Ganguly, Mishra put India on top
18 October, 2008

Sourav Ganguly A Sourav Ganguly ton and a brace of wickets for Test debutant Amit Mishra put India in control on day two of the second Test against Australia in Mohali.

Ganguly hit a magnificent 102 - and put on 109 runs for the seventh wicket with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (92) - as India was bowled out for 469 just before tea.

Zaheer Khan then gave India a flying start with the ball, bowling Matthew Hayden for a duck via an inside edge. Ishant Sharma dismissed Ricky Ponting for just five while leg-spinner Mishra snared Simon Katich for 33.

Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey propped up the innings with a 40-run fourth-wicket stand, but Mishra struck again to dismiss Clarke for 23 with the final ball of the day.

Australia closed on 4-102, still trailing by 367 runs heading into day three. Hussey was unbeaten on a 97-ball 37 at stumps.

The tourists' reply began in abysmal fashion as Zaheer snapped up the wicket of Hayden with only the third delivery of the innings, while Ishant had Australia skipper Ponting trapped in front in the eighth over to leave Australia reeling.

Hussey and Katich lived dangerously as they worked to prop up Australia's sagging innings. Zaheer had gone past the edge of Hussey and the batsman enjoyed another slice of luck when an edge off Ishant dropped safely between Rahul Dravid and Dhoni.

The India spinners were then pressed into service and Mishra responded with the wicket of Katich, who reached forward to prod at a delivery but only managed to edge the ball onto his leg stump.

Harbhajan Singh was then left frustrated when an edge from Hussey was put down by Dhoni with the batsman on just 21.

Clarke and Hussey lifted the Australia innings with their 40-run partnership but that ended when Mishra trapped the former in front with a straight delivery.

Earlier, Ganguly, in the company of night watchman Ishant Sharma, had consolidated India's position at the start with a cautious approach.

With the hosts resuming on 5-311, the left-hander - on an overnight score of 54 - contributed a meagre 15 runs to India's total in the first hour of play, blunting rather than bludgeoning Australia's attack.

Ishant (nine) had looked in better touch, driving paceman Peter Siddle through covers for a boundary as he looked to take the shine off the second new ball.

Siddle was to have the last laugh though, getting Ishant to fend off a short delivery straight into the hands of Katich placed expressly for the stroke at leg gully.

Dhoni's abilities in the longer version of the game have been in some doubt, but the wicketkeeper-batsman silenced his critics with a belligerent display.

He pulled Brett Lee for a boundary off the very first delivery he faced to get off the mark, and soon after deposited a delivery from Siddle over the fine leg boundary for the first six of the innings.

Boundaries flowed as he stroked the bowlers around the park, in the process helping Ganguly extricate himself from a shell which the former captain had slid into.


Ganguly's timing and precision, which had deserted the left-hander in the morning, returned as he brought up his 16th Test century by tucking leg spinner Cameron White for a boundary to square leg.

Ganguly departed soon after though, charging out a little prematurely to hoist White over the ropes, but only holing out to Lee at mid-off as the bowler fired his delivery short and wide.

Dhoni then took centre stage, hammering a total of eight boundaries and four sixes - two off Siddle and White apiece - as he charged into the 90s.

The urgency was more pronounced as he lost Harbhajan (one) and Zaheer (two) in quick succession.

Dhoni, however, fell to a doubtful lbw decision from Rudi Koertzen eight runs short of a second Test hundred.

Replays indicated Dhoni had inside-edged onto pads even while being struck well outside the line of off stump.

But the dismissal stood as Siddle and White finished with three wickets apiece.