Australia eye win

Ricky Ponting [Images] and Adam Gilchrist [Images] launched a brutal assault on Pakistan's bowlers to put Australia on course for a comprehensive victory in the third and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

Ponting belted 207 and Gilchrist piled on 113 to help the world champions amass a first innings total of 568 in reply to Pakistan's 304, a lead of 264. Wrist spinner Danish Kaneria took seven wickets.

Pakistan then reduced the deficit to 197 by stumps, reaching 67 for one in their second innings, but lost the wicket of first-innings century maker Salman Butt [Images] for 21, caught at slip by Shane Warne [Images] off leg-spinner Stuart MacGill.

Australia, already 2-0 up in the series, started the third day at 340 for four with Ponting on 155 and Gilchrist 17 and finished the day eyeing off the prospect of another lop-sided victory inside four days.

Tuesday's first session was washed out by rain but the Australians quickly made up for lost time, smashing 169 for the loss of just one wicket between lunch and tea then adding another 59 in the final session.

Gilchrist was particularly savage, pounding 14 fours and five sixes to post his 13th Test hundred in a spectacular display of hitting to pass 4,000 career runs.

He reached his half-century off 62 balls in 73 minutes and was even more ruthless with his second 50 which took just 56 minutes and 47 balls.

He spanked two sixes in a row off debutant paceman Mohammad Asif [Images] to go from 82 to 94 then dispatched Shahid Afridi [Images] over the fence twice in four balls to go past three figures.

His natural instinct ultimately cost him his wicket, dismissed with the total on 471 when he danced down the pitch to Pakistan's fiery young spinner Kaneria only to be beaten by the turn and stumped by Kamran Akmal.

Ponting had been content to let Gilchrist take centre stage during their fifth-wicket partnership of 153 in just 139 minutes but resumed the lead role once his deputy departed, driving Naved to the boundary rope to reach his double-century after tea off 311 deliveries in 461 minutes.

Ponting's double-hundred was his fourth in Test cricket, joining an exclusive club of 13 players worldwide to achieve the feat. The only other Australians to have made at least four double centuries were Don Bradman and Greg Chappell [Images].

His innings, which spanned 491 minutes and 332 balls and featured 30 fours in all, ended when he dragged a ball from Naved back on to his stumps, triggering a late collapse that saw the last five wickets fall for 39.

Naved also trapped Jason Gillespie lbw for a duck to collect his third wicket but Kaneria, fined by the match referee for swearing at Michael Clarke [Images] the previous day, mopped up the rest to finish with seven for 188, passing 100 wickets in his 23rd Test.

Australia 1st innings (overnight 340-4)
J.Langer b Naved 13 M.Hayden b Kaneria 26
R.Ponting b Naved 207
D.Martyn st Akmal b Kaneria 67
M.Clarke st Akmal b Kaneria 35
A.Gilchrist st Akmal b Kaneria 113
S.Watson c Asif b Kaneria 31
S.Warne c Younis b Kaneria 16
J.Gillespie lbw b Naved 0
G.McGrath c Youhana b Kaneria 9
S.MacGill not out 9

Fall of wickets: 1-26 2-83 3-257 4-318 5-471 6-529 7-535 8-537 9-556 10-568.

Bowling: Akhtar 15-2-69-0 (nb-3), Naved 26-3-107-3 (nb-11), Asif 16-3-72-0 (nb-4), Kaneria 49.3-7-188-7 (w-3), Afridi 27-3-113-0 (nb-2)

Pakistan 2nd innings
Salman Butt c Warne b MacGill 21
Yasir Hameed [Images] not out 40
Younis Khan not out 5

To bat: Yousuf Youhana, Asim Kamal, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Naved-ul-Hasan, Shoaib Akhtar [Images], Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Asif

Bowling: McGrath 4-0-25-0, Gillespie 4-1-16-0 (nb-1), Warne 3.4-0-12-0, MacGill 3-0-14-1

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