Australia Scrambles To 39-run Win Over India

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31586, 25 January 1968, Page 9

Australia Scrambles To 39-run Win Over India

(N.Z. Press Association —Copyright) BRISBANE. Australia scrambled to a 39-run win in an exciting finish to the third cricket test against India, at Brisbane, yesterday. The Australians won with 97 minutes to spare, in spite of a superb sheet-anchor century innings by the Indian tour reinforcement, M. Jaisimha.

The win clinched the rubber for Australia, which now leads 3-0, with only one test remaining.

Fortunes ebbed and flowed, and at one stage India seemed likely to win. India resumed with a second innings score of 177 for four and needing an over-all total of 395 for victory. In spite of the early loss of R. Surti (64) India flourished with a great partnership of 119 in 162 minutes between Jaisimha and C. Borde. Tide Turned The Australian captain. W. Lawry, who had tried seven bowlers in his effort for a break through, seemed at his wits end. Then R. Cowper, the steady off-spinner, turned the tide when he had Borde caught by I. Redpath at shortleg. The unorthodox spinner, J. Gleeson, then whipped out three late-order batsmen, R. Nadkarni, E. A. Prasanna, and B. Bedi, in a spell of eight overs. India had lost nine wickets for 333 and its cause seemed lost. Gallant Stand But U. Kulkarni hung on with Jaisimha while another 22 runs were added in a lastwicket stand. Jaisimha was last man out after an innings of 101 made in 291 minutes with nine boundaries. He had made equal top score of 74 in the first Innings and was un-

doubtedly the personality of the match. Jaisimha’s century was his third in test cricket; his other two were against England. He had a “life” at 93 when Ihe was dropped in the outI field by I. Connolly off Gleeson. The Indians won great admiration for their fighting cricket throughout the test. In the end they came desperately close to a victory that would have kept the test rubber alive. The Australians must have been disappointed at their bowling performance which

allowed India to build a fourth-innings total of 355. Cowper Best Cowper looked the best of the bowlers and he sent down 39.6 overs to capture four key wickets for 104 runs. Gleeson finished with three wickets for 50 from 21 overs but his only successes came against the Indian batting tail. The Australian pace bowlers were innocuous yesterday on the slow-paced wicket. In 19 test encounters between the countries, Australia has now won 12 times, India twice, and five have been drawn. Almost 18,900 people saw the third test.