Michael Hussey stands firm as Australia struggle on day three

West Indies held the upper hand at the end of the third day of the first Test here on Monday as they reduced Australia to 248 for 5, still trailing by 201 runs.

Only a solid 73 by captain Michael Clarke and a typically stubborn unbeaten 47 by veteran Mike Hussey all but ensured that the Aussies would avoid the follow-on.

Clarke was disappointed with his team's performance in the match so far.

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"We have no excuses for not bowling and fielding as well as we would have liked day one, day two and certainly no excuses for being five down on that wicket today," he said.

However, he was still confident the Australians could win the match.

"I think we're going to have to bowl better than what we did in the first innings and we're going to have to try to make as many runs as we can in this first innings to see how close we are to them.

"I certainly think we can still win the Test match from here."

His West Indian counterpart Darren Sammy was by contrast delighted with his team.

"The team played well. The bowlers supported each other," he said.

"We're quite happy with the way the day went."

Sammy snapped up the first wicket to fall as having added only one run to his overnight score of 13, Ed Cowan was drawn into a shot to a ball just outside off stump and edged through to the keeper.

Shane Watson, batting for the first time in a Test at number three, was fortunate to survive twice when he had scored five.

Sammy's persevering line just outside off stump worked again when David Warner, having scored 42 off 55 balls, played at a ball without much foot movement and Darren Bravo took the catch at second slip.

After the early scares Watson had settled but when he turned a Fidel Edwards delivery to fine leg he was looking for a second run which would have been tight.

After running the first Ricky Ponting hadn't moved as Kraigg Brathwaite pounced on the ball and threw in one movement.

There was so much confusion between the two batsmen that Ponting was given out without a referral being necessary.

Devendra Bishoo's leg breaks were causing few problems but in the 36th over one stayed low and Clarke, on 21, cut at the ball prompting the West Indies to appeal for a catch behind.

Umpire Tony Hill gave it out but Clarke immediately called for the DRS.

There was quite a bit of surprise when TV Umpire Marais Erasmus over-turned the on-field decision as there didn't appear to be conclusive evidence in favour of Clarke.

The second ball after lunch, Watson played a loose drive at a Roach delivery outside off stump and got a thick edge through to Carlton Baugh.

The dismissal put the West Indies firmly in charge with Australia 133-4.

The West Indies knew how important Clarke's wicket would be and when Kemar Roach struck his pad when he'd scored 31 they were quick to use the review system.

It was a poor move as the ball was clearly missing the stumps and the home side had used both of their reviews.

Hussey was playing the perfect support role for Clarke.

By the time tea came Clarke and Hussey had batted through virtually the whole session and their unbeaten 67 run partnership for the fifth wicket was pulling Australia clear of a precarious situation.

West Indies mainly used the spin of Devendra Bishoo and Narsingh Deonarine and they combined to take the all important wicket of the Australian captain.

Clarke suddenly came down the wicket to Bishoo and he continued to go through with a shot in the air to long on despite not quite getting to the pitch of the ball - Deonarine came in off the boundary and caught the ball against his chest. (AFP)

Brief Score: 449 for 9 dec (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 103*, Kirk Edwards 61, Kraigg Brathwaite 57; Ryan Harris 2 for 83) lead Australia 248 for 5 (Michael Clarke 73, Michael Hussey 47*, David Warner 42; Darren Sammy 2 for 33) by 201 runs

IPL 2012: Sangakkara, Harbhajan say no bad blood left after IPL game

Both Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers captains on Monday said that there was no bad blood left among the players in the controversial dismissal of home side skipper Kumar Sangakkara in their IPL match.

The match was marred by controversy with Mumbai captain Harbhajan Singh having a heated and prolonged argument with the field umpires after Sangakkara was not given out in the 13th over of home side innings.

Sangakkara dragged the ball onto the off-stump with the bails dislodged and the ball hit wickets for the second time after ricocheting from Mumbai wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.

A heated argument followed between Harbhajan and the field umpires with Munaf joining in and play stopped for more than five minutes. Harbhajan was seen arguing with the umpires in an aggressive manner, apparently telling them why they did not refer the decision to the third umpire.

The field umpires, who apparently thought the ball hit wickets after coming off from Karthik's pads, eventually referred the decision to the third umpire who gave Sangakkara out as expected.

"We have moved on. It is closed now. I have checked with my wicketkeeper (Dinesh Karthik). The correct decision was taken at the end," Sangakkara said after his side lost by five wickets in a thriller.

"We were very sure that the ball had hit the off-stump first. Our point was that if they (umpires) were not sure they should refer the decision to third umpire early before ruling the batsman not out," Harbhajan said.

"We all want to play fair game and eventually it was referred to the third umpire and correct decision was taken finally. So it is no issue now," he added.

Harbhajan felt his side should have finished the match early without leaving it in the last over.

"We were right under the target. We knew that the boundaries were short and later on the bowlers would be under pressure. We have got the batsmen who can clear any boundary. We should have finished it a little earlier."

Sangakkara rued his side were 15-20 runs short while batting.

"We were probably 15-20 runs short. Rohit batted brilliantly. Mishra, Steyn and Sharma bowled well. Dan Christian was left with a tough job in the last over," he said.

Man-of-the-match Rohit Sharma said that staying calm in the last over was the key to his success.

"The idea was to stay calm. That is what I have been doing for India. When Franklin came in, we needed 19 runs in the last over. I knew we could do it in the end. The dive on the second last ball was what saved us. We needed this win very badly. We lost the second game and needed to win this to gain momentum." (PTI)

IPL 2012 preview: Rajasthan aim to maintain winning momentum against Mumbai

Hosts Mumbai Indians need to address their batting concerns as they take on Rajasthan Royals, who are at the top spot in IPL 2012 points table, in their Twenty20 cricket match at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.

Mumbai have struggled in chasing small totals in their last two matches and had Rohit Sharma not played a heroic 50-ball 73, they could have lost Monday night's match against Deccan Chargers.

The Harbhajan Singh-led side, without the calming influence of the injured Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the order, once again seemed to be floundering while chasing a none-too-difficult target of 139 before the under-performing Rohit did the last-over magic when the side needed  18 runs.

Rohit's whirlwind unbeaten knock and good support from West Indian Kieron Pollard saved the day for MI after their bowlers had done a commendable job in restricting their rivals to a manageable total.

The bowlers, led from the front by Harbhajan Singh, have delivered in all three matches they have played and it's time for the openers to give the side a good start in the absence of Tendulkar whose finger injury is yet to heal completely.

The senior batsman is uncertain to play Wednesday's game and in his absence MI have tried out Hyderabad-born Ambati Rayudu and T Suman as partners to South African Richard Levi without much success.

Levi, who cracked a half-century and won the MoM award in the opener against CSK, too has flopped in the last two games and Mumbai would be anxious to get the opening combination right for the game against the Royals.

The bowlers have delivered in brilliant style for Mumbai with Munaf Patel in particularly good form in the last two games he has played ? grabbing 2 for 26 against Pune Warriors and then a stunning 4 for 20 against Deccan Chargers.

Lasith Malinga has always been a threat for the rival batsmen and was well used by Harbhajan against Chargers.

A battle within the battle could be the one-on-one contest between Trinidadian all-rounders Pollard and Kevon Copper, who has hit the ground running for the Royals in his inaugural competition with the variations in his medium paced bowling.

Royals have another advantage in the sense that they have Ajinkya Rahane and Ankit Chavan, who play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and consider Wankhede as their home ground.

Rahane started the tournament with a blitz against Kings XI Punjab when he made a blistering 66-ball 98 with 16 fours and a six.

He as well as Royals' captain and opening partner Rahul Dravid were both run out in the second game against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 8 and the duo would be eager not to repeat the mistakes they had made.

It is Royals' first away game in IPL-5 and they had won both their home matches on the strength of their batting.

Against Mumbai, their bowling attack will definitely be tested.

Royals have a good middle-order in the form of Rajasthan Ranji Trophy batsman and former India under-19 player, Ashok Meneria, and the experienced Australian Brad Hodge.

Both Meneria and Hodge played important innings of 40 and 44 respectively, after the early fall of the two openers, and along with wicket-keeper batsman Shreevats Goswami provided the team with a defendable total of 164 against the strong KKR batting line-up.

Left-arm slow Chavan, off spinner Johan Botha, Cooper, bowling alongside medium pacers Amit Singh and Sidharth Triverdi, then applied the brakes on the rival batsman to help the Royals earn a creditable win.

It showed they have the bowling strength to stop top batsmen from running away though the Mumbai attack seems to hold an edge.

With both teams level on points (4), though Royals have a much better net run rate, a victory for either side would take them to the top of the nine-team league table. (PTI) 

IPL 2012: Rohit Sharma played gem of an innings, says Harbhajan Singh

Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh has praised young batsman Rohit Sharma for playing a "gem of an innings" to guide the team home in a last ball finish against Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Y.S. Rajsekhara Reddy Stadium.

Rohit, who smashed an unbeaten 73 off 50 balls, hit a six off the last ball to give Mumbai Indians a thrilling win here Monday night.

"We were right under the target. We knew that the boundaries were short and later on the bowlers would be under pressure. We have got the batsmen who can clear any boundaries. We should have finished it a little earlier," said Harbhajan.

"It was a gem of an innings. He stayed calm and took us through safely. He has matured as a player," the feisty off-spinner said.

Rohit said the idea was to stay calm in a tense match.

"The idea was to stay calm. That is what I have been doing for India. When (James) Franklin came in, we needed 19 runs in the last over. I knew we could do it in the end. The dive on the second last ball was what saved us. We needed this win very badly. We lost the second game and needed to win this to gain momentum," he said.

Deccan Chargers captain Kumar Sangakkara said his team was 15-20 runs short.

"We were probably 15-20 runs short. Rohit batted brilliantly. (Amit) Mishra, (Dale) Steyn and (Ankit) Sharma bowled well. Dan Christian was left with a tough job in the last over," he said. (IANS)