CRICKET:AUSTRALIA CAPTAIN Michael Clarke praised his team's impressive first Test win over India – and then told them he wants more.
Australia clinched a 122-run success after their quicks again tore through a star-studded India batting line-up on day four at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Man-of-the-match James Pattinson led the way, in just his third Test, with second-innings figures of four for 53 as India were bowled out for 169 in two sessions.
It ensured Australia will head to Sydney next week full of confidence and Clarke has told his team they must cash in.
Australia have not won back-to-back Test matches since the tour of New Zealand almost two years ago, while they have not won two Tests in any of the six series since.
It is a trend Clarke is determined to end as his side looks to prove the potential they have begun to display since he took over as captain earlier this year.
“Consistency is what I’ve spoken about in the past,” Clarke said. “There’s periods throughout that game where we didn’t perform as well as we’d like, so we need to look to improve that come Sydney.
“When you’re on top you need to make the most of that. I think we did that really well today with the ball, and we fought really hard with the bat yesterday and again this morning.
“It certainly is a time to enjoy this success, this first Test match, but once tonight’s gone it is about re-assessing, working out how we can improve and go out all guns blazing in Sydney and try to win another Test match.”
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes his side will respond in Sydney, but admitted his batsmen will need to improve if they are to level the four-match series.
“It’s a long series which gives you the chance to come back,” he said. “We need to score more runs. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for us to win. We need to apply ourselves a lot more. And if we do that I have no doubt that we would come back strongly.”
Dhoni received plenty of criticism for letting Australia’s lower order score easy runs in both innings, especially yesterday when last pair Pattinson and Ben Hilfenhaus shared a 43-run stand that kept the visitors chasing leather for 45 minutes.
Dhoni admitted the team needed to improve its strategies when bowling to the tail. “The bowlers brought us back in to the game. We were short by 50-odd runs in the first innings,” he said.
“Their lower order scored some runs, if we had got them earlier, we would have had 50-60 runs less to chase. We need to find a way to get the lower order out cheaply.”
Australia’s pace attack produced a bowling display reminiscent of the side’s era of dominance as they swept India aside to secure victory.
The performances of Hilfenhaus, Pattinson and Peter Siddle carried shades of Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath in their pomp, as the tourists fell some way short of the 292 they had been set to win.
The quick trio bowled with tremendous accuracy throughout a devastating 47.5-over innings that spanned all three sessions on the fourth day, with Pattinson (four for 53) narrowly shading the honours.
But despite the 21-year-old rising star taking the most wickets, it was a collective effort that saw the Baggy Green across the finish line, with the three-pronged attack showing enough to suggest they can spearhead a bid to return to the top of the Test rankings – something taken for granted by Australians for almost a decade.
South Africa offer little resistance
SRI LANKA levelled their series in South Africa with victory by 208 runs on the fourth day of the second Test at Durban.
Set an imposing 450 to win and clinch the three-match series, the hosts were dismissed for 241, with only AB de Villiers (69) and Dale Steyn (43) – who put on 99 for the seventh wicket – offering much resistance.
Rangana Herath took five wickets for 79 runs to seal a first Test win for Sri Lanka since the retirement of legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and set the stage for a thrilling decider in Cape Town next week.
The penultimate day at Kingsmead started with the tourists taking their overnight total of 256 for seven on to 279, with Steyn taking his innings figures to five for 73. Thisara Perera edged Steyn to Jacques Kallis at second slip for 12, Chanaka Welegedara hit 10 before despatching the fourth ball he faced to Hashim Amla, then Dilhara Fernando lobbed a Morne Morkel delivery to Ashwell Prince at gully to depart for three.
Welegedara almost gave Sri Lanka the perfect start to the second South African innings when he induced an edge from Jacques Rudolph, but Angelo Mathews was unable to claim a one-handed catch diving to his left at slip.The contest was over when Marchant de Lange – who took eight wickets on his Test debut – became the third wicket to fall on 241 when he was bowled second ball by Herath.
FIRST TEST
AUSTRALIA v INDIA
Melbourne – Australia beat India by 122 runs
INDIA
Second Innings
G Gambhir c Ponting b Siddle 13
V Sehwag c Hussey b Hilfenhaus 7
R Dravid b Pattinson 10
S R Tendulkar c Hussey b Siddle 32
V V S Laxman c Cowan b Pattinson 1
V Kohli lbw b Hilfenhaus 0
M Dhoni b Pattinson 23
R Ashwin c Cowan b Siddle 30
Z Khan c Cowan b Pattinson 13
I Sharma not out 6
U Yadav c Warner b Lyon 21
Extras lb10 w2 nb1 13
Total (47.5 overs) 169
Fall: 1-17 2-39 3-58 4-68 5-69 6-81 7-117 8-141 9-142. Bowling: Pattinson 15 2 53 4 Hilfenhaus 18 4 39 2 Siddle 9 1 42 3 Lyon 5.5 0 25 1
SOUTH AFRICA v SRI LANKA
Second Test Kingsmead
Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 208 runs.
SRI LANKA second innings (overnight 256-7)
T Paranavitana c Prince b Morkel 9
T Dilshan c Smith b Steyn 4
K Sangakkara c Smith b Tahir 108
M Jayawardene lbw b De Lange 14
T Samaraweera b Tahir 43
A Mathews c Boucher b Steyn 3
D Chandimal c Boucher b Steyn 54
T Perera c Kallis b Steyn 12
R Herath not out 8
C Welegedara c Amla b Steyn 10
D Fernando c Prince b Morkel 3
Extras (b-5, lb-3, w-1, nb-2) 11
Total (all out, 78.2 overs) 279
Fall of wickets: 1-4 2-20 3-44 4-138 5-141 6-245 7-245 8-262 9-276 10-279. Bowling: Morkel 18.2-4-46-2, Steyn 20-3-73-5, De Lange 13-2-45-1 (w-1, nb-1), Kallis 11-1-43-1, Tahir 16-1-64-2 (nb-1)
South Africa second innings
J Rudolph c Jayawardene b Perera 22
G Smith c Jayawardene b Fernando 26
H Amla run out 51
J Kallis c Paranavitana b Herath 0
A Prince c Paranavitana b Fernando 7
AB de Villiers lbw b Herath 69
M Boucher lbw b Herath 7
D Steyn lbw b Herath 43
M Morkel lbw b Dilshan 5
Imran Tahir not out 0
M de Lange b Herath 0
Extras (b-6, lb-1, w-3, nb-1) 11
Total (all out, 87.3 overs) 241
Fall of wickets: 1-37 2-88 3-97 4-106 5-116 6-133 7-232 8-241 9-241.
The three-match series is tied 1-1.
