Remarkably defensive captaincy by Ricky Ponting allowed India to claw back into the Bangalore Test. Australia is still ahead at the end of day three, but two factors are likely to work against it - its own lack of penetrative bowling, and the possibility of rain lopping off significant portions of time. Something about the rain today seemed to affect Harbhajan Singh and India deeply. While most of the top order struggled before it came down briefly an hour after tea, the post-rain period saw the off-spinner and Zaheer Khan in attacking mode, striking boundaries at will. It was as if the game was played on two different tracks. It might have all been different, though. With India on 106 for four replying to 430, and with the follow-on a real possibility, Ponting took his foot off the pedal. His only intention was to block the runs in the hope that the batsmen would throw their wickets away. Then, as the over-rate fell dangerously low, Ponting was forced to use his spinners - the weakest link in this team - for long spells. It allowed Sourav Ganguly to find some runs. Possibly at 155 for five (Dravid), but certainly at 195 for six (Dhoni), Ponting could have brought back his fast men who had made such an impact in the first hour of the day. By the time he brought the fast bowlers back and claimed the new ball, he ran into a Harbhajan Singh who decided that he had not played a significant role so far. The off-spinner's attack on the bowling was thrilling - and there were a few lessons in it for the rest of the match if not the series. The wicket was not excessively difficult even if the bounce was inconsistent. The Indian batsmen were not battling the bowlers so much as the demons in their own minds. Only Rahul Dravid, and even he only after an initial period of uncertainty, looked the part. Tendulkar struggled and Laxman never came out of his shell. When Dravid fell soon after making a fifty - even a man of his experience and ability to focus sometimes relaxes after a landmark - it was back to the recent depressing script. India will have to bat last either chasing, or more likely, defending stoutly over three sessions or more. Australia may lack the spinner to finish off a Test, but the first half of the Indian batting has displayed a worrying tendency to get into a tangle, especially against the slower ball bowled by the fast bowlers. An Indian win can be ruled out; an Australian win is not impossible, but improbable. A draw is the most likely result, especially since this is the first Test of a four-Test series, and both captains will play it safe. __
