarke followed for 22 before lunch.

Australia will play New Zealand in a two-Test series starting next week and India will host England in seven limited-overs internationals and two Tests.

India trounce Invincible Oz to nail series.

The men in blue signed off a remarkable series by defeating reigning champions Australia by 172 runs in Nagpur on Monday to clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008.
Team India will remember this series for more reasons than just winning it, as the tournament saw two of its veteran greats retire. Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly leave a trail of besotted fans behind them as they bid goodbye to the world of Test cricket.
Excellent bowling came to the rescue of Sourav Ganguly, who was captaining the final Test and ensured that his last series was sealed with a win.
Set the daunting task of scoring an imposing 382 to win, Australia were tottering at 111 for three wickets at lunch on the fifth and final day.
The batsmen out in the visitors' second innings, after they had commenced at the overnight 13 for no loss, were first innings centurion Simon Katich (16), captain Ricky Ponting (8) and his deputy Michael Clarke (22), promoted up the order in quest for quick runs despite being unwell.
Ishant Sharma, India's most successful bowler of the four-Test rubber, was easily the pick of the attack on Monday morning and accounted for Katich and Clarke, while Ponting was run out through a brilliant piece of fielding and throwing by Amit Mishra.
The home team should have ended the session with more Australian wickets in their clutch but for a few dropped catches and a few edges that eluded the slip cordon.
Australia needed to make 271 more runs on a wearing track where the ball was spinning sharply with two left-handers - opener Matthew Hayden (46 off 67 balls with four fours) and Michael Hussey (14 off 20 balls) - at the crease.
India would have been placed in an even more happy position had they taken their catches.
Rahul Dravid, normally a superb fielder at slip, floored Ponting on zero off Zaheer and MS Dhoni let off Hayden when he tried to cut Harbhajan Singh when on 30.
The miss off Ponting did not prove costly as the visiting team skipper was run out soon afterwards, but Hayden who was dropped by Dravid later when he reverse-swept the Indian off-spinner five runs later remained unbeaten at lunch.
Katich, who made 102 in the first innings, once pulled Sharma from wide of the off stump for a boundary and fell while trying to repeat the same shot by top-edging the attempt. The ball ballooned high for Dhoni to take the swirling ball with some difficulty.
Ponting was lucky to edge Zaheer on arrival and survive with Dravid dropping the regulation catch, but tried to take on Mishra fielding at mid-off by attempting a cheeky single only to see the fielder attack the ball and run him out with a direct throw at the non-striker's end.
Australia, 29 for no loss, slid to 37 for two in nine balls.
Clarke, up the order but batting with Katich as his runner, should have been sent back by Sharma who rapped him on the pads with a late in-swerving ball, but umpire Billy Bowden did not uphold the strong appeal for leg before.
In between, Hayden was dropped by Dhoni and it looked as if things were going the Australian way when Sharma got his revenge by dismissing Clarke.
The gangling Delhi bowler, who bowled with a lot of pace in the first innings too in his long spells, got the visiting team's vice captain with a superb, out-swinger which was feathered by the batsman to 'keeper Dhoni.
Clarke and Hayden added 45 runs off only 54 balls before the dismissal.
Hayden then reverse-swept Harbhajan twice, the first one being a clean

India-Australia Nagpur Test Match 2.0

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India eked out a vital 86-run first innings lead to gain a slight upper hand in the fourth and final cricket Test against an unsually subdued Australia who scored at an agonisingly slow pace in Nagpur on Saturday.

Responding to India's first innings total of 441, the Australians squandered the advantange of a solid start to lose wickets at periodic intervals after the lunch break and fold up for 355 just a few minutes before stumps on an absorbing third day.

Opener Simon Katich (102) scored his third century since returning to the national team and his fifth overall to lay the foundation for his team alongwith Michael Hussey (90) but their dismissals in quick succession opened up the floodgates.

The visitors, who were placed at a comfortable 255 for three at one stage, slipped to a precarious 266 for six before recovering to some extent mainly due to the efforts of Brad Haddin (28) and Cameron White (46).

India were yet to open their account in the second innings with Virender Sehwag safely negotiating Mitchell Johnson's only over before close of play.

The Aussies were inexplicably defensive in their approach and allowed the hosts to create pressure by drying up the run flow on a track which has shown gradual signs of deterioration.

The tourists could add just 166 runs to their overnight tally, an uncharacteristically slow run rate of less than 2.5 runs from the champion team which is desperate to win the Test and level the series 1-1.

With two days left, the Indians will now look to score quickly in the second innings and have another crack at the Aussies on a last day pitch which was expected to turn a lot more.

Resuming at 189 for two, Australia made slow and steady progress against the pace duo of Zaheer and Ishant Sharma before losing Katich for 102 with half an hour left for lunch.

Katich faced 189 balls and struck nine boundaries. The left-hander added 155 runs with fellow-Western Australian Michael Hussey for the third wicket.

Zaheer, who bowled a long spell of nine overs for 15 runs from the end opposite to the pavilion, switched ends and struck in the second over by trapping Katich leg before with a ball that swung in late and hit the batsman's boot.

India should have sent back Katich soon after play began but Dravid at first slip grassed the thick edge despite getting both hands to the ball flying to his left. The batsman was on 94 and became the fourth Australian player to make a century on this tour.

The first hour of play produced just 25 runs in 13 overs with both Katich and Hussey waiting for the bad ball to score runs.

It was Katich's fourth century outside his home country and first since hitting two in the West Indies in May-June that had revived his stuttering career.

Katich, thus, made amends for getting out on 99 at this Orange city, but in the old VCA ground, four years ago.

It was also his second ton against India after his 125 at Sydney in 2004, his maiden hundred.