Australia bundled India out for 191 on the opening day of the second Test Tuesday, before coming through a top order crisis of its own to finish a frenetic day on 116 for three, 75 runs behind. Michael Clarke (47 not out) and his predecessor as skipper Ricky Ponting (44 not out) put on an unbeaten 79 for the fourth wicket after India's Zaheer Khan had removed David Warner, Shaun Marsh and Ed Cowan with just 37 runs on the board. As in its 122-run first Test victory in Melbourne last week, Australia had pace bowlers James Pattinson (4-43), Peter Siddle (3-55) and Ben Hilfenhaus (3-51) to thank for constricting the world class Indian batting lineup. Siddle ended the innings with his 100th Test wicket after Hilfenhaus had mopped up most of the tail but it was 21-year-old Pattinson who again caught the eye in just his fourth Test. Bowling with genuine pace, Pattinson took just three balls of the morning to take the wicket of Gautam Gambhir before adding those of the other opener Virender Sehwag and dangermen V.V.S. Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar came out to a huge ovation and had looked by far the most comfortable Indian batsman before he edged a Pattinson delivery onto his stumps for 41, as he was thwarted in his latest quest for a 100th international century. India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was to hit a team high 57 not out, won the toss and elected to bat on a hot, sunny morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It was, perhaps, a good toss to lose as Pattinson, Siddle and Hilfenhaus reprised their Melbourne barrage of pacey, good length deliveries on a pitch with a slight green tinge to it. “Great effort by the boys,” Siddle said in a pitchside interview. “It's basic cricket but we're sticking to it well.”
