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Adelaide. India lost openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir as they set out for a record run chase of 500 to prevent a 4-0 series humiliation to Australia in the fourth Test on Friday.

The tourists were left with 146 overs to reach their improbable target after Australia declared their second innings at 167 for five shortly after lunch on the fourth day.

Australia claimed the wickets of Gambhir and Sehwag in the middle session to bring Sachin Tendulkar to the wicket in search of his elusive 100th international century.

At tea India were 92 for two with Test cricket’s two all-time leading run scorers at the crease. Rahul Dravid was on 19 and Tendulkar was on seven.

The highest winning chase at the Adelaide Oval is Australia’s 315 for six against England in 1902, underlining the scale of the task facing the tourists.

India’s highest-ever winning chase was 406 for four against the West Indies in Trinidad in 1976.

But the tourists had an early setback when Gambhir edged Ryan Harris to Brad Haddin for three in the fifth over.

Stand-in skipper Sehwag blasted 12 fours in his 62 off 53 balls before he perished going after a full toss from spinner Nathan Lyon only to sky a catch to Ricky Ponting in the covers.

Ponting remained 60 not out when Michael Clarke declared Australia’s innings for a second time in the match.

Australia set out on the fourth day with a 382-run lead. Clarke was dropped on 30 by Ravi Ashwin off his own bowling before he was out seven runs later.

Clarke, caught behind off Umesh Yadav, finished the series with 626 runs at 125.20 after his unbeaten 329 in Sydney and 210 in the first innings of the Adelaide Test.

Hussey was the other Australian wicket to fall, lbw for 15 to Ishant Sharma nearing lunch.


Scoreboard at tea on the fourth day of the fourth and final Test between Australia and India at the Adelaide Oval on Friday:

Australia 1st innings 604 for 7 declared (R. Ponting 221, M. Clarke 210; R. Ashwin 3-194)

India 1st innings 272 (V. Kohli 116; P. Siddle 5-49)

Australia 2nd innings (50 for 3 overnight)

D. Warner c and b Ashwin 28

E. Cowan lbw b Ashwin 10

S. Marsh lbw b Zaheer 0

R. Ponting not out 60

M. Clarke c Saha b Yadav 37

M. Hussey lbw b Sharma 15

B. Haddin not out 11

Extras (lb6) 6

Total (5 wickets declared for; 43 overs) 167

Fall of wickets: 1-39 (Warner), 2-40 (Marsh), 3-40 (Cowan), 4-111 (Clarke), 5-147 (Hussey)

Bowling: Zaheer 13-1-38-1, Ashwin 20-2-73-2, Sharma 8-0-27-1, Yadav 5-0-23-1

India 2nd innnings

G. Gambhir c Haddin b Harris 3

V. Sehwag c Ponting b Lyon 62

R. Dravid not out 19

S.Tendulkar not out 7

Extras (lb1) 1

Total (2 wickets for; 24 overs) 92

Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Gambhir), 2-80 (Sehwag)

Bowling: Harris 8-3-11-1, Hilfenhaus 5-0-27-0, Siddle 4-1-26-0, Lyon 7-1-27-1

Agence France-Presse