Day 4: India 166/6 at stumps, trail by 333 runs

ADELAIDE, Jan 27 : India were lurching towards defeat and a 4-0 series humiliation against Australia after another batting collapse in the fourth Test in Adelaide on Friday. The beleaguered tourists, chasing a record 500 runs to win, took the Test into a fifth day for the first time in their ill-fated tour but only............................................. more

  Rahul Dravid likely to announce retirement shortly 
     

Adelaide, Jan 27 : Rahul Dravid`s glorious international career may have come to an end on Friday, with the veteran batsman likely to announce his retirement shortly. The 39-year-old Dravid, one of the game`s greatest batsmen, is believed to have told some of his teammates after another failure against........................................... more

 '3 or 4 players have played their last Test in Australia'

New Delhi, Jan 27 : Former captain Sunil Gavaskar on Friday said that at least three senior cricketers may not be selected again for the national Test team after what has already turned out to be a disastrous tour for India. India were headed towards their second successive Test series whitewash with............................................more

  Day 4: India 166/6 at stumps, trail by 333 runs
 

ADELAIDE, Jan 27 : India were lurching towards defeat and a 4-0 series humiliation against Australia after another batting collapse in the fourth Test in Adelaide on Friday. The beleaguered tourists, chasing a record 500 runs to win, took the Test into a fifth day for the first time in their ill-fated tour but only after losing their top six batsmen, including Sachin Tendulkar.
VVS Laxman and first innings century-maker Virat Kohli stalled Australia's charge for almost 90 minutes before Laxman fell two overs from stumps.
Laxman, struggling for form in Australia, played spinner Nathan Lyon off the back foot to short mid-wicket for 35 leaving nightwatchman Ishant Sharma surrounded by 10 close in fielders.
But in the day's penultimate over Kohli was run out on a chancy single by a brilliant side-on throw by Ben Hilfenhaus for 22 to leave the tourists in tatters.
Australia will expect to mop up India's tail on Saturday with only forecasted storms likely to save the visitors from another embarrassing capitulation.
At the close on the fourth day, India were 166 for six, trailing by 333 runs with Sharma on two and Wriddhiman Saha yet to score. Lyon ended the day with three for 57 off 19 overs.
The tourists were left with 146 overs to reach their improbable target after Australia declared their second innings at 167 for five shortly after lunch.
But they were soon in trouble, losing Gautam Gambhir for 13 in the fifth over, caught behind off Harris.
Stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag blasted 12 fours in a rollicking 62 off 53 balls before he skied a full toss from spinner Lyon only to a waiting Ricky Ponting in the covers.
Rahul Dravid lasted 71 balls before he edged to Mike Hussey in the gully off Ryan Harris for 25 to complete a poor series in which he was bowled six times and scored just 194 runs at 24.25.
Tendulkar again missed out on his elusive 100th international hundred when he was caught close to the wicket by Ed Cowan off Lyon for 13.
It stretched Test cricket's all-time leading runscorer's barren run without a century to 25 Test and one-day innings since his last hundred (111) in the World Cup last March.
The highest winning chase at the Adelaide Oval is Australia's 315 against England in 1902, while India's highest-ever run hunt was 406 against the West Indies in Trinidad in 1976.
Earlier, former captain Ponting was 60 not out when Michael Clarke declared Australia's innings for a second time in the match after calling a halt in the first innings at 604 for seven. Ponting, who topscored with 210 in the first innings, finished the series with 544 runs at 108.80 to dispel doubts over his place in the Australian side ahead of the tour to the West Indies in March-April.
Australia set out on the fourth day with a 382-run lead. Clarke was dropped on 30 by Ravi Ashwin off his own bowling before falling seven runs later. Clarke, caught behind off Umesh Yadav, completed the series with 626 runs at 125.20 after his unbeaten 329 in Sydney and 210 in the first innings of the Adelaide Test.
Hussey was the other Australian wicket to fall, lbw for 15 to Ishant Sharma nearing lunch.

  Rahul Dravid likely to announce retirement shortly
 

Adelaide, Jan 27 : Rahul Dravid`s glorious international career may have come to an end on Friday, with the veteran batsman likely to announce his retirement shortly. The 39-year-old Dravid, one of the game`s greatest batsmen, is believed to have told some of his teammates after another failure against Australia in the final Test here, that he had decided to hang his boots. He could not be reached for his comments.
Dravid, like most other Indian batsmen, has had a poor run in the current four-Test series which will conclude tomorrow with India likely to suffer another defeat to give Australia a clean sweep. He made 194 runs at an average of 24.25 in this series.
Dravid has already announced his retirement from one-day cricket and Twenty20.
The elegant right hander, nicknamed `The Wall` for his dour defence, is the second highest run getter in Test history with 13,288 runs, behind only Sachin Tendulkar who has 15,470 runs. He has 36 Test centuries with a highest score of 270 and an average of 52.31. Dravid has also taken more catches (210) than anyone else in Test history during his 164 Test matches since he made his debut against England at Lord`s in 1996. He captained India from December 2005 to August 2007.
There is a question mark over another Indian veteran V V S Laxman who too had a miserable run against Australia in the current series. There was no word yet about his future plans. PTI

  '3 or 4 players have played their last Test in Australia'

New Delhi, Jan 27 : Former captain Sunil Gavaskar on Friday said that at least three senior cricketers may not be selected again for the national Test team after what has already turned out to be a disastrous tour for India. India were headed towards their second successive Test series whitewash with another massive defeat looming large in the fourth and final Test in Adelaide, and Gavaskar said time has come for the likes of Virat Kohli to be handed more responsibility.
"I think at least three or four players might have played probably their last Test in Australia. I am saying this because India`s next Test is six-eight months away. Now the selectors should pick youngsters who would serve the country in the years down the line," Gavaskar said.
He, however, refused to name the youngsters who would come in place of the senior players.
"That`s selectors` job, not mine," said Gavaskar.
A sarcastic Gavaskar said that India will at last have the opportunity to score more runs than the Australians in any innings during the Test series if they score two more runs tomorrow.
"Australia declared their second innings at 166 for five and India were 166 for six at stumps today. So if India score two more runs tomorrow they will be ahead of Australia in the second innings," he said.
Asked if he remembers any other instance when Indian batsmen were tied to knots by a slow bowler as has been done by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon, Gavaskar said, "Indian batsmen got bogged under pressure. There`s some sort of defeatist attitude hanging around, even the most experienced players have been affected by it."
"There was an air of resignation. There was nothing like let`s fight back, get down to doing something. That's why they are on the verge of their eight successive Test defeat overseas," he told a news channel.
Gavaskar said that Kohli, who struck a century in the in Adelaide, should have been promoted to number three.
"Yes, he should have been promoted to number three. That opportunity has been missed. That (number three) is going to be his number in the years to come and he should have been given that number three slot in Adelaide," said Gavaskar.
"Virat scored a hundred in Australia, the lone player to do so. May be his confidence could have stemmed the rot and might have protected the senior players who have been sorely out of form. They (seniors) could have been protected by him (Virat) and who knows the senior players would have done better in the last couple of days in Adelaide," he said. "India missed out on the chance to experiment with Kohli. The same thing happened in the West Indies and England. With some extra zip, India could have won the series in the West Indies 3-0. In England, they were flat-footed not only on the field but also in their thinking." (Agencies)