Mohali, October 18: : Retiring stalwart Sourav Ganguly notched up his 16th Test century while stand-in skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed the mark by a whisker before their bowling colleagues landed late blows on Australia to put India in the box seat on day two of the second Test in Mohali on Saturday. Finishing the day at 102 for four wickets is hardly what Australia captain Ricky Ponting would have fancied and Michael Hussey (37) would have a crucial role to play tomorrow if the visitors are to avoid follow on and wipe out the arrears.
Sourav Ganguly (102) struck his 16th century in his 111th Test -- which has already seen him cross the 7000-mark -- and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (92) fell just eight runs shy of his ton as India's first innings ended with 469 runs on board.
Australia needed a good start to their reply but by the time their innings was into its eighth over, opener Matthew Hayden (0) and captain Ricky Ponting (5) were cooling their heels in the hut with the score reading 17.
Zaheer Khan stretched Hayden's bad patch by pegging back the off-stump with his third delivery and Ishant Sharma, not to be left behind, had his bunny again in Ponting, who had survived a leg before appeal before his luck ran out.Australia had barely weathered the crisis when Amit Mishra claimed his first Test victim in Simon Katich (33), castling the left-hander who looked well set, and then removed Michael Clarke (23) with the last ball of the day.
The visitors could have been in further trouble but Dhoni twice failed to pouch edges offered by Hussey. India resumed this morning on 311 for five and the grit and gumption that have replaced the flair and aggression in the final phase of Ganguly's career were on full display on Saturday.
The retiring left-hander, who will hang up his boots after this series, shunned extravagance in his single-minded devotion for another ton under his belt and nothing could really distract him.
He did pull Brett Lee for a four early in the morning but soon retreated into a cocoon, dealing only in singles and twos, settling for the hardwork rather than heroics.
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