India thwart Australian record bid

PERTH, Australia -- India ended Australia's brave bid for a record 17th consecutive Test victory by claiming a 72-run win in the third match at the WACA in Perth and reducing the tourists' series deficit to 2-1.

Ricky Ponting's Australians, who equaled their own record by winning the previous match in Sydney in circumstances so acrimonious that the tour was almost called off, were bowled out for 340 in their second innings late on the fourth day.

Chasing an unlikely target of 413 -- which would have been the second-highest successful run chase in Test history -- the home side seemed set to fall well short when Michael Clarke was the eighth man to fall for 81, with the score on 253.

But No. 9 Mitchell Johnson clubbed his maiden half-century, putting on 73 for the ninth wicket with Stuart Clark - who belted 32 from 35 deliveries including three boundaries and a six.

Johnson was left unbeaten on 50 from 80 deliveries, hitting five fours and two sixes, after RP Singh bowled last man Shaun Tait with a superb yorker to clinch victory for India in the final hour of the day.

Australia, whose previous Test defeat was against England in August 2005, resumed the day at 65-2.

Ponting and Mike Hussey took their third-wicket partnership to 74 before Ishant Sharma had the skipper caught by Rahul Dravid at first slip for 45.

Hussey went one run better than his captain before being trapped leg before wicket by Singh, and stomping off the wicket unhappy as the delivery appeared to be going over the top of the stumps.

Andrew Symonds, who refused to walk in Sydney despite knowing he had been caught, was also on the wrong side of a questionable decision when he too was given out lbw -- despite obviously getting an inside edge to Kumble's delivery.

That blow left Australia 177-5, but Adam Gilchrist and Clarke put on another 50 before an inspired bowling change from Kumble.

He brought on part-time off-spinner Virender Sehwag, who immediately bowled dangerous left-hander Gilchrist around his legs for 15.

Sehwag (2-24) then had a second wicket from just his eighth delivery when Brett Lee was caught at mid-off by VVS Laxman for a duck.

Clarke had hit 10 boundaries in a composed 134-ball innings before rashly charging leg-spinner Kumble and being stumped by Mahendra Singh Dhoni to leave Australia staring defeat in the face.

Johnson was bowled by a Kumble no-ball and then dropped twice as he gave the home fans some hope of an unlikely win, but Irfan Pathan capped a fine return to Test cricket when he had Clark caught behind.

Pathan finished with figures of 3-54, having taken two early wickets on the second day to set the tone of the match as Australia made only 212 in their first innings.

Kumble said it was one of the most satisfying victories in his 124-Test career.

"Considering the fact that no visiting team gets any sort of chance coming into Perth and being 2-0 down, it was a great effort and a brilliant victory," he said.

"This is right at the top. If you look back at whatever victories I've been involved in both at home and away this will probably rank as one of the best."

Ponting admitted his side had not played well enough to deserve the record.

"That is disappointing, but is has been a pretty good run," he said. "Sixteen matches in a row is a great achievement, it would have been great to win one more, to win another 10 would have been nice, but we haven't been good enough in this game.

"The run was always going to come to an end at some stage, we just haven't played a brand of cricket that has been good enough to win this Test match."

The two teams now head to Adelaide for the final match starting on Thursday, with India seeking to level the series.

India may recall spinner Harbhajan Singh, whose appeal against a three-game ban for allegedly racially abusing Symonds will be heard after the fourth Test is completed.

Relations between the two teams have settled down since Kumble and Ponting met for conciliation talks before the start of the match in Perth, and India dropped its complaint against Brad Hogg -- who like Harbhajan was deemed surplus to requirements on the seamer-friendly WACA track. E-mail to a friend

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