Aussies equal record as India fume

SYDNEY, Australia -- Australia were accused of unsportsmanlike conduct after equaling their own world record of 16 consecutive Test triumphs with a dramatic 122-run victory over India on Sunday.

"Only one team was playing in the spirit of the game, that's all I can say," India captain Anil Kumble told a news conference at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

And team manager Chetan Chauhan said India would lodge a strong protest calling for "incompetent umpires" to be replaced as the tourists fumed over poor decisions and Australia's attitude in the field.

To rub salt into the wound, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was later banned for three Tests by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The charge related to an incident on the third day in which Harbhajan was alleged to have made a "monkey" comment towards all-rounder Andrew Symonds.

Match referee Mike Procter said: "I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Harbhajan Singh directed that word at Andrew Symonds and also that he meant it to offend on the basis of Symonds' race or ethnic origin."

There were just eight minutes left in the final day's play when Michael Clarke grabbed three wickets in five balls in the penultimate over of the match as India were shot out for 210.

Clarke was captain Ricky Ponting's final throw of the dice and the slow left-armer did the trick as the Indian tail crumbled in the second Test.

Clarke came on with skipper Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh looking as though they would see the tourists through to the close.

First he tempted Harbhajan into edging to Mike Hussey before trapping RP Singh leg before wicket next delivery.

Nineteen-year-old Ishant Sharma was the last man in and, despite seeing off the hat-trick ball, was unable to cope with the pressure -- also falling to the Clarke/Hussey combination to end the contest.

The late drama vindicated Ponting's decision to make a delayed declaration earlier in the day.

Australia, already 1-0 up in the four-match series, made 401 for seven in their second innings, Hussey hitting an unbeaten 145, before Ponting called his players in.

"We got about the right number of runs and the right amount of time to get the wickets," Ponting said afterwards. "Clarke has got the golden touch hasn't he!

"We hung in there and we knew that if we kept them under pressure we would have a chance. That is as good a win as I have ever been involved in.

"We were the only ones who could win the game which was what I wanted. It was always going to be hard work for them."

Ponting hailed the impact of slow bowlers Clarke and Symonds. "The game was slipping away with 10 overs to go but we only needed one wicket to change things," he added.

"The job Andrew Symonds did was amazing while the quick bowlers were a little less effective than the spinners.

"The last option was to bring back Pup (Clarke) and it did the trick."

Ponting's side can break the record in the third Test and he said: "We go to Perth now with a record just around the corner and it's a venue we love playing at."

Hussey was the Australian hero in their second innings while Symonds chipped in with a useful 61.

Ponting eventually declared just before lunch, leaving India with little chance of winning and needing to bat out the remainder of the day to salvage a draw.

They got off to a bad start when opener Wasim Jaffer was out for a duck after edging a Brett Lee delivery to Clarke in the slips.

VVS Laxman and first-innings centurion Sachin Tendulkar both fell cheaply before Rahul Dravid, who made a battling 38, was given out caught behind by Adam Gilchrist off the bowling of Symonds when the ball clearly came off his pad -- a decision that upset India.

Australian hopes were raised further when the dangerous Yuvraj Singh edged Symonds to Gilchrist from his third ball.

There was more controversy when Sourav Ganguly was given out, adjudged to have been caught by Clarke in the slips off Lee -- umpire Mark Benson taking the word of Ponting -- even though television replays failed to prove conclusively that the ball had carried.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and India captain Kumble stabilised the innings with a seventh-wicket stand of 48 before the former was trapped lbw by Symonds.

Kumble, who ended unbeaten on 45 and unimpressed by the manner of Australia's victory, was joined by Harbhajan and some stout defense appeared to have saved the day for India.

But Clarke was to the have the final say. Asked afterwards if he thought he would turn out to be the match-winner, he replied: "Honestly, not a chance in hell!"

New Zealand beat Bangladesh by nine wickets inside three days in the first Test Sunday at Dunedin to remain unbeaten in tests between the nations and take a 1-0 lead in the two-test series.

The resistance Bangladesh mounted late on the second day Saturday, after trailing New Zealand by 220 runs on the first innings, crumbled on day three, leaving New Zealand needing just 35 to win the match.

Bangladesh resumed Sunday at 148 without loss, strengthened by the largest opening partnership in their history between new caps Tamim Iqbal and Zunaed Siddique which had drawn them toward parity with New Zealand.

New Zealand's bowlers who had struggled late Saturday, taking no wickets for 148, turned the tables Sunday and took 10 for 106 to bowl out Bangladesh for 254, making victory a formality. E-mail to a friend