India today succumbed meekly to leave Australia in acommanding position on the second day of the first Test which was marked by anoutstanding 151 by debutant Michael Clarke and another century by stand-inskipper Adam Gilchrist.
The hosts were tottering at 150 for 6 at close afterallowing Australia to rattle up a mammoth 474 and were still short by 125 runsto avoid the follow on.
India's much-touted batting line-up crumbled againstdisciplined bowling by speedsters Glenn McGrath (3/37) and Michael Kasprowicz(2/23) who took centrestage after the batting heroics of Clarke and Gilchrist(104).
The Indian innings suffered early blows with bothAakash Chopra and Rahul Dravid falling without opening their account.
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Virender Sehwag (39) and skipper Saurav Ganguly (45)seemed set for bigger knocks as they rebuilt the innings with a 83-runpartnership for the third wicket. But both were consumed by the reverse swing ofKasprowicz.
The highlight of the evening session was the battlebetween V.V.S. Laxman and Shane Warne.
The Indian had the psychological advantage from thedomination he had over his rival last time they met but the Australianleg-spinner showed more patience and understanding of the conditions than he didbefore to have the last laugh.
After being driven and tonked, Warne produced a hugeleg break that fizzed past Laxman's bat to knock the off bail.
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More than the delivery itself, it was the entire spellin which Warne worked on the batsman and made him play the way he wanted thatshowed him why he is a world record breaking bowler.
The Indians' problems would be doubled keeping in mindthe condition of the track. The ball got quickly scrubbed up and the bounce waslow, leaving the batsmen in trouble often.
After the Kolkata Test in the 2001 series, theAustralians had been wary of asking Indians to follow-on. But this time around,Gilchrist might very well go in for the kill.
Earlier, Australia were all out for 474 in their firstinnings after Michael Clarke became the 17th Australian to score a century ondebut.
Clarke's 151 was the sixth highest by an Australianplaying in his first Test. It was also the first instance of an Australianscoring a hundred on debut against India.
The 23-year-old New South Wales right hander faced 248balls and struck 18 fours and four sixes in his more than six hours stay at thecrease.
Gilchrist was the other centurion of the Australianinnings, with 104 off 109 balls with 13 fours and three sixes.
The 167-run partnership between Gilchrist and Clarkewas Australia's highest for the sixth wicket.
Harbhajan Singh claimed his 12th five wicket haul in aninnings with five for 146 while Anil Kumble failed to take any wicket today andended up with three for 157.
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Resuming at 316 for five, Australia sent the hosts on aleather hunt, amassing 117 runs in the morning session alone to consolidatetheir strong position.
The Indians almost went without a wicket untilGilchrist fell shortly before the lunch break.
Clarke repaid the faith his team management had shownin him with an enterprising knock.
Clarke, 76 overnight, spent nearly 45 minutes in thenervous nineties. He survived a close leg before decision off Kumble when on 92but then struck the bowler to the long-off fence to move to 96. Few momentslater, he turned Irfan Pathan to mid-wicket and scrambled for two runs for hismaiden Test hundred.
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Clarke's parents in the gallery were overwhelmed bytears of joy as their son kissed the Baggy Green.
The youngster needed 170 balls for his century thatcontained 14 fours and two sixes.
After Clarke's century, Gilchrist took the attack tothe Indians. The Aussie captain was severe on Kumble whom he clouted for twohuge sixes.
After their exploits with the bat, it was the turn ofthe Aussies to dominate with the ball as well.
Thirty-four year-old McGrath proved he had enough firein him as he dismissed Chopra and Dravid in the space of six balls. He rappedthe opening batsman in the very first over of the Indian innings and then bowledthe vice-captain in his next over.
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Sehwag, who had scored a century in a warm-up match atthe same venue a week ago, middled the ball well. He was less troubled by eitherMcGrath or Gillespie, and was comfortable against Kasprowicz as well.
He handled the reverse swing of Kasprowicz with ease,driving him on the up through the off repeatedly. But he was the first victim ofthe double paced nature of the wicket, as he went for a flick and realised latethat the ball stopped short on him, offering a catch to Justin Langer at mid-wicket.
Kasprowicz then produced an unplayable delivery todismiss Ganguly, as the ball pitched on the leg stump and moved away, kissingthe Indian captain's bat on its way to the wicketkeeper.
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Yuvraj Singh (5) was woefully out of form and lastedonly 22 balls before snicking McGrath to Gilchrist.
The 'Pigeon' would have had another wicket if only hisleg before shout against Parthiv Patel had gone in his favour.
The return of Warne for his final spell then paved theway for an exciting close.
The tricks that he had tried against Ganguly and Sehwagmade little impact on Laxman who from the moment he clipped him to square legfrom outside off looked in sublime touch.
The Aussies were once again gripped by the fear ofLaxman saving his best for them.
But for Warne, probably on his last tour of the sub-continent,it was personal pride at stake. And his studied approach to the crease and thespot on line and length resembled the 'Sheikh of Tweak' of the early days.
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Warne bowled his leg breaks faster and concentrated onone spot. He packed the leg side with three men inside the circle besides theforward short-leg.
But Laxman kept picking him from the good length spot,and when the bowler went around the stumps, he went on the back foot and whippedhim through mid-wicket.
Against the run of play, then came the dismissal. Warneswitched back to over the wicket, and as Laxman planted his front foot, the ballpitched just outside the leg and spun past the bat that was still coming down tohit the off peg.
PTI
