Krejza gives Australia hope

Jason Krejza claimed a debut eight-wicket haul but India still piled up 441. Australia closed day two of the deciding Test on 189-2 in reply.

Off-spinner marks debut with figures of 8-215

Fourth Test Match
Nagpur
India 441 (S R Tendulkar 109, S C Ganguly 85, V Sehwag 66, V V S Laxman 64, M S Dhoni 56, J J Krejza 8-215) v Australia 189-2 (S M Katich 92 no) Jason Krejza claimed an eight-wicket haul on debut to keep alive Australia's hopes of a series-levelling win in the deciding Test against India in Nagpur. After resuming on 311-5, Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni batted throughout the morning session on day two as India looked set for a huge first-innings score. But a Krejza-inspired tumble of wickets in the afternoon saw the hosts bowled out for 441 and Australia, led by opener Simon Katich's 92 not out, reached 189-2 in reply to reduce their deficit to 252 by the close. India made good progress in the morning as Ganguly, making his final appearance, and Dhoni extended their sixth-wicket stand to 119. Krejza, who had already taken three wickets on the first day after being preferred to Stuart Clark in the starting XI, dismissed both within the space of three deliveries after the lunch interval to spark a collapse from 422-5 to 441 all out. Dhoni was bowled for 56 trying to paddle the ball into the leg-side and Ganguly (85) was denied a farewell century by a low one-handed slip catch from Michael Clarke. Krejza completed figures of 8-215 by running through the lower order. He accounted for Zaheer Khan (1) and Amit Mishra (0) with consecutive balls and sent back last man Ishant Sharma (0) in his next over. The 25-year-old is the third Australian to claim eight wickets in an innings on debut after Albert Trott and Bob Massie, although his figures are also the most expensive by a new boy.

Harbhajan landmark

Australia stumbled in the early stages of their reply. Matthew Hayden (16) was run out by Murali Vijay's direct hit from mid-on in the seventh over and Harbhajan Singh (1-57) followed up by removing Ricky Ponting for the 10th time in a Test to become the third Indian to 300 wickets. The off-spinner bowled Ponting for 24 as he tried to cut, a dismissal that reduced Australia to 74-2 and allowed Harbhajan to join a select club with Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev. But Katich and Michael Hussey looked in little trouble while reviving the innings with an aggressive third-wicket partnership of 115 from 192 balls. Katich finished unbeaten on 92 while fellow left-hander Hussey (45no) was content to play a supporting hand. India lead the series 1-0 and require only a draw to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.