Hope keeps them alive

For half a day, it was a contest. For half a match, Australia's series aspirations were alive. For half a series, Australia could feel the realisation of its dream. Day three of the third Test almost ended it.

Although the tourists' prospects had brightened again by the end of the day, it is only a glimmer of light at the end of what remains a long, dark tunnel of batting.

If Australia had scored the first innings total of 500 or 550 that Hayden's innings dictated it should have, it would still be in control of the match, rather than hanging on by the tips of its bloodied fingers. Only India's own imitation of Australia's example of how to lose the latter half of its wickets kept the tourists' hopes alive.

Just when Australia appeared to have found out there was a limit to how many times its bowlers could pull it out of the fire, they made a late bid to do so once again, albeit with the feet already badly burnt. Whether the body goes up in flames is still up to the batsmen.

India seemed to have finally cracked the Aussies. Dropped catches off India's two batsmen to whom any opposition would least want to hand out reprieves, Tendulkar and Dravid, had appeared to officially end the contest, insofar as the tourists' objective of winning the series is concerned. Instead, the condemnation set to come crashing down upon them was stayed for one more day...to more appropriately be either worn or cast off by batsmen with one final opportunity to put right the mistakes of the first innings, and indeed the last three innings.

Whether the series is lost or drawn is of little consequence to the Australians. Their mission is to win. A failure to do so is a failure just the same whether or not the result is a draw or a loss. The Border-Gavaskar trophy can always be regained on India's next trip down under. This particular series can never be redeemed.

The indefatigable spirit of Jason Gillespie left all three results open, at least in theory. An Indian lead of less than 100 presents a window of opportunity for Australia to bat through the fourth day and set India a target of around 200 on the final day. Having to do so in order to win the series will again test the commitment to the policy of smashing Harbhajan off his game. Each time, the off-spinner has had the temperament to come back with a succession of wickets.

Tendulkar and Dravid's play against Warne and Miller was a sharp reminder of why Australia's philosophy has been to use pace as the foremost weapon in this series. Warne and Miller, together, is the best spin attack Australia can present. And yet the degree of difficulty experienced by the aforementioned batsmen against pace compared to spin was profound. At least when facing McGrath and Gillespie, there was the possibility of an edge or some quiet periods. Against Warne and Miller, they never looked likely to do anything other than score runs. Lots of them.

Maybe the Aussie team selectors knew what they were doing in retaining one spinner for the first two matches. The Indians' comfort in facing spin over pace, regardless of the state of the pitch, was considerable. The ease with which the spinners were played in defence stood out above the stylish attacking shots.

Against other teams, and in evidence when Australia bats, spinners are a constant chance to collect wickets against batsmen defending with a ball that perhaps pops of the glove, slips through for an lbw appeal, or is edged to slip...but when Indians bat against spin, no matter whether it is Das, Laxman, Tendulkar or Dravid at the crease, these little pieces of encouragement for the slow bowlers have been conspicuously absent. It's a genuine surprise when the ball turns past the edge or is not played to ground off the middle of the bat. In contrast, the Aussies have hit out against Harbhajan because they have had to...there is not the same sense of security when they bat defensively against spin. What they have lacked is the ability to at least start watchfully in defence before attempting the big shots.

With Australia's torment against turn and India's peril against pace, the presence of Anil Kumble and Brett Lee for the respective teams would really have applied the blowtorch to each nation's batting. The committed efforts of McGrath and Gillespie were the only reason Australia finished day three on a respectable note. McGrath displayed his champion qualities by claiming the first three wickets and Gillespie was finally rewarded for his sustained hostility with the wickets of Dravid and Tendulkar. India was far from susceptible to pace, but if ever top order wickets were going to fall on the third day, they were only going to be against the quick men.

Tendulkar won the battle of patience, as he has been able to defeat most other strategies. Australia could only wait on Tendulkar committing a mistake against the pacemen for so long. Eventually the spinners had to be used and when they were, a balanced contest became a show of his and Dravid's supremacy.

Dire catching errors that could have been punished more fully were not quite confirmation of the end; all that was certain is again less so. The Aussies seemed almost buoyant by the end of the day, but that confidence is misplaced. The indications remain that their self-destructive batting tendencies are set to cost them. If the first innings didn't do it, then the second innings still might.

Daniel Laidlaw

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