Cricket at its best is unpredictable.
If at the start of the fourth Test you had said Australia would falter while chasing 107 in the fourth innings, you would have been the subject of much mirth.
But that's exactly what happened on day 3 of the Test.
Over three sessions of unbelievable Test cricket, first part-time spinner Michael Clarke took six wickets for 9 runs to help Australia dismiss India for 205 in their second innings despite defiant knocks by Sachin Tendulkar, 55, and VVS Laxman, 69.
Then, with a paltry score to defend, the Indian spinners told themselves that if a part-timer could run through a famed batting line-up, why can't we?
And they went out and bowled their hearts out to pull off an amazing 13-run victory that looked highly improbable at the start of the day.
Harbhajan Singh wrecked the Aussies, claiming five wickets, and Murali Karthik grabbed three to script a consolation victory for India and reduce the defeat margin in the four-Test series to 1-2.
Karthik, who finished with a seven-wicket match haul, was adjudged the man of the match.
Damien Martyn, who scored 444 runs in the four Tests, was man of the series.
Morning session (114 runs, 3 wickets, 33 overs)
The early morning start at Mumbai invariably means that there will be dew to assist the seamers. But the way Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie have been bowling one gets the feeling they will get wickets no matter what the conditions.
As has become the norm in the series, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag were out early, McGrath doing the damage.
It took only three balls for the Aussies to strike. Gambhir's dismal start to his Test career continued. A good length delivery from McGrath pitched on middle and leg and continued with the angle across the left-hander.
Gambhir (1) came on the front foot and tried to defend, got an edge that flew to Michael Clarke, who took a good catch at second slip. India had lost a wicket without any addition to their overnight score of 5 runs for 1 wicket.
Laxman walked in at number three, and immediately Kolkata 2001 came to mind. It proved to be an inspired decision for him to bat at that position then. Would history repeat itself?
But before Laxman could get into the act, McGrath snapped up Sehwag (5) too. The right-hander is known to go after the bowling, but for once he shouldered arms and the ball cut in sharply off the pitch to trap him leg-before the wicket. (14 for 2)
India's performance in the first innings was starting to mirror.
After Sehwag's dismissal, only one run came from five overs. McGrath was yet to conceded a run -- he bowled five overs and claimed two wickets. After 10 overs, India were 15 for 2. It was a period of uneasy calm. The crowd was waiting for something to happen; something had to give.
And it did.
Gillespie's next over yielded 14 runs -- three boundaries and a two for Tendulkar. Watching Tendulkar bat seemed to give Laxman heart as well.
In the next over, an edge from Laxman went over the slips for a four -- the first runs off McGrath. He followed it up with a classic cover drive for four and another edge through the slip cordon for as many runs. That was enough for McGrath to start mouthing off but Laxman wasn't laughing.
By the end of the 14th over, India had reached 53 for 2. 38 runs had come in four overs. The hosts were now cruising. The 50-run partnership came off 81 balls. The highest partnership so far in the match before this was 44 between Matthew Hayden and Damien Martyn for the third wicket when the Australians batted.
The wicket was more helpful to the spinners, and Nathan Hauritz had bowled well in the first innings. With the pacemen tiring, Ponting finally turned to the young off-spinner. Both the Indian batsmen were playing aggressively and this promised to be an interesting battle.
Hauritz's first over yielded five runs and Laxman faced all of it. His next over saw Tendulkar on strike, the first time the off-spinner was bowling to the master.
And how did Tendulkar greet him?
The first ball was short; Tendulkar savagely pulled it, but hit Katich at short-leg. Next ball, he danced down the track and smashed the ball through the covers. The third ball was clobbered for a six over mid-wicket -- huge, huge hit. After the shot, he acknowledged Laxman's applause with a nod, as if to say, I am back. Another four in the same area off the next ball and the crowd was jumping with joy.
A two in the next over and Tendulkar had reached his first fifty of the series -- 64 balls, 6 fours and 1 six. It was Tendulkar of old; the Tendulkar we all craved for.
It was his seventh fifty against the Aussies and sixth in Mumbai.
India had changed their approach immensely; no longer were they content defending. It finally dawned on the team that the only way to bat on this pitch was to attack. Attack, indeed, was the best defence. It was also interesting to see that, perhaps for the first time in the series, Gillespie and McGrath bowled without a slip in place because of the changed approach.
Tendulkar and Laxman had played perfectly on this wicket. And just when one was hoping they could go on and on, Tendulkar made a huge error in judgment in Hauritz's eighth over.
He made up his mind to sweep well before the ball was bowled and ended up with a top-edge that looped high towards backward square leg. Clarke, at short fine leg, responded instantly and held on to a fine catch. (105 for 3)
Tendulkar scored 55 off 83 balls and the partnership for the third wicket was worth 91 runs. The master batsman would have been very cross with himself; the ball was short and he was nowhere near the pitch of it.
Rahul Dravid joined Laxman at the wicket with just over three overs to go before lunch.
The duo quietly played out the remaining overs. In between, Laxman reached his 20th fifty in Test cricket and his sixth against the Aussies. Laxman was extremely positive in the morning session and let's hope Dravid is the same.
At lunch, India were 114 for 3, after 33 overs bowled in the morning session.
Post-lunch session
The second ball from Hauritz after lunch was launched into orbit by Dravid for four over mid-wicket. With that, the right-hander also reached 7000 runs in Test cricket. Another four two balls later and the Aussies immediately realized that even though Tendulkar was gone, there was going to be no let up fro the Indians.
Laxman and Dravid took quick singles, twos, rotated the strike, hit the boundaries and things seemed to be going exactly to plan. The lead was steadily building up and the Aussies were in for a battle now.
But just when it looked like Laxman was back at his best, a typical moment of Aussie brilliance dismissed him.
Laxman had hit the off-spinner for two consecutive fours, one pull through leg side and the next through the covers. He tried to punish Hauritz again but it did not go according to plan. The ball was hit hard but straight back to Hauritz, who dived to his left to take a brilliant catch. Laxman was gone for 69 and India were reduced to 153 for 4. The partnership for the fourth wicket was worth 48.
It wasn't a bad shot and, unlike Tendulkar who gifted his wicket away, Laxman's played the right shot but Hauritz came up with something outstanding.
Kaif joined Dravid at the wicket and even though the runs kept coming, one could feel the change in momentum. The boundaries suddenly dried up, and once that happens the noose tends to tighten.
With Hauritz starting to tire for the first time in the series, Ponting thrust Clarke into the attack in the 56th over. It was an inspired choice.
The left-arm orthodox bowler opted to bowl flat and fast. On a wicket like this it proved to be the correct tactic.
First to go was Dravid (27). The ball pitched outside the off stump and turned further away from the bat. The Indian skipper pushed forward to defend but while the ball missed the bat, it clipped the glove on its way to Gilchrist. It was Clarke's first wicket in Test cricket, and what a wicket it was! (182 for 5)
More mayhem was to follow, all thanks to some brilliant fielding by the Aussies. While the Indians had dropped Justin Langer, Damien Martyn and Clarke when they fielded, the Aussies granted them no such favours.
In Clarke's next over, new batsman Dinesh Karthik (4) tried to turn the ball away to the leg-side. But as the face of the bat turned, the ball spun and took the outside edge and sped towards Ponting, who had moved to silly point.
It was straight off the bat and quick, but Ponting kept his eyes on the ball. Even as it passed him, he dived and plucked the catch out of thin air. The Aussie skipper had only 0.48 seconds to react and he did so successfully. The catch was a classic. (188 for 6)
Clarke was on fire and two overs later accounted for India's last remaining specialist batsman, Kaif. The right-hander offered no stroke, the ball hit him in line with the off-stump and looked likely to miss, but Koertzen had no doubt. (195 for 7)
Kaif had scored 25 and with him one felt that the last vestiges of a fightback were gone as well.
Tea was called immediately with India on 195 for 7. Anil Kumble was not out on 5 and Clarke's dream tour continued. His bowling figures at this point were 4.3-0-7-3.
Post-tea session
Clarke has acquired the Midas touch on this tour. First with the bat and now with the ball, the 23-year-old has been a major contributor in the visitors' success. Only ten runs were added after the break before Australia cleaned out the tail in quick time.
Two balls into the session, Harbhajan Singh edged one from Clarke to Hayden at first slip and was gone for a duck. (195 for 8)
Four runs were added to the total before Murali Karthik (2), the new batsman, played down the wrong line to a ball Clarke pitched on the middle, which turned into him. The leg stump was pegged back and India were 199 for 9.
The day had started off well for India but now Clarke was in command.
Zaheer (0) didn't last too long either. Clarke bowled from wide of the crease, fired the straighter one in, the right-hander tried to sweep and got hit on the pad in line with the stumps. (205 all out)
Clarke had figures of 6 for 9, the fourth best figures ever at Wankhede and the best by an Australian at the ground.
Australia second innngs
India's task was clear-cut: get all the Aussies out or face the ignominy of a 3-0 defeat in a home series.
Zaheer started off India's quest in the best possible way when he claimed Australia opener Justin Langer's wicket off only the second ball of the innings.
The ball bounced off a good length and hit the shoulder of the bat on its way to wicketkeeper Karthik. Langer was out for a duck and Australia had lost their first wicket without a run on the board.
Ponting walked in and you could see the pressure on his face. He played and missed at the first delivery, then hammered two fours. There was no looking back; this was cricket as it was intended to be -- thrilling, exciting and nail-biting stuff.
Harbhajan came on from the other end. It was the same tactic as in the first innings. Zaheer bowled just two overs before being replaced by Murali Karthik.
After Clarke's success with his left-arm orthodox spin in India's second innings, Dravid would have been hoping Karthik would come up with something similar.
The Railways' spinner did not disappoint. He claimed Ponting's wicket with the first ball he bowled. The ball pitched on off and middle, turned, took a thick edge and hit the wicketkeeper's pad before popping up to Laxman at short gully. Ponting scored 12 off 15 balls, inclusive of two fours. (24 for 2)
The Australians were still favourites to win the Test, but the wickets got the crowd into the game. They were now rooting for the home team and the atmosphere was truly electric.
Five balls later, the crowd was absolutely berserk. Damien Martyn, Australia's best batsman in the series, was trapped bang in front of the wicket by Karthik's arm ball for a duck. (24 for 3)
Simin Katich, 4, didn't last too long. Harbhajan accounted for his wicket and, for the first time in the match, had a figure in the wicket column. (33 for 4)
This was starting to get exciting now. Could India pull off an incredible victory?
Hayden's was the key wicket now. He is a huge presence at the wicket and the bowlers have to constantly adjust their line for him.
Karthik was doing a brilliant job behind the wickets. His keeping against the spinners was much better than that of Parthiv Patel and he looked very composed. It was almost as if everything Dravid wished for was coming true.
The next batsman to go was Hayden. It was a dismissal that the Indians had continuously worked on. Harbhajan had maintained a line outside the leg-stump to the big left-hander, thus cramping him for room. Two fielders were positioned in the deep for the sweep. The ball in question pitched outside Hayden's leg-stump and turned even as he shaped up for the sweep. The left-hander did not connect; the ball clipped the glove onto the pad and rolled on to the stumps.
Harbhajan was ecstatic and Hayden, 24 off 30 balls, dropped his bat to the ground, as he stood rooted to the crease, shaking his head in disappointment. The partnership for the fourth wicket had been worth 15 runs (48 for 5)
Next over, Clarke was gone. He had been trying to charge Karthik down every delivery but the bowler had his measure. After bowling a few big turners, he slipped in a quick arm-ball that rattled Clarke's (7 off 11) castle. (48 for 6)
Gilchrist was the only recognized batsman left; after that it was just the tail.
But the Australian vice-captain was no match for the guile of the Indian spinners. He came out looking to attack but one doubts whether he has ever played on a more spiteful track.
He struggled for five runs before a sweep shot, hit in the air, found Tendulkar at deep square leg. (58 for 7)
It looked as if Australia would be shot out for their lowest their lowest total ever. Their previous lowest score was 83; it had come against India in 1981 at Melbourne.
Hauritz joined Gillespie at the wicket. It was a grim situation but, somehow, the 23-year-old hit a few good shots; a couple of edges went for four and the pressure was back on the Indians.
Karthik and Harbhajan had bowled so well that Dravid was unable to get Kumble into the attack before the 20th over.
He did not take long to strike, but there was a fair element of doubt in the wicket he got. Hauritz (15 off 18 balls) was the batsman; he was given out leg before wicket to a delivery that seemed to be sliding down the leg-stump. (78 for 8)
India heaved a sigh of relief, but the match was far from over. 29 runs were needed and Australia had two wickets in hand.
Kasprowicz had scored 19 in the first innings and he could wield the bat. Gillespie, at the other end, had been dropped -- a very difficult chance at silly point -- on 1 by Kaif.
The duo added 12 runs at a painstakingly slow pace. But the pitch was such that run-making was very tough. India took the extra 30 minutes they thought they could wrap up the match with. And it was the right decision.
Harbhajan took Karthik's place in the attack. An over-spinner got the desired result. The off-spinner got some extra bounce from the wicket; forced Kasprowicz to play at it and Dravid at leg-slip took an easy catch. (93 for 9)
McGrath walked in with 14 runs still needed. He survived one ball before edging a delivery to Laxman at slip. The stadium erupted! India won the match by 13 runs.
What an amazing turnaround! The series was lost, but the battle won.
