India fightback slows Australia's victory bid

BANGALORE (India) (AFP) - Australian captain Ricky Ponting faced a tricky decision on a likely target for India after the hosts clawed their way back into the first cricket Test on Sunday.

The tourists will start the final day's play on Monday with an overall lead of 263 with five wickets in hand on a deteriorating wicket that is making batting difficult.

Ponting, whose team closed the fourth day at 193-5 in their second knock, has three sessions left in the match to force a result by giving his bowlers enough time to dismiss India again.

The highest fourth innings total at the Chinnaswamy stadium is only 239, but Australia could be handicapped by an elbow injury to seamer Stuart Clark that prevented him from bowling on Sunday.India not only prolonged their first innings to 360 to narrow Australia's lead to 70 runs, but slowed their rivals' bid for quick runs by grabbing wickets at regular intervals.

Zaheer Khan led India's fightback with an unbeaten 57, his team's top score, and then removed the dangerous Matthew Hayden for 13 when the Australians batted a second time.

Australia were just 198 ahead when the fifth wicket fell, Hussey bowled by a Harbhajan 'doosra' - the ball that turned into the left-hander instead of going away from him.

Shane Watson (32) and Brad Haddin (28), however, kept the tourists on target by adding 65 for the unbroken sixth wicket.

"We went into the partnership aggressively," said Watson, playing only his fourth Test. "We knew that was probably the best way to get ourselves out of a little bit of a hole.

"We did get a bit of luck, but I suppose you need that in cricket and you've got to run with it."