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India look to rebuild after early Australia blows

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-29 15:37

NEW DELHI - Australian fast bowlers struck two early blows before India recovered to reach 67 for two wickets at lunch on the first day of the third test on Wednesday.

Fast bowler Brett Lee made the first breakthrough by trapping opener Virender Sehwag leg before for one run before left-armer Mitchell Johnson removed Rahul Dravid (11).

Opener Gautam Gambhir (25) and Sachin Tendulkar (26) were involved in rescuing the innings and had added 40 runs for the unbroken third wicket at lunch at the Ferozshah Kotla ground.

India, fresh from their record 320-run second test win in Mohali to take the series lead, made a shaky start after skipper Anil Kumble won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch expected to help spin bowlers later in the game.

Strike bowler Lee, under fire for his poor run in the series, began sharply and broke through in his second over when he beat Sehwag with a delivery which nipped back after pitching.

Johnson then struck with his fourth delivery when he tempted Dravid to edge an attempted drive off a delivery slanted across his bat, Matthew Hayden taking a low catch at first slip.

FLUENT DRIVES

Dravid, who flicked Johnson to fine-leg for four the previous delivery, had looked solid until his dismissal.

Australia's bowling and fielding tested both Gambhir and Tendulkar, as the pair played cautiously for the rest of the session.

Tendulkar played fluent drives off Johnson on either side of the pitch before driving Lee past extra cover after he came on for his second spell close to lunch.

Leg spinner Kumble returned to the side at his favourite venue after missing the second test in Mohali due to a shoulder injury.

However, the hosts suffered a blow after off spinner Harbhajan Singh, one short of 300 test wickets, was ruled out after failing to recover from a toe problem.

Australia were boosted by the return of new ball bowler Stuart Clark, who replaced Peter Siddle after having sat out the previous test due to an elbow injury.

Clark bowled a tight line to keep the batsmen in check at one end, conceding just five runs in his seven-over spell.

The first match of the four-test series in Bangalore ended in a draw. The final test starts in Nagpur on November 6.