Kaif and Kumble make it advantage India

Mohammad Kaif and Parthiv Patel put an invaluable 102 run partnership for the 7th wicket and helped India get a lead of 141, a match winning one on a pitch which is fast becoming a spinners paradise. It was a very tight first session with no quarter asked for and none given, India clearly coming out on top. Parthiv Patel has looked much better in front of the wickets than behind, and while that must be a worrying sign for India, his knock today was a superb one given the pressure on both the teams. Kumble played a usefull hand with the bat and when Hayden and Langer came out to bat, they had a huge task in hand.

Zaheer almost provided the perfect start when Hayden edged one to Patel in the first over but Patel botched up the offering. Australia had gone onto 53/0 when Kumble struck a crucial blow breaking the first wicket partnership.Adam Gilchrist walked out at number 3, a move which paid off clearly, unlike in the past series when his magnificent hundred was followed with scores of 0,0,1 and 1. Just when it seemed like Australia were getting back into the game, Khan struck with a beauty of a ball to dismiss Martyn and when Gilchrist was bowled around his leg trying to sweep Kumble, India were clearly the team on top.

Australia are just 9 runs ahead with 6 wickets in hand, though 4 of those are tail enders who will struggle against the guiles of the spinners. If India can get through 2 of the remaining 3 specialist batsman early tomorrow morning, then we could have an early finish. India have to keep the pressure on and can't afford to relax even a single moment as even a score of 150 could prove to be very tricky on this surface.

India desparately need this win to inspire them for the rest of the series and one can sense the hunger in Team India, a hunger which should help them beat the aussies tomorrow