The inevitable, which was on the cards, has at last been transformed into reality. No surprise, the Aussies won the first Test match with a day to spare. The Indian wickets fell in a heap - the last 5 wickets falling for a mere 17 runs. It was one of the greatest victories for the Aussies. The winning margin being 337 runs. It was the 15th consicutive win for the current Aussie side. So, they now take a 1-0 lead in the four match series. India began day 4 with overnight batsmen Dravid & Jaffer. Jaffer added 13 more to his score before being Lee's first victim.
Then in came VVS Laxman. Dravid and Laxman tried to steady the ship for a good-looking partnership of 28 runs. Dravid's was the second wicket to fall. He really had to battle for every run. Scoring only 16 from 114 balls tells the story. That's too poor. Maybe he was forced at playing at the opener's slot - which was always at the back of his mind. Tendulkar too didn''t look relaxed and the highest scorer in the first innings was he victim of Lee for 15. Ganguly played his part with Laxman.
Both played well and to their strengths. Giving due respect to the ball Laxman and Ganguly kept the scoreboard ticking without taking much risk. Yuvraj and Dhoni were again failures. Yuvraj who was adjugded LBW, wasn't willing to leave the field when given out. After the hearing on Yuvraj's snail-paced walk back to the tent, match referee Mike Procter, found Yuvi not guilty of dissent.
That was a good psychological decision for the stylish southpaw. Meanwhile, the middle order and the tail could not wag for the Indians as Kumble, Harbhajan Zaheer and R P Singh made scores of 8, 0, 0 not out and 2. The wicket of R P Singh by Johnson brought the curtains down on the first Test. The current Australian side has had 15 wins on the trot. The second Test begins at the SCG from January 2.