Ishant and Sachin sets up an MCG win after 22 yrs …

Sachin Tendulkar put India within sight of their first victory of the CB Series as they reached 3 for 96 after 25 overs at the MCG. Tendulkar was on 45 and Yuvraj Singh was on 1 and India required only 64 more runs to seal the success.

Brett Lee kept Australia's slim hopes alive when he removed Gautam Gambhir with a steeper ball that flew off the shoulder of the bat to backward point in the 22nd over. However, Australia needed a string of wickets to have any chance of defending 159.

Early breakthroughs were hard to come by and their spirits sank further when Tendulkar hammered 12 off Lee's third over. An uppishly-played cover-drive found the boundary and he followed with two cracking drives down the ground to ensure India did not stagnate after losing Virender Sehwag.

Sehwag survived an edge just wide of the sole slip during Nathan Bracken's first over but he had no such fortune in Bracken's second, when he was lbw to a ball that angled in and might have sailed over the stumps. Irfan Pathan was sent in at No. 3 and contributed 18 before he too was lbw, this time to Mitchell Johnson.

His partnership with Tendulkar was worth 36, which viewed out of context might not seem much, but in a chase of 160 it was a valuable stand. Gambhir picked up where left off after his century in Brisbane and showed his class by charging Stuart Clark and crushing him through extra cover for four.

Ricky Ponting praised the variety in his attack following their 128-run demolition of Sri Lanka in Sydney on Friday but he also said the slow and low SCG pitch suited them best. The MCG provided a surprisingly quick and bouncy pitch and despite the best efforts of Lee and his colleagues, Tendulkar's ability to survive to the nominal halfway point blunted their impact.

Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth led a terrific bowling effort from India as Australia collapsed to 159 and faced what was likely to become their first defeat of the CB Series. Michael Hussey's first ODI half-century for nearly a year rescued Australia from total disaster but he remained unbeaten on 65 when the last of his team-mates departed in the 44th over.

Fittingly it was Ishant who finished the job when he had Stuart Clark caught behind, and he ended up with a much-deserved career-best 4 for 38. Sreesanth's 3 for 31 was also important and he helped to clean up the tail when he had Mitchell Johnson caught at cover and Nathan Bracken caught trying to clear mid-on.

The last four wickets cost only 14 runs and were it not for a 53-run stand between Hussey and Brett Lee, India's target could have been considerably lower. Mahendra Singh Dhoni had opted for all-out attack until that point, but Lee and Hussey were then allowed some comfortable singles as the pressure was eased.

However, the loss of Lee for 10, feathering behind to Dhoni off Irfan Pathan, stopped the runs once more and sparked the final collapse. India's approach was totally different to the defensive mindset Sri Lanka used in Australia's previous game at the SCG on Friday.

Whereas Mahela Jaywardene had removed his entire cordon in the third over, Dhoni retained a threatening assortment of catching men while persisting with his three strike bowlers almost until the halfway mark. The results spoke for themselves.

The key wicket came after an eventful mini-battle between Ishant and Matthew Hayden, who got away to a flyer and reached 25 from 21 balls. Eighteen came off Ishant's second over as Hayden drove superbly to the mid-off boundary and scored another pair of fours through edges that flew just over the slips.

The over also featured consecutive no-balls and an aborted run-up and some captains might have been tempted to remove Ishant immediately. But Dhoni kept attacking and the reward came in Ishant's next over, when he kept up his line outside off stump and had Hayden caught behind trying to drive with little footwork.

That left Australia at 2 for 37 after Adam Gilchrist was unluckily given out lbw by Rudi Koertzen in the first over from a Sreesanth delivery that cannoned off the inside edge. When Ishant added Ricky Ponting to his collection, caught at first slip off a terrific ball that surprised him with extra bounce, Australia's troubles were compounded.

Michael Clarke needed to steady the innings but he became frustrated at his lack of scoring and on 11 from 27 balls he tried to lift the pace against Pathan. Clarke did his best Hayden impression, walking down the pitch, but his flick went straight to Rohit Sharma at midwicket.

At 4 for 64 Dhoni sensed a chance to pierce through Australia's specialist batting line-up, which was boosted with the addition of Brad Haddin to replace Brad Hogg. Ishant and Sreesanth were juggled along with Pathan and Ishant was into his seventh of eight overs when Andrew Symonds glided him to the diving Dhoni for 14.

Haddin fell to a sharp piece of work from his fellow wicketkeeper Dhoni, who whipped the bails off to a leg-side wide from Harbhajan Singh. Haddin had stumbled in his attempted slog-sweep and was out of his ground, perhaps wishing he had been behind the stumps instead of in front of them.

That left much work for Hussey, who entered the game with an ODI average of 55.90, although he had not reached that in an innings since last February's Chappell-Hadlee Series as Australia's strong top order usually did the job expected of them. But on an MCG pitch offering pace and carry, Hussey was able to survive a couple of edgy moments early and cruised to his half-century from 68 balls.

He celebrated like it was triple-figures, removing his helmet and raising his bat to all sections of the crowd, so important was the effort after Australia's early troubles. He only managed four fours - a pull over midwicket from a Virender Sehwag delivery that was not that short was a highlight - and his running between the wickets kept Australia's score ticking over.

But even on a surface that will suit the speed of Lee and Johnson, Australia's prospects of a second consecutive victory appear slim. A strong opening from India's top order could turn the final CB Series into the tight contest it always promised.