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Australia are on course towards reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

A calculated display on day 3 of the third Test, at the VCA stadium in Nagpur on Thursday, saw the visitors first dismiss India for a paltry 185 and then, after deciding against enforcing the follow-in, score 202 for 3 in their second essay to end the day 415 runs ahead.

Simon Katich scored a chancy 99 to put the Aussies well in command. Damien Martyn, 41, and Michael Clarke, 10, were unbeaten at stumps.

Earlier,  Jason Gillespie claimed his first five-wicket haul against India as a merciless Australia dominated the first session of the day.

Morning session (35 runs, 5 wickets, 14.5 overs)

Things started off predictably, with a maiden over. After the dull grind of day 2, one thought the Indians would have realized that just staying at the wicket would not help their purpose; they needed to score runs as well.

They must have also hoped that the form of their so-called tail would hold. In the first Test, at Bangalore, the last five batsmen contributed 110 runs in the first innings and 153 in the second. At Chennai, in the second Test, the last five added 143 runs.

But it was Irfan Pathan who played a major part in those fightbacks. Today he was missing. Parthiv Patel has been in brilliant form with the bat but his gaffes behind the wicket must be playing on his mind.

Warne struck an early blow in the second over of the day. His second delivery was short and Patel pulled it to the boundary. The 19-year-old expected the next ball to do the same but Warne pitched it further up and the drift took it away from the batsman.

Patel stretched forward to play a defensive stroke but the ball did not turn as much he might have expected and the resultant edge flew straight to Hayden in the slips. (150 for 6)

Patel was out for 20 after putting on 47 runs for the sixth wicket with Kaif.

Kasprowicz started the day bowling round the wicket to Kaif. He pitched the ball consistently short and followed on to the pitch. One got the feeling that he was trying to break up the pitch and cast a few more doubts in the minds of the Indian batsmen.

Ajit Agarkar, the new batsman, hit Warne for two boundaries in his next over and the leg-spinner was promptly taken out of the attack. Gilchrist opted for the new ball in the 83rd over.

It was surprising that the third day pitch was still helping the pacemen. There was huge sideways movement and if the bowlers were prepared to make the effort, they could extract disconcerting bounce as well.

Agarkar thrice hit the ball through the slips; twice for singles down to third man off McGrath, and once for four off Gillespie. All three shots were in the air and just missed the slip fielders. One thought he would have learnt from his previous strokes; instead, he tried the same stroke again and perished after scoring 15 off 20 balls. (173 for 7)

Kaif, at the other end, must have been mortified. Between the two balls he had a chat with Agarkar. Obviously, the latter turned a deaf ear to what he had said.

Soon after, Kaif was gone for 55, caught by Warne at first slip. It was wicket-to-wicket stuff from McGrath; the ball moved after pitching. Kaif had to play at it. A superb delivery and McGrath deserved the wicket. It is interesting to note that the ball hit the shoulder of the bat and Kaif's feet were in the air as he played the shot. (178 for 8)

The Indian innings was wrapped up quickly after that. Murali Karthik (3) and Zaheer Khan (0) were both dismissed by Gillespie, who, in the process, overtook legendary leg-spinner Clarrie Grimmet (217 wickets) and moved to number 8 in the list of leading Australian wicket-takers in Test cricket. Grimmet, incidentally, is the first bowler in the history of the game to take 200 wickets.

McGrath (3 wickets) and Gillespie (5 wickets) bowled 47.5 overs between themselves and conceded only 83 runs. It was a great exhibition of fast bowling from two of the world's premier fast bowlers; the Indians could do well to just try and replicate their efforts.

India lost five wickets for 35 runs in 14.5 overs in the morning session.

India were all out for 185, giving the Aussies a lead of 213 runs. But the Aussies have shown that the scars of Kolkata 2001 are not yet forgotten. They did not enforce the follow-on.

Australia innings

The visitors were now dictating terms. India could only get back into the match with a superb performance by the bowlers.

But with just nine overs to go for lunch, the Australian openers, Langer and Hayden, were prepared to bide their time. Their aim was not to lose any wickets before the break.

At lunch, Australia were 17 for no loss, with Langer and Hayden on 9 each. Australia's lead was 232 runs.

Post-lunch session (28 overs, 68 runs, 1 wickets)

Whatever Dravid told the bowlers during lunch, he needed to repeat the dose more often, simply because it worked.

The first six overs after lunch were all maidens and the wicket of Hayden also fell during the period. The Indians seemed to have learnt their lessons after watching the Australian medium-pacers bowl with great control and variety.

Zaheer, in particular, looked in top form. He got the ball to cut both ways off the pitch, which basically meant the batsmen were not quite sure whether they should move forward or back.

That's exactly the kind of bowling that got him the wicket of Hayden. The in-between length had Hayden (9) in two minds and the result was an inside edge of the bat crashed into the middle stump. (19 for 1)

The pressure was applied from both ends. Agarkar's figures at this stage read 8-6-8-0.

The Aussies could have very well lost another wicket when Simon Katich, who was yet to open his account, was rapped on the pads right in front of the wicket by Zaheer, but umpire Aleem Dar thought otherwise.

It was 44 minutes since lunch before Katich scored the first runs of the session -- a four off Zaheer. It was an amazing turnaround for the Indians and the Aussies were under pressure.

Only 34 runs for 1 wicket after 22 overs; the innings run-rate - 1.54.

The Australians don't play their cricket this way, but they were forced to by some good bowling. The Indians' only worry was that despite bowling so well they were unable to get another wicket.

With the pacemen tiring, Dravid thrust Tendulkar into the attack. Obviously, the skipper realized that the wicket was offering more assistance to the seamers. Giving Tendulkar a few overs is always a good idea.

But one got the feeling that he over-bowled Tendulkar (7-1-9-0) and allowed the batsmen to play out the tough period. When you have the opposition on the backfoot, the last thing you want to do is have your best bowlers twiddle their thumbs in the field.

Having bowled a solitary over before lunch, Kumble was finally re-introduced into the attack in the 28th over. Karthik had to wait a little longer before Dravid opted for spin at both ends in the 30th over.

It was an odd move to keep Karthik out of the attack for so long, considering that Warne had a lot of purchase from the wicket when the Indians batted. Besides, the third day wicket would help the spinners for sure and Karthik did get three wickets in the first innings.

Katich was struggling but he kept the runs coming through snicks and edges. Langer, at the other end, mirrored Dravid's troubles at the wicket. The 50-run partnership between the two came off 130 balls, with Langer contributing just 11.

It was only towards the end of the session that the Aussies started to open up. In seven overs after the 28th over, 34 runs were realized and all the pressure that was built up early in the session dissipated.

Katich reached his sixth Test match fifty off 91 balls, which included nine fours, in the last over before tea was called.

Australia were 300 runs ahead at the break, with Langer on 23 and Katich on 54. In the 28-over session, the visitors scored 68 runs and lost one wicket.

Post-tea session  ( 115 runs, 2 wickets, 36 overs)

The acceleration that the Australians had been threatening during the post-lunch session finally came after lunch.

Katich went for his shots and hit fours on both sides of the wicket, inspiring Langer to break the shackles and go for his shots.

But just before the hundred of the Australian innings was brought up, Langer went down the track to Karthik and tried to hit him out of the stadium. He got the height but not the distance, and Laxman moved from long-on and took an excellent catch in the deep. (99 for 2)

Langer struggled during his innings of 30, but Australia were in such a strong position that it did not really matter.

Katich, after initial hiccups, found his touch and with every passing moment looked more assured at the wicket. He was joined by Damien Martyn.

Coming into the innings on the back of two successive centuries, Martyn smacked the first ball he faced to the boundary and did not once look in any trouble.

It was a dull period of play as the Indians were mainly concerned about damage-limitation. It was the right tactic as well. At the moment, even saving the match is going to require a herculean effort from the Indian batsmen.

Katich and Martyn put on 72 runs in 20.4 overs before the former became the fourth Australian batsman to be dismissed on 99 against India.

The left-hander was trapped leg before the wicket, surprised by the pace of Karthik's delivery, which, at 93.9 km/h, was his fastest of the match. He fully deserved to have reached what would have been his first century in an away Test. (173 for 3)

The other Aussies to be dismissed on 99 against India are: WA Brown, at Melbourne in 1947-48; Ian Chappell, at Calcutta during the 1969-70 series; and Matthew Hayden, at Brisbane in 2003-04.

The first 50 runs of the Australian innings came off 173 balls, the second, much quicker - off only 77 balls; the third, at almost the same pace, off 79 balls.

As the shadows lengthened, the fielders started to let their shoulders sag. Their spirits were flagging.

At the start of the series, few would have ventured to say the Aussies might win the series 3-0. Now, it looks a distinct possibility.

At close of play, Australia were 415 runs ahead. Martyn, 41 not out, and Clarke, 10 not out, helped the visitors reach 202 for 3 in their second essay.

For the Indians, Karthik was the best bowler on view; the left-armer had two wickets to show for his efforts. Zaheer Khan too bent his back, but India sorely missed the services of Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh.

When the Indians batted in the morning session and on day 2, the pitch looked like a minefield. But the Aussies showed that if you are prepared to hang around and play your shots, the runs will eventually come.