Clarke accepts role in axeing Ponting

Michael Clarke is confident his role on the selection panel that dropped Ricky Ponting from the ODI side will not lead to tension between Ponting and himself. Clarke is a member of the five-man group headed by John Inverarity that ended Ponting's one-day international career earlier this week after deciding they needed to plan for the limited-overs team's future.

However, Clarke and Ponting will have to work closely together as the No. 4 and 5 batsmen during the Test tour of the West Indies in April after Ponting confirmed he wanted to play on in the longer format. Clarke did not shy away from his role on the panel and said Ponting, who had made five single-figure ODI scores in succession, understood that the decision was not personal.

"I'm 100% part of the selection panel," Clarke said. "That's part now of the captain's job. We've made this decision as a panel. It is tough not having the great Ricky Ponting out there playing for us but that's the decision we've made. Obviously the 2015 World Cup is something we've spoken about as a panel. I'm 100% a part of that.

"Ricky was captain of the team for a long time and although he wasn't a selector he played a big part in selecting the XI players that took the field. I remember getting dropped after the Test match in the West Indies and Punter was the one who came and told me I hadn't been selected. He knows it's certainly not personal. I'm very confident our friendship is a lot stronger than that."

Australia will play their first match in the post-Ponting ODI era against Sri Lanka in Hobart on Friday. That Tasmania is Ponting's home state has been cause for some debate over whether he should have been given a farewell match - the Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jaywardene said there was usually scope for farewell games in his country - but Clarke said there was no reason to think Ponting had played his last match for Australia on home soil.

"He's going to play a lot more Test cricket I hope," he said. "So there's going to be plenty of time for Ricky to play international cricket for Australia."

Although Clarke has played 38 one-day internationals without Ponting in the side the feeling will different this time, knowing that his absence is permanent in this format. Not only is Ponting Australia's most-capped and highest-scoring ODI player, he has offered much in the way of off-field support, both as a sounding board for the new captain Clarke and as a mentor for younger players.

Ponting even took on the captaincy in his final two matches when Clarke was injured, while many former leaders might have been reluctant to return to the job in similar circumstances. Clarke said it was odd to think of an Australian one-day dressing room without Ponting after his 17-year career in the format.

"It certainly is [strange]," he said. "He's certainly going to be missed. I've been great friends with Punter for a long time and that certainly won't change. But I've also played a lot of one-day cricket with him and it's going to feel really weird looking around the field and not seeing him there.

"I'll miss his guidance out on the field, his guidance off the field, his friendship, his experience around the group, his knowledge of this game. They're things that no matter much talent you have as a young player, the experience and knowledge of the game you need to learn."

Ponting's departure will also force a reworking of Australia's top order. The nature of the line-up will depend on whether Shane Watson is named to play in his first match back from injury, but it could be that Watson and David Warner open with Michael Clarke at No.3 and Matthew Wade slides down the order.

Calm Dhoni delivers nerve-shredding tie

The best death-overs bowler in the game went up against the best finisher in the business with four to defend off the last ball. It was only fair that neither Lasith Malinga nor MS Dhoni ended up on the losing side of that contest. Malinga's wide full-length ball would have hoodwinked most batsmen who would have been setting themselves up for the swing to the leg side. Not the fleet-footed Dhoni, though, who calmly stretched across and carved high over the covers even as he teetered on one foot. The ball didn't have the strength to beat Sachithra Senanayake on the boundary, but Dhoni and last-man Umesh Yadav bounded through for three runs to tie a nerve-wracking classic at the Adelaide Oval.

The beauty of the ODI format shone throughout the duration of the chase, with the best minds in the game feeling the pressure of a close finish. India were coasting on the back of another polished effort from Gautam Gambhir, whose faultless 91 showed he has moved on well from his Test-match woes. Dhoni had added 60 runs with Gambhir off 12.5 overs, leaving India needing 59 off 58. At that stage, Dhoni made the first decisive error, when he sold Gambhir dear after calling him for a single. Gambhir was caught short by a direct hit from Nuwan Kulasekara, and his fall gave Sri Lanka an opening; Dhoni would later say it cost India victory.

The wicket was followed by a 28-ball phase that yielded only 13 runs for the loss of Ravindra Jadeja's wicket. Sri Lanka's seamers bowled out of their skins, backed by enterprising field placements from Mahela Jayawardene that cut off the singles. With two overs of Malinga left, Dhoni went after Thisara Perera in the 46th, dumping him for a huge six down the ground, before R Ashwin skimmed another four over the covers. Malinga returned after a quiet over from Kulasekara, with India needing 28 off 18. Mistakes began to sprout from every corner now.

Malinga got Ashwin to sky a slower ball, and Kumar Sangakkara called for, and clanged the chance as he ran towards point. Ashwin continued blundering against the slower ball, heaving and missing one, before chipping straight to cover. With 24 needed off 12, Jayawardene turned to Angelo Mathews who trotted in from round the stumps to cut Dhoni's swinging angle. Mathews lost the plot against Irfan Pathan, though, delivering a high no-ball that Irfan deposited over square leg for six. Irfan was run out next ball, sacrificing his wicket after failing to get a slower ball away. India needed a boundary, and Mathews obliged with another full toss that Dhoni swiped through midwicket to reach 50. Nine was needed off the last over, from Malinga.

In the previous game, Dhoni chose to take the game to the very end. This time, he was forced to do so by Malinga's unhittable lengths. A couple off the first ball was followed by three singles before Vinay sacrificed his wicket to give Dhoni strike for the final ball. One could argue that Malinga should have gone full and straight, but the counter-argument would be that even a fractional error in length would have allowed Dhoni a free swing over the short square boundary. As it transpired, Malinga went wide, Dhoni went high and there was poetic justice in the denouement.

Sri Lanka were left ruing a collapse in their batting Powerplay, that left them at least 20 runs short. They stumbled from a heady 168 for 3 in 35 overs, losing 18 for 3 in the Powerplay, including the two set batsmen - Dinesh Chandimal and Jayawardene - who had added 94 runs without a fuss. The complexion of the game changed so drastically in that block, that Ashwin bowled with two slips in the 40th over.

Until then, Chandimal ran the show with admirable poise, imposing himself with a series of pulls and whips through the leg side, imparted with a flourish that was once the trademark of Marvan Atapattu. In his company, Jayawardene shrugged away the poor form that had dogged him since the South Africa tour, as Sri Lanka recovered from their sluggish start.

India made three crucial early strikes, which meant they were only one wicket away from the lower order even during the Chandimal-Jayawardene association. Vinay Kumar preyed on Upul Tharanga's unending troubles outside the off stump, before Irfan celebrated his return to the venue where he made his international debut in 2003 with pleasing swing, and the wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan. Ashwin then worked over Sangakkara with spin and variety to peg Sri Lanka back. Chandimal and Jayawardene fought hard to revive the innings, but India were the happier side after 50 overs.

Gambhir took charge of the chase with assurance, and it will be interesting if India will continue their rotation policy and bench him for the next game. Sachin Tendulkar's rustiness, too, suggested the break from Sunday's game didn't do him much good. Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma all perished after scoring 15 runs apiece, as Sri Lanka made timely dents. Suresh Raina's failure meant India were wobbling at 122 for 4 in the 28th over. But they had just the right man coming in at that stage.

It wasn't just the players that erred on the tense night. Umpire Nigel Llong's miscounting meant Malinga only bowled five balls in the 30th over. India will believe they would have got the winning run off the ball that was missed. Sri Lanka will believe they could have got the tenth Indian wicket off it. How perfect then, that we will never know how it could have ended.

Ice-cool Dhoni downs Australia

A supremely calm MS Dhoni guided India to victory, with two balls to spare, over a sluggish Australia in the ODI at Adelaide Oval.

Dhoni's composure was best measured by how he paced his innings. It bordered on the statuesque early, before he raised tempo with swift running between the wickets. He saved his one stroke to the boundary - a towering six over long on - for when he most needed it: the third ball of the final over delivered by Clint McKay, which began with 13 still required.

The next ball was a high full toss that Dhoni swung to deep midwicket, but the no-ball - called for height - gifted India a third run in addition to the two scampered between the wickets. The next delivery was helped around to backward square leg, and the final three runs were collected to take India alongside Australia on two wins from three matches.

India's chase was anchored by Gautam Gambhir's fluent 92, before Dhoni and Suresh Raina took the visitors close with a stand of 61. Raina perished in the 47th over and Ravindra Jadeja followed in the 49th, but Dhoni remained to collar the remaining runs. Test match difficulties notwithstanding, he remains the master technician in limited-overs matches.

Australia's fielding display was its least attentive of the Michael Clarke era. Only one catch of note went down but outfield fumbles were legion, and both Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja could have been run-out in the closing stages had in-fielders held their nerve.

Of even greater concern was an apparent hamstring twinge for Michael Clarke, who was running gingerly from the innings' midpoint and hobbling noticeably by the end, having left the field briefly for treatment. Clarke may now be due a spell of rest after an unbroken sequence of Tests and ODIs dating back to his first tour as captain - to Bangladesh in April 2011.

Until the final over, McKay provided the most lasting threat for the home attack, maintaining a disciplined line and changing his pace, while Xavier Doherty bowled some particularly nagging deliveries at the death to make India work for the points.

Looking very much at home in international company, the debutant Peter Forrest had built Australia's total alongside David Hussey after the innings was in danger of stalling at 3 for 81. Clarke's fluent 38 had ended when he sallied forth to attack Umesh Yadav and dragged a slower ball wretchedly onto the stumps.

Forrest was strong square of the wicket and down the ground, while Hussey's innings was another reminder of his usefulness in most limited-overs contests. Following their departure, allrounder Daniel Christian put together a handy closing contribution at the home ground of his adopted state. Few boundaries were collected in the closing overs, reflecting some diligent bowling but also the slowing of an otherwise friendly batting surface.

Yadav and Zaheer Khan were the most effective of India's bowlers, attacking the stumps while also keeping the runs down, as the tourists sought a manageable target after the selectors chose to rest Sachin Tendulkar.

Ryan Harris and Mitchell Starc had found some bounce but no great pace and negligible movement when they shared the new ball, allowing Virender Sehwag and Gambhir the chance to play with freedom as they regularly pierced the offside field.

Clarke's brow was looking furrowed as the 50 was raised inside nine overs, but his introduction of McKay brought immediate results when Sehwag's leading edge to a nondescript delivery looped to point.

Gambhir and Kohli accumulated, albeit at a lesser pace, until the younger batsman tried to lace McKay over the offside field and offered a steepling chance to Forrest. Rohit Sharma's entry to the crease coincided with the introduction of spin, but after a period of thrust and parry the quicks returned.

Rohit's first response was to lash Starc over square leg for a glorious flat six, and next over he managed a cut that scorched to the fence from Christian. However some tension clearly remained in Rohit's arms, and he perished in trying to force Harris over the in-field.

Gambhir survived a chance on 88, David Warner shelling a sharp drive at short cover, but on 92 he was the victim of an lbw decision when all logic - and subsequent replays - suggested that McKay's delivery had pitched outside leg stump.

The duo of wickets forced Dhoni and Raina into salvage mode, trying to stabilise the innings even as the required-rate slithered up towards eight per over. They were helped by a series of misfields, uncharacteristic by the hosts' standards this summer.

Gradually a few boundaries closed the gap between runs and balls, Raina depositing Xavier Doherty into the crowd wide of long on. Thirty-one were required from the final four overs when Raina played over a delivery by Doherty to be bowled, leaving the stage to Dhoni.

Earlier in the day, the selectors rested Michael Hussey to give Forrest a first cap and dropped Matthew Wade down the order, shifting Ricky Ponting to the top, but neither he nor Warner had a significant impact on proceedings.

Upon winning the toss, Clarke had no hesitation batting first for the third time in as many matches in this series, but Ponting and Warner made a sluggish start against Zaheer and Vinay Kumar. Reaching out for the ball rather than letting it come to him, Ponting miscued a drive to point.

A horrid running mix-up resulted in Warner being stranded as Vinay collected Rohit's agile field-and-throw to the non-striker's end. Forrest and Clarke recalibrated somewhat before the debutant signalled his capabilities with a rasping cut from Yadav, followed by a crisp swing off Jadeja down the ground for six.

Clarke had lost some of his earlier momentum, and Yadav capitalised when his change of pace met a highly ambitious attempt to reach the boundary, leaving Hussey and Forrest to rebuild again. They did so with wisely-chosen shots - Forrest clattered a second six down the ground off the bowling of Rohit - and eager running between the wickets, lifting the hosts to 179 before Forrest presented a catch to deep midwicket.

Hussey went on in the company of Christian, scoring mainly in an efficient series of ones and twos, and looked ready to unfurl his cleanest hitting when Virender Sehwag dived smartly to hold a low chance at square leg. Christian accumulated neatly until he was heedlessly run out, and 57 from the final 10 overs proved inadequate as Dhoni held his nerve.

IPL 2012 Auction Results.

Millions for Jadeja, Jayawardene and Vinay Kumar.

India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja fetched the highest bid in the IPL 2012 auction, being signed up by Chennai Super Kings for more than $2m after they beat Deccan Chargers in a secret tiebreaker. Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene went to Delhi Daredevils for $1.4m and India medium-pacer Vinay Kumar to Royal Challengers Bangalore for $1m. The auction was held under a cloud of controversy following the breaking news, an hour before its scheduled start, that Sahara was pulling out of its Pune franchise.

Two other big buys on the day came from Kolkata Knight Riders: Brendon McCullum for $900,000 and the relatively low-profile West Indies offspinner, Sunil Narine, for $700,000.

Once again England players weren't in demand. Most West Indies players also missed out as they have Test series with Australia and England clashing with the IPL season. With their availability for the IPL restricted due to the home series against West Indies in May, none of them attracted a bid. VVS Laxman, with a base price of $400,000 and originally an icon player when the IPL launched in 2008, also went unsold.

Among the most active franchises on the day was Mumbai Indians. They strengthened their bowling line-up by signing up the IPL's highest all-time wicket-taker, RP Singh ($600,000), and three overseas allrounders: Sri Lanka's Thisara Perera ($650,000), Australia's Mitchell Johnson ($300,000) and South Africa's Robin Peterson ($100,000). Mumbai also made one of the smartest buys of the day, by hiring experienced Twenty20 specialist Herschelle Gibbs for a paltry $50,000.

The Rajasthan Royals also made five signings but, unlike Mumbai, they didn't splash the cash. Their most expensive purchases were Australia's Brad Hodge ($475,000) and India fast bowler Sreesanth ($400,000). They made three low-cost buys: $180,000 for left-arm spinner Brad Hogg - who turns 41 on Monday and had received an unlikelyinternational recall for the Twenty20s against India, following his good run in the Big Bash League - and $50,000 apiece for Sri Lanka's wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal and Trinidad & Tobago allrounder Kevon Cooper, whose medium pace proved hard to hit at the Champions League T20 last year.

Another West Indies allrounder, Andre Russell, who impressed last year with his combination of fast bowling, big hitting, sharp fielding and made-for-IPL bling, was picked up by Delhi Daredevils for $450,000.

Two players whose international days are behind them, Muttiah Muralitharan ($220,000 to Royal Challengers) and former Pakistan allrounder Azhar Mahmood ($200,000 to Kings XI Punjab) also earned contracts.

Bought

Brendon McCullum - $900,000 to Kolkata Knight Riders (base price $400,000)
Ravindra Jadeja - Maximum purse of $2 million bid by Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers. It goes to a tiebreaker. Bought by Chennai Super Kings for an undisclosed amount (base price $100,000).
Muttiah Muralitharan - $220,000 to Royal Challengers Bangalore (base price $200,000)
Mahela Jayawardene - $1.4 million to Delhi Daredevils (base price $300,000)
Herschelle Gibbs - $50,000 to Mumbai Indians (base price $50,000)
Brad Hodge - $475,000 to Rajasthan Royals (base price $200,000)
Parthiv Patel - $650,000 to Deccan Chargers (base price $200,000)
Dinesh Chandimal - $50,000 to Rajasthan Royals (base price $50,000)
Andre Russell - $450,000 to Delhi Daredevils (base price $50,000)
Mitchell Johnson - $300,000 to Mumbai Indians (base price $300,000)
RP Singh - $600,000 to Mumbai Indians (base price $200,000)
Vinay Kumar - $1 million to Royal Challengers Bangalore (base price $100,000)
Sreesanth - $400,000 to Rajasthan Royals (base price $400,000)
Ramesh Powar - $160,000 to Kings XI Punjab (base price $100,000)
Brad Hogg - $180,000 to Rajasthan Royals (base price $100,000)
Sunil Narine - $700,000 to Kolkata Knight Riders (base price $50,000)
Robin Peterson - $100,000 to Mumbai Indians (base price $100,000)
Daniel Harris - $70,000 to Deccan Chargers (base price 50,000)
Kevon Cooper - $50,000 to Rajasthan Royals (base price 50,000)
James Faulkner - $190,000 to Kings XI Punjab (base price $100,000)
Azhar Mahmood - $200,000 to Kings XI Punjab (base price $100,000)
Thisara Perera - $650,000 to Mumbai Indians (base price $50,000)
Marchant de Lange - $50,000 to Kolkata Knight Riders (base price $50,000)
Darren Bravo - $100,000 to Deccan Chargers (base price $100,000)
Doug Bracewell - $50,000 to Delhi Daredevils (base price $50,000)

Retained

(Players who were signed last year as a replacement for injured players and then retained by the franchise for this year)
Chris Gayle - Royal Challengers Bangalore, $550,000
Sourav Ganguly - Pune Warriors, $400,000
David Miller - Kings XI Punjab, $100,000

Transferred

(Main players signed during the IPL's trading window between December 15 and January 20)
Kevin Pietersen - Deccan Chargers to Delhi Daredevils
Andrew McDonald - Delhi Daredevils to Royal Challengers Bangalore
Dinesh Karthik - Kings XI Punjab to Mumbai Indians
Pragyan Ojha - Deccan Chargers to Mumbai Indians
R Sathish - Mumbai Indians to Kings XI Punjab
Harmeet Singh - Deccan Chargers to Kings XI Punjab

Unsold

James Anderson - base price $300,000
Tamim Iqbal - base price $50,000
Adrian Barath - base price $50,000
Ramnaresh Sarwan - base price $100,000
Ian Bell - base price $200,000
Owais Shah - base price $200,000
Upul Tharanga - base price $50,000
VVS Laxman - base price $400,000
Matt Prior - base price $200,000
Brendan Taylor - base price $100,000
Mark Boucher - base price $100,000
Justin Kemp - base price $100,000
Marlon Samuels - base price $100,000
Steven Smith - base price $200,000
Ravi Bopara - base price $100,000
Luke Wright - base price $200,000
Kevin O'Brien - base price $50,000
Dwayne Smith - base price $100,000
Lonwabo Tsotsobe - base price $50,000
VRV Singh - base price $100,000
Vernon Philander - base price $200,000
Fidel Edwards - base price $100,000
Ravi Rampaul - base price $100,000
Peter Siddle - base price $200,000
Tim Southee - base price $100,000
Graeme Swann - base price $400,000
Rangana Herath - base price $50,000
Ajantha Mendis - base price $50,000
Steve O'Keefe - base price $100,000
Xavier Doherty - base price $100,000
Michael Klinger - base price $50,000
Richard Levi base price $50,000
Alviro Petersen base price $100,000
Lendl Simmons base price $50,000
Farveez Maharoof - base price $50,000
Jacob Oram - base price $100,000
Moises Henriques - base price $50,000
Ben Laughlin - base price $50,000
Ryan McLaren - base price $100,000
Nicky Boje - base price $200,000
Jacques Rudolph - base price $20,000
Andy McKay - base price $50,000
Alister McDermott - base price $20,000
Michael Neser - base price $50,000

India Tour of Australia - First Test, MCG.

Australia's batsmen scrambled to 6 for 277 against a shrewd and opportunistic India on day one of the Boxing Day Test, and would not have progressed that far without a meritorious debut from Ed Cowan in front of 70,068 spectators at the MCG.

Losing Michael Hussey to a decision that would have been reversed with the aid of technology - Cowan also had reason to query his exit - the hosts were still some way short of a substantial total by the close. Brad Haddin and Peter Siddle were established however, and their contributions will be critical when play resumes.

Cowan's 68, in 294 minutes and 177 balls, was no more or less than he had promised to deliver as a circumspect, organised opening bat. But its influence on proceedings was lessened by the others' failure to bat around him, save for an innings of 62 from Ricky Ponting that alternated between edgy and elegant.

India's captain MS Dhoni rotated his bowlers expertly, recovering from the hour after lunch when Ponting and Cowan had threatened to carry the day. India's refusal to accept the DRS also allowed the visitors to place pressure on the umpires Marais Erasmus and Ian Gould in the time-honoured style, achieving the desired result in the final session.

Zaheer Khan turned the day India's way with the removal of Michael Clarke and Hussey to successive, reverse-swinging balls, after Umesh Yadav demonstrated his knack for speed and wickets with a trio either side of a profligate post-lunch spell. R Ashwin accounted for Cowan in the following over and gained appreciable turn at times to suggest he will be a threat across this series.

Opening up after Clarke won a quite ambiguous toss, Cowan and David Warner walked to the middle under overcast skies to a surface the offered the promise of early seam to augment the swing offered by the atmosphere. First strike was taken by the debutant, and Cowan responded by playing out Zaheer's well-directed opening over with plenty of nerves but just as much good sense. His first run arrived in the second over with a tap wide of mid on, before Warner commenced with a streaky inside edge to the fine-leg boundary.

From this inauspicious beginning Warner was quickly into stride, cuffing a handful of boundaries in between sensible pushes and nudges around the ground's vast expanses. Zaheer moved the ball and Ishant Sharma bounced it, but Australia's openers negotiated their opening spells with as much confidence as could be expected. The introduction of Yadav prompted Cowan to unfurl one glorious straight drive amid his otherwise abstemious defence, and Warner followed up in the same over by biffing the bowler through cover then hooking uproariously into the crowd.

A brief rain delay broke the rhythm of the stand, and when the players returned Warner perished immediately, attempting to repeat his hook at Yadav and gloving gently behind to Dhoni. Yadav had his tail up, firing down his deliveries with plenty of speed, and had Marsh struck on the pad first up. Having played only one Twenty20 innings since his return to fitness after a painful back complaint that afflicted him in South Africa, Marsh did not look at ease, and to his seventh ball he walked too late into a drive and sliced it to gully.

Suddenly 0 for 46 had become two for the same score, and Ponting's arrival brought a crowd response that suggested both appreciation and trepidation for Australia's former captain. Off his second ball Ponting swivelled to hook a short ball, but was struck a stunning blow to the jaw. Ponting was still alert enough to side-foot the rebound away from his stumps, but it was another reminder of how his command over the bouncer has slipped ever since West Indies' Kemar Roach pinned him on the arm at Perth in 2009.

Through it all Cowan maintained his composure, cracking Ishant through the covers with some flourish to add a second boundary after taking a blow to the body from Yadav, and Ponting gradually began to find a little more equilibrium. He slipped over while pulling at Zaheer, but the ungainly follow-through was less important than the sight of the ball skimming to the backward square-leg boundary.

Resumption was delayed by further showers, and when it arrived India's bowlers lapsed in line, length and attitude. Cowan was granted the chance to gather momentum with a handful of boundaries, one a chancy cut over gully but the rest pleasingly fluent, and Ponting also took advantage of some wayward stuff from Yadav in particular. Swiftly the 50-run stand and the Australian 100 were raised, in a union between a Tasmanian living in Sydney (Ponting) and a New South Welshman renewed in Hobart (Cowan).

Some of Ponting's strokes were reprised from the pages of his regal best, one back foot punch off the toes from Ishant more than enough to get the crowd cooing. They were on their feet soon after as his half-century was raised, via a rather more ungainly slog sweep for three. The rain delayed the tea break and Cowan took his time to reach his own 50, but a nudge into the offside brought it in 120 new-ball-blunting balls.

Yadav returned to the attack for a spell near the interval, and found something approaching the vim of his morning burst. Ponting was unnerved by his first ball, rearing off a length, and dismissed by the third, which swerved away on a line just close enough to off stump for an uncertain batsman. VVS Laxman held the nick, the union was broken at 113, and Ponting's interminable wait for another Test century continued.

Clarke offered useful company to Cowan for a time, the pair adding 46 either side of the interval. India responded by tightening up, and only four runs had been accrued from three overs when Zaheer beat Clarke's outside edge with a delivery that zipped away, then forced a cuff onto the stumps from the next when the batsman shaped to cut far too close to his body.

The sin of Clarke's dismissal for 31 was compounded next ball, Hussey fending at a short-pitcher from Zaheer that passed close to, but did not appear to touch, bat or glove on the way through to Dhoni. The umpire Erasmus intuited an edge and raised his finger, and with no DRS recourse Hussey had to go.

While Haddin averted the hat-trick, Cowan now let his guard down, cutting impatiently at Ashwin and was adjudged by Gould to have offered the thinnest of edges to Dhoni. Hot-spot showed no evidence of contact, adding another unhappy chapter to the saga of technology and its inconsistent use. Batting as though they were aware of the total's inadequacy, Haddin and Siddle dug in, and eluded a tight lbw appeal each. They will face a refreshed India in the morning.

Ishant and Zaheer had both been ruled fit and were joined in the attack by Yadav and Ashwin, who won the spinner's spot ahead of Pragyan Ojha. Australia's line-up was confirmed two days ago and there were no late changes, with Ben Hilfenhaus in for Mitchell Starc and Cowan named at the top of the order. Australia's 427th Test cricketer, Cowan was presented with his baggy green by Dean Jones, before the toss.

Match fizzles after Ashwin century

There was a century at the Wankhede Stadium, but not the one the sell-out crowd came to see. Sachin Tendulkar missed his historic ton by six runs, but the fans at least had the consolation of watching R Ashwin conjure an energetic hundred to become the first Indian since 1962 to take five wickets and score a century in the same match.

When Ashwin walked out, India were facing the possibility of a humiliating follow-on on the flattest of tracks after the West Indies' quicks struck three times with the second new ball, but with the help of Virat Kohli, he sliced the deficit to a far more manageable 108.

In recent times, West Indies' batting has rarely shown the ability to put up strong performances in both innings of a Test, but the all-too-familiar collapse didn't occur in the final session as Darren Bravo and Kraigg Brathwaite steadfastly hung on against the spinners.

West Indies' fast bowlers began the day with intent - Ravi Rampaul starting with a bouncer to Tendulkar and Fidel Edwards striking with his first delivery of the day, getting VVS Laxman to edge to gully.

It was all about Tendulkar for the next half an hour though, as he galloped to the nineties with a series of sumptuous strokes. The classic straight drive, an effortless punch past cover, an audacious upper cut over third man for six all suggested Tendulkar was in top form, turning the Wankhede into a buzzing cauldron of noise. Ravi Rampaul switched the mute-button on though, by getting a short-of-length ball to jump at Tendulkar, who edged it to Darren Sammy at second slip. The seemingly interminable wait continues.

The crowd was at its most dejected then, and their mood didn't improve when MS Dhoni was bowled by Sammy soon after. With only the inexperienced Kohli and the bowlers to come, and India needing 60 more to force West Indies to bat again, the follow-on looked a distinct possibility.

All the hoopla may have been around Tendulkar, but it was a far more important day for Kohli, who finally got the chance to show his credentials for the No. 6 spot. He responded well, with an array of wristy flicks, guiding India ever closer to the crucial 391-run mark.

Barring a caught-behind chance on 43, Kohli was barely troubled by the bowling either side of lunch, and his partnership with Ashwin not only avoided the follow-on but swelled towards triple-figures. Kohli progressed to his maiden Test half-century but couldn't carry on, gifting his wicket away while attempting to clear mid-on. There was a scream of disappointment from Kohli, but he has seemingly done enough to at least book a place for the Australia tour.

Another youngster whose tickets for Australia can be confirmed is Ashwin, who continued to find Test cricket easy in his debut series. He used to be an opener at the Under-19 level, and that was reflected during his century, which wasn't a tailender's swing-at-everything effort but a more controlled one.

The early boundaries came through measured drives and flicks, as he outscored Kohli in their partnership. After lunch, two streaky edged fours were bookended by murderous hits over mid-on for six off Bishoo. There were late cuts for four off Edwards and Marlon Samuels, audacious paddles to fine leg after jumping across the stumps on consecutive deliveries, and an air of level-headedness even as he started to run out of partners.

He started to decline the singles towards the end, and the crowd thoroughly enjoyed the tension of seeing whether Ashwin could make it to the hundred with last man Pragyan Ojha for company. The No. 11 survived 14 deliveries, including a testing over from Edwards, before Ashwin stabbed the ball past gully in the next over to bring up the century which caps an eventful month in which he has already won the Man-of-the-Match award on Test debut, and got married.

Even with a sizeable first-innings lead, West Indies looked like the only team likely to lose - their batsmen needed to withstand a trial by spin, and even if they succeeded the visitors couldn't risk declaring too early on the fifth morning to push for a victory given the might of the Indian batting.

Ojha caused some early excitement by getting rid of both Adrian Barath and Kirk Edwards within the 11th over, but Brathwaithe again showed that though he may lack flair, he wasn't short on defensive doggedness. At the other end, Bravo continued to bat as fluently as you'd expect from a man who has two centuries in his previous two innings. There was a moment of concern, when he edged a chance to Kohli at forward short leg in the final over of the day but that was put down.

Though the track showed signs of taking spin, the draw remains the likeliest result.

Five Australia players ruled out of first NZ Test

Shane Watson, Ryan Harris,Mitchell Johnson, Pat Cummins and Shaun Marsh will all miss Australia's first Test against New Zealand, leaving the national selectors to fill plenty of gaps ahead of the squad announcement on Saturday.

All five players are carrying injuries and will be unavailable for the national selector John Inverarity and his panel to consider. Watson has a hamstring strain, Marsh a back ailment, Harris a pelvis problem, Johnson an injured foot and Cummins a bruised heel.

"We unfortunately suffered some injuries during the recent Test series against South Africa. With such a short turnaround time between series, five players who were involved in the series will not fully recover in time to play the first Test against New Zealand," Pat Howard, the CA team performance manager, said.

Decisions on the futures of Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin will be deferred by the injuries, giving the duo a further chance to shore up their spots. Ponting said the volume of injuries reminded him of an ODI tour of India in 2009, when the list of unavailable players touched double figures.

"This is obviously a really testing time for the depth of Australian cricket," Ponting said at the SCG. "A lot of the guys that will be considered [as replacements] have been in and around our squad the last couple of years anyway because we've had a fair share of guys, fast bowlers especially, who have been injured the last little bit. It's something we'll have to cope with.

"With the A game going on at the moment and the Shield game just starting out the back here I'm sure the selectors will be looking long and hard at a lot of those players playing in those couple of games. By the time they're ready to announce the squad for Brisbane, I'm sure we'll have a very competitive XI come Thursday."

While the list of players ruled out reflected the hideously cramped nature of the international schedule in 2011, Ponting said it also had a little to do with the fact the New Zealand series was being followed by a major four-match contest against India.

"That's the way it's been for the last six or seven years in Australian cricket and that's why we've had the turnover of players that we did," Ponting said. "You have a look at the time I was captain. I don't know how many debutants I had compared to what we had the previous 10 years before that but I think that's just international cricket.

"I dont know if it's ever too much but I've said for the last few years you can't fit any more in, it's as simple as that. The international programme is so full and to have what we've just had at that time of year and to come back to an Australian summer that's as busy as it is, I'm sure by the end of the summer we'll have a few more guys that are looking for a bit of a break.

"The management thing around our group is crucial and we have to make sure that we've got all of our guys fit and healthy for when the really big series comes around. There's no doubt after we play New Zealand in the next two Test matches, the next series that we play is a very big one against India."

Marsh and Watson are expected to be some chance of playing in the second Test of the series in Hobart, but the futures of Harris, Johnson and Cummins are less clear. Cummins' heel problem is expected to be given plenty of recovery time as CA is very conscious of not burning out the 18-year-old after his stunning Test debut in South Africa.

"Pat Cummins experienced left heel pain towards the end of the second innings in his debut Test match. He had scans that have cleared him of any serious injury but we don't expect that he will fully recover in time," Alex Kountouris, the Australian team physio, said. "He will be reviewed early next week to determine his workload plan for the summer."

Johnson's foot injury, sustained during the second innings of the Johannesburg Test, has resulted in considerable swelling, and he will consult a foot specialist before plans are made for his recovery.

"His foot was considerably swollen and painful after the game but he is showing early signs of improvement. He will not return to training in time to be fit for the Gabba," Kountouris said. "His return to training and playing will be clearer in coming days after he is assessed by a foot specialist in Perth and the swelling has had a chance to resolve."

Harris is yet to bowl again after missing the second Test due to his pelvis injury, and his recovery will continue to be monitored.

"He is making good progress but has not returned to bowling as yet and is therefore unavailable to play the first Test against New Zealand," Kountouris said. "A decision on his return to training will be made early next week and will determine his return to playing."