Ponting plays a crucial innings …

Ricky Ponting, with his 34th Test century, and Michael Clarke, with his sixth, have helped boost Australia to 563 in response to India's 526 on day four of the 3 mobile fourth Test at Adelaide Oval.

Ponting wicket on day 4 after his brilliant contribution to his team ...

India is 1-45 in its second innings - eight ahead - and, barring an improbable collapse, a draw looks the inevitable result, with Australia winning the series 2-1 to retain the Gavaskar-Border Trophy.

Mitchell Johnson pinned Irfan Pathan (0) lbw with the 11th ball of India's second innings, but Australia muffed the chance for another breakthrough three balls later when Clarke dropped Virender Sehwag, on two, at second slip off Brett Lee.

Sehwag (31 not out) and Rahul Dravid (11 not out) survived the remaining 14.4 overs until stumps.

Ponting (140) and Clarke (118) shared a stand of 210 off 394 balls - Australia's highest fourth-wicket partnership in 72 Tests against India - before the last six wickets fell for 73 in 21 overs.

Andrew Symonds (30), Adam Gilchrist (14), Brad Hogg (16 not out) and Johnson (13) also contributed to giving Australia a first-innings lead of 37.

Australia's innings finished at 5.10pm local time, leaving India to bat for 70 minutes before stumps.

Having announced his retirement the previous night, Gilchrist was greeted at 3.02pm local time by one of the loudest, most prolonged standing ovations Adelaide Oval has witnessed. Generously and graciously, the Indian players joined in the applause.

Gilchrist, who received a wide from Ishant Sharma first ball, was soon into stride and he thrashed a straight drive off Pathan that nearly decapitated umpire Billy Bowden at the bowler's end.

But Gilchrist departed - to another standing ovation from the crowd of 19,407, and from the Indians again, too - in the same over when he cover-drove Pathan straight to Sehwag at cover.

Sehwag sat on the ground clapping Gilchrist as he walked off and Sharma hurried over to shake Gilchrist's hand, and the Australian vice-captain waved to the crowd - and his family in the Sir Donald Bradman Stand at the River Torrens end - as he neared the players' gate.

Ponting's determined 266-ball, six-and-a-half-four vigil (10 fours) ended seven overs after lunch when he was bowled off an inside edge by a Sehwag off-break that kept low.

The Australian captain had on-field treatment for a sore back late in the first session and batted with a runner (Michael Hussey) after lunch, and he did not field in India's second innings.

Clarke went in the 12th over after Ponting, well caught by third slip VVS Laxman high and wide to his right off Sharma after having batted responsibly for five-and-a-quarter hours (244 balls, eight fours).

Symonds was bowled by Sharma, Lee (one) was caught by wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni to give Pathan his 100th wicket in 28 Tests, Johnson holed out to Sharma at long-on off off-spinner Harbhajan and Stuart Clark (three) was bowled sweeping at Sehwag.

Ponting was on 79 and Clarke 37 when they resumed at 3-322 off 111 overs, with the second new ball only 3.4 overs old, and they added 103 off 31 overs in the first session to reduce Australia's first-innings deficit to 101.

The only chance of the first session was a tough one high and wide to Dravid's right at slip off Sehwag when Clarke was 86 at 4-412.

The Ponting-Clarke stand of 210 topped Australia's previous best for the fourth-wicket - 178 between Dean Jones and Allan Border at Madras (now Chennai) in the tied Test of 1986-87.

Australia's highest fourth-wicket stand against India at Adelaide Oval had been 142 between Lindsay Hassett and Keith Miller in 1947-48 - the first of the nine Australia-India Tests here.

Ponting greeted his hundred with a seemingly relieved and controlled wave of his bat to all sections of the ground, whereas Clarke celebrated his with typical exuberance.

Ponting's 34th century in 116 Tests, including his fifth in 16 Tests against India, elevated him to equal second on the all-time list of century-makers, behind Sachin Tendulkar (39 in 146 Tests), level with Sunil Gavaskar (34 in 125) and Brian Lara (34 in 131) and ahead of Steve Waugh (32 in 168), Matthew Hayden (30 in 94), Don Bradman (29 in 52), Jacques Kallis (29 in 114), Border (27 in 156) and Garry Sobers (26 in 93).

It was also Ponting's fifth century at Adelaide Oval - a record for the ground. Next best are Border and David Boon with four each.

Clarke, playing his 33rd Test, including his eighth against India, had scored one previous hundred against India - 151 at Bangalore on debut in 2004-05.