Pathan showed his all-round ability
It seemed that the Indian innings would end early on the third day. But Patel and Pathan prevented the Aussies from running away with all the advantage, writes Allan Border.
It's 'Advantage Australia' at the end of the third day. The Australians have won nearly all the battles that have taken place in this Test. The first battle was the toss, which can be so critical on Indian wickets. The last thing you want to do in Tests in India is to bat fourth, and Gilchrist did his team a great favour by calling correctly.
They won the second battle by amassing a huge first-innings score. Katich filled Ponting's shoes quite admirably, and then Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist played magnificently. Gilchrist proved yet again that he is a real asset to the team, with his swashbuckling batting at no. 7 Clarke, an exciting prospect, made it a Test debut to remember.
The third battle was won by bowling India out cheaply. Quite a few questions have been raised about Glenn McGrath's fitness after the ankle surgery, and he showed his true class with two quick wickets on the second afternoon that accounted for Chopra and Rahul 'The Rock' Dravid. Those two strikes pushed India onto the back foot, and it was always going to be an uphill task for the home team to come back into the match thereafter.
