9 Jan 2015

Australia lead by 97 after India tail wags

6:02 pm on 9 January 2015

Australia mopped up the Indian tail to dismiss the tourists for 475 before tea on the fourth day of the fourth cricket test, claiming a first-innings lead of 97 with a little over four sessions to try and force a result.

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli Photo: AFP

Looking to wrap up the series 3-nil, the Australians struck early to remove dangerman Virat Kohli for 147 and bundled out four more batsman at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

They got some help from the third umpire to get rid of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar after a referred decision that will do little to persuade India to embrace the Decision Review System.

India, who resumed on 342 for five and were looking to eat into Australia's imposing tally of 572-7 declared, will be encouraged by the fact that their tail wagged for the first time in the series.

It had to, after skipper Kohli clipped a Ryan Harris delivery to Chris Rogers at midwicket after having added just seven runs to his overnight score.

His fourth century of the series helped bring his tally over the four tests to 646 runs, the second highest by an Indian batsman in an overseas series after the 774 Sunil Gavaskar accumulated in West Indies in 1971.

Wriddhiman Saha survived another 50 minutes before he too departed, for 35.

Kumar had reached 30 in a 65-run partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin when he made contact with a third Lyon delivery, the ball coming off the bottom of his bat in a spray of dirt and flying to Shane Watson in the slips.

After a muted appeal from the Australians, the officials referred the decision to the third umpire who, to the disbelief of almost everybody in the ground, decided he was 100 percent certain the ball had come straight off the bat to Watson.

The next wicket to fall was that of Ashwin, who had just reached his half century when he was caught behind and the end of the innings was in sight.