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Late wickets spoil strong Indian start against Australia

India lost four wickets in the final session to undo much of their earlier good work with the bat on the first day of the third Test against Australia at the WACA yesterday.

After Indian captain Anil Kumble won the toss and elected to bat, the tourists were 297 for six at stumps, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan both undefeated on eight.

India started the day's final session in a commanding position at 177 for two, with star batsmen Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar in fine touch.

However, Tendulkar (71) was the victim of another poor umpiring decision, while Dravid (93) and VVS Laxman (26) threw their wickets away with poor shots to allow the home side back into the match.

Umpire Asad Rauf adjudged Tendulkar LBW to Brett Lee, who was the pick of the Australian bowlers with 3-64, despite the fact the ball appeared to be passing over the top of the stumps.

The dismissal meant India were 198 for three and it was a turning point in the day's play, with Sourav Ganguly then falling cheaply to Mitchell Johnson.

Dravid holed out to the innocuous off-spin of Andrew Symonds late in the day, and just six runs later Laxman fell to a similarly injudicious shot from the bowling of Lee, as India slipped to 284 for six.

It was a disappointing end to the day for the Indians, after Tendulkar and Dravid added 139 runs for the third wicket to steady their side after the loss of two quick wickets before lunch.
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