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Sachin does it again!

Prem Panicker

A 16th Test century -- an unbeaten one at that -- would have been enough reason for high praise. But what really marks this particular ton of Sachin Tendulkar's for special mention is the manner of it -- 102 off 107, in course of which he completely dominated the Australian attack just when it looked, for the first time this series, like the bowling side would break through.

But the most curious facet of this innings is the way Sachin got his runs -- 117 not out at close, with 20 fours and two sixes off 143 deliveries means, effectively, that he got 92 of his runs in just 22 scoring strokes.

That's been the real key to his batting on a track not really made for strokeplay -- very watchful, very quiet, very patient, and very quick to spot the slightest error in length or line and put it away for the maximum.

India got things right at the start, with Azhar calling right on a track that unlike the ones in Chennai and Calcutta, threatens to be a slow bowler's dream.

It is brown, it is dry, it is grassless, it has slight cracks that look likely to widen as the game goes on, it shows every sign of crumbling especially around the bowler's footmarks -- Azhar obviously didn't need to think too hard before opting to bat first.

The Indian management opted to rest Javagal Srinath, battling with a slight side strain, rather than risk aggravating the injury by playing him at a time when the series has already been won. In his place, Harvinder was picked to lead the bowling attack -- and a rather tough job he could have of it, given the lack of any genuine pace on this surface.

The other change is young offie Harbajan Singh debuting for Rajesh Chauhan. There are all kinds of reports floating around about Chauhan: that umpire Cooray was on the verge of calling him at Calcutta, that he warned Azhar that he might do so; that Prasanna feels a bit miffed that Chauhan has ignored all the tips given to him about his action, and so on; that ESPN has been asked to film his action from various angles for the ICC technical committee's evaluation, and so on... For everyone's sake, the faster they resolve the confusion surrounding Chauhan's action, the better.

Australia too made a couple of changes, Darren Lehmann coming into the side in place of Steve Waugh, out through a groin injury, and Adam Dale replacing Paul Wilson ahead of Damien Fleming. Fleming was flown down to add teeth to the pace bowling department, but reports from the Oz camp indicate that he is still feeling the effects of the flight down.

India opened with V V S Laxman and Navjot Singh Sidhu, and the former fell early -- a case of being too smart for his own good. Taylor had, as usual, eschewed the third man when setting his field and Laxman, who got four through a late glide between slips and gully, looked intent on taking optimum advantage of that gap in the field. Kapra, who bowled very well in his first spell, pitching a full line around off and seaming the ball away, made one stand up around off and Laxman's attempt to open the bat face, changed at the last moment into a defensive push, ended up presenting Taylor with a straightforward catch at first slip.

24/1 represented the worst start for India in this series -- and the first opportunity for Shane Warne to go on the offensive, rather than bowl to well set openers. Warne, using the slower, turning track beautifully, responded with a tight spell, keeping both Dravid and Sidhu in check.

Sidhu, unusually circumspect against Warne, was in his elements when Robertson was brought on, just before lunch. The offie's first over saw a swept six over mid wicket, followed by a pulled four in the same direction, then a dance down the track to lift the ball back over the sightscreen for another six, getting the batsman onto his fourth successive 50 of the series. And in defiance of the cricketing wisdom which holds that you should "down the shutters" before lunch, Sidhu slammed the last ball before the break for yet another six over midwicket.

Strangely, the batsman was unusually, uncharacteristically subdued after the break - leading one to wonder whether, in the back of his mind, there was a desire to turn at least one of his fifties into a big one. As it turned out, the prolonged defensive spell finally caused the error of judgement as Sidhu went to sweep Warne, the ball was fuller in length outside, causing the batsman to hit over the delivery, which curled in and took leg stump out.

An over later Rahul Dravid, who had been playing cautiously, got a shade too cute for his own good. The Warne delivery was pitched on leg and middle, spinning fractionally to off. Dravid went into the right line, but instead of a straight bat, angled it towards off, looking to run the ball down -- the marginal turn beat the shot, and took off stump on its way, and India was 110/3 with two new batsmen at the crease.

The next wicket fell after 139 runs had been added. The 127 run partnership between Azharuddin and Tendulkar at Chennai was, in the process, eclipsed as the third highest partnership of the series. And the Australian bowling, which for once threatened to break through, was pushed back on the defensive.

The two batsmen were a study of contrasts. Early on, Azhar appeared to have figured out that with the ball not really coming on the way he likes it to, the track was not suited for his brand of blazing strokeplay. So from then on, he contented himself with holding one end up, taking singles off gentle pushes and deflections -- his 40 came off 114 with just two fours, which tells its own tale of patience and application -- and letting Tendulkar do the bulk of the scoring.

Tendulkar, for his part, appeared to be in what sportsmen call the "zone". That realm of the mind where nothing bothers you, neither conditions nor the opposition make the slightest difference, and you play exactly the way you want to, secure in the knowledge that on the day, you can't do a thing wrong.

The fascinating bit was watching the battle between him and Warne. In this innings, Tendulkar noticeably took guard well outside leg, forcing the leggie to pitch on the stumps rather than attempt the line outside leg curling the ball in. Two attempts to do a Sidhu on him and bowl him round his pads were met with delayed paddle-sweeps for four to fine leg, and when the line was fractionally short, Sachin rocked right back and pulled powerfully through midwicket. But when Warne pitched anywhere around middle and off, the batsman was promptly into line, defending watchfully. Great battle of wills and wits, this, making you hope for a further instalment on day two.

If the jury is still out on this episode of the Warne versus Tendulkar clash, his domination over the rest of the bowling was complete. So much so that late in the day, Darren Lehmann was reduced to bowling way outside leg, duplicating a line of attack the likes of Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and Sanath Jayasuriya have employed against the Indian batsman in the recent past.

Ian Chappell, then in the television commentary box, was outraged enough at a succession of deliveries way wide of leg that he finally remarked: "A bowler should have the guts to attack a batsman, if he masters you then too bloody bad. But this line of attack is sheer cowardice, and I am surprised a captain like Taylor is trying it!"

The line did have some impact, though -- it got rid of Azhar. The Lehmann delivery was down leg, Azhar paddled, played too soon and the ball hit the back of the bat, ran onto his glove and almost in slow motion, up his arm to bounce into Healy's hands.

From then on till the close -- including a brief interlude when a passing summer shower saw the panicky umpires wave the players off with just three overs left to bowl, only to resume play two minutes later when the shower ended -- Ganguly kept Tendulkar company, adding a further 41 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket partnership.

Three silken fours, two through the off, indicated that Ganguly's touch is good. And that, on a day when India added 290, again at a good rate of three plus per over, is bad news for the fielding side, which should be looking to get both overnight not outs back in the hut first thing tomorrow if it wants to get back into this match.

For Australia, Kasprowicz and Warne were easily the pick of the bunch. Robertson, however, proved easy pickings, depriving Warne of a support act, while Adam Dale despite his movement both ways off the seam was too slow to trouble any of the batsmen.

On the plus side, the fielding on the day was close to Australia's famed best -- with Ponting in the covers, Blewett at point, Robertson at mid off and Mark Waugh at short cover and mid on being electric. Between them, they saved a good 14, 15 boundary hits -- something that was consistently lacking in the Australian effort on the field thus far.

On this track, a score of around 350 means you pretty much ensure against a defeat, and anything over four makes you odds-on favourite to win. Australia, faced with Tendulkar in commanding mood and Ganguly looking in prime nick, will need an outstanding effort with the ball, and in the field, to ensure that the home side doesn't take yet another game away from them with the bat.

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