(updates at lunch)
SYDNEY, Jan 4 - Australia were 49 without loss at
lunch on the third day of the final test with India on Sunday
after the tourists declared their first innings at 705 for
seven.
Justin Langer was unbeaten on 38 with a subdued Matthew
Hayden not out eight and Australia still 656 runs in arrears of
India's mammoth total, their highest ever in a test match.
Sachin Tendulkar made 241 not out to set the second highest
individual score by an Indian in tests after captain Saurav
Ganguly resisted the temptation to declare overnight on 650-5.
India's final total of 705-7 was India's highest in a test,
eclipsing the 676-7 they made against Sri Lanka at Kanpur in
1986-87.
Tendulkar's unbeaten double century was also his highest
score in first-class cricket and second only to Vangipurappu
Laxman's 281 as the highest test score by an Indian batsman
against any opponent.
The same pair shared a 353 fourth wicket stand on Saturday
that sealed India's grip on the match and set a record for the
highest partnership by a touring team in Australia.
India added 55 runs for the loss of two wickets before
Ganguly declared 40 minutes after the start of play on Sunday.
Parthiv Patel smashed 17 runs off the first nine balls he
faced in the morning to race from 45 to 62 before top edging an
attempted hook off Brett Lee to Australian wicketkeeper Adam
Gilchrist.
Lee also cleaned up Ajit Agarkar for two to capture his
fourth wicket of the innings but then became just the second
Australian to concede more than 200 runs in a test innings as he
finished with the unflattering figures of 201-4.
The only Australian to have conceded more was Chuck
Fleetwood-Smith who went for 298-1 against England at the Oval
in 1938.
With their prospects of winning the match gone, Australia
made a cautious start, scoring just 49 from 70 minutes.
Langer was the more aggressive of the pair, striking seven
boundaries, while the normally abrasive Hayden hit just one.
The four-match series is level at 1-1 after India won the
second test in Adelaide and Australia win the third match in
Melbourne. The series opener in Brisbane ended in a draw.
India need only to draw the deciding match to retain the
Border-Gavaskar trophy.