Australian pace bowlers Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee combined to destroy India's brittle batting on the rain-hit opening day of the third and final Test in Sydney yesterday. McGrath ripped the top order with 3 for 34 and Lee, taking three wickets in eight balls, chipped in with 4 for 25 as India, electing to take first strike, were reduced to 121 for eight.
A crowd of 42,193 watched the Australian bowlers use the greenish wicket and overcast conditions to make the Indians hop.
Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar was the lone Indian to defy the hosts, making a belligerent 45 off 53 balls, studded with eight hits to the fence.
The Indian captain, who made 116 and 52 in the second Test at Melbourne last week, hooked and drove McGrath, before the same bowler had him leg-before soon after tea.
McGrath, however, put himself in line for a rebuke by match referee Ranjan Madugalle of Sri Lanka as he charged within a few feet of Tendulkar when umpire Ian Robinson upheld the appeal.
Indian bowler Venkatesh Prasad had been fined 35 per cent of his match fees by Madugalle for similar gestures after removing Michael Slater in the second Test at Melbourne last week.
The rest of the Indian batting caved in once again - just as it had done in the first two Tests.
The tourists, who crawled to 27 for one in 21.5 overs before lunch, slid to 69 for four in 40 minutes of play during the afternoon session.
Tendulkar watched helplessly from the other end as two other frontline batsmen, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, departed within a run of each other shortly before tea.
The out-of-touch Dravid, who survived a dropped chance by wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist, made his second highest score in the series of 29 when McGrath had him caught at third slip.
Ganguly fell for the second time in successive matches to part-timer Greg Blewett to leave India tottering. The left-hander, who was bowled by Blewett at Melbourne, failed to survive his first delivery yesterday, tapping an easy catch to gully.
Ajit Agarkar fell first ball for the fourth time in a row as the 23-year-old Lee worked up fiery pace to pick up three wickets in the space of one run.
Tendulkar, who has scored 116 and two half-centuries in his four Test innings so far this series, was once again left to carry his team's hopes.
He responded with a typically gallant display. He smashed three fours in one over from McGrath before the Australian broke through with a ball that cut back and struck him on the pads.
Tendulkar's departure triggered another all too familiar collapse. Lee, who took match figures of 7-78 in his Test debut in Melbourne a week ago, tore through the Indian middle-order with his intimidating speed.
Hrishikesh Kanitikar (10) and Vijay Bharadwaj (six) were both caught by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist while Ajit Agarkar edged a catch to Mark Waugh at second slip.
