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Summary At the close of play Gautam Gambhir was 68 not out and Sachin Tendulkar was unbeaten on 8.
Australia captain Michael Clarke completed a triple century and then saw his bowlers take two prize India wickets on day three of the second test as the hosts closed in on a 2-0 series lead.Ben Hilfenhaus removed Virender Sehwag and then captured Rahul Dravid just before stumps Thursday to leave India at 114-2, still trailing Australia by 354 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground.At the close of play Gautam Gambhir was 68 not out and Sachin Tendulkar was unbeaten on 8, with their partnership representing Indias best hope of staving off defeat with two days to play. Both had narrow escapes in the overs leading up to stumps.Clarkes 329 was the fourth-highest score by an Australian in tests behind Matthew Hayden (380), Mark Taylor (334 not out) and Sir Donald Bradman (334) and the best score at the SCG in its 100 test history. The innings total of 659-4 also equaled Australias highest score at the ground.Mike Hussey finished on 150 not out, as he and Clarke combined for a record 334-run partnership against India before Clarke made a surprising declaration at drinks in the middle session, the midpoint of the match.Clarke said he was more concerned about pushing for victory than chasing milestones, including Brian Laras test record of 400 and Matthew Haydens Australian high of 380, set in 2003.I would have had to bat the whole day to make that amount of runs, he said. I was certainly fatiguing in my mind more than my body ... physically I felt ok, but mentally I was fatiguing and I never really thought about that.I always had in the back of my mind if we could get a lead of 400-450 were in a great position to win this test match.Clarke hit a four through mid wicket off Ishant Sharma to bring up his 300 in 431 balls with 37 fours and one six. Clarke ran and punched the air in joy as he celebrated in front of a crowd of 31,644.Before lunch Clarke had passed Don Bradmans score of 270, to hold the best score by an Australian captain on home soil and Englands Reginald Tip Fosters mark of 287 in 1903 as the highest SCG score.If not for the declaration, Laras mark of 400 might also have gone, as Indias bowling attack again failed to make any inroads into a dominant Australia batting lineup and captured just one wicket Ricky Ponting for 134 in nearly five sessions.Clarkes epic innings overshadowed Husseys excellent performance in reaching his second highest test score. He was the more aggressive batsman Thursday, frequently advancing from his crease to hit down the ground.Husseys 150 came off 252 balls, with 16 fours and one six and was his first century since the tour of Sri Lanka in September 2011.Australia carried its momentum into the field, as Hilfenhaus struck early in Indias second innings to remove Sehwag for four, brilliantly caught by Dave Warner at gully.Gambhir and Dravid, however, dug in and moved Indias 2nd innings to 100 without further loss, before Hilfenhaus struck in the first over after the final drinks break, cutting a ball between Dravids bat and pad to hit the top of off stump. It was the sixth time Dravid has been bowled in his past eight test innings.Tendulkar was lucky to survive until stumps, as he edged a ball narrowly past his leg stump. The Little Master will resume Friday in his quest to score his 100th international century, having been stuck on 99 since March 2011. Coming into this match, he averaged an astonishing 221 at the SCG, but could only manage 41 in the first innings here.Gambhir, who has struggled on tour with scores of 3, 13 and 0, played several flush cover drives in an entertaining 68, including scoring his first fifty this series off just 54 balls.James Pattinson had a vigorous appeal for LBW turned down when Gambhir was on 61. Replays showed umpire Marias Erasmus had made a good decision, as Gambhir nicked the ball onto his pads.Pattinson should have had Gambhir in the second last over the day, but wicketkeeper Brad Haddin inexplicably dropped a simple chance.Indias woes were compounded by news that, Indias Virat Kohli was fined 50 percent of his match fee for making an obscene gesture to jeering and taunting fans on day two.In a hearing before play Thursday, Kohli admitted raising a middle finger to the fans, and match referee Ranjan Madugalle found him guilty of a level two offense of the International Cricket Councils code of conduct
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