Ricky Ponting would be wondering what might have been had Jason Krejza played in the first three Tests of the series. The off-spinner needed only an hour after the lunch session to run through the Indian batting. What was looking like another enormous total became an opportunity thrown away as India lost their last five wickes for 19 runs to be bowled out for 441 on the second day of the decisive third Test.
Australia had reached 43-1 at tea, but not before losing Matthew Hayden for 16 after a brisk start to their innings. It was unnecessary too: M Vijay cut a quick single short by throwing the stumps down with a direct hit. Simon Katich (18 not out) and captain Ricky Ponting (7 not out) negotiated the rest of the overs with Harbhajan Singh taking the new ball.
After a first session that put India on course of piling on the agony on the Australians, Krejza first removed captain MS Dhoni for 56 when the batsman walked across the crease to whip the ball only for the ball to clip his leg stump.
The off-spinner then took out Sourav Ganguly, who was searching for a unique feat himself of a hundred each on debut and his last Test, but fell for 85. The duo was not separated for 119 runs, but when they were, India's collapse was hastened within minutes.
Krejza's figures of 8-215 had the best and the worst. He became the fourth bowler in Test history to take eight wickets in an innings on debut, while the runs he conceded were also the most expensive figures.
Ask any purist and he would tell you what a sight it is when Sourav Ganguly dances down the track to loft a spinner over his head. The frequency of those humongous sixes has diminished over time, but in his final Test match, the southpaw put the sublime on display in perhaps his penultimate innings in Test cricket. Not just did he dance down the pitch but threaded the offside with the timing people now associate him with his retirement.
The Indians had made their intentions clear on the opening day of the final Test itself, and Ganguly kept it going as Jason Krejza was dismissed over long-on for a six, and then repeated the act for a boundary after completing his half-century. India saw off the first session wicketless.
Australia's bowlers not only looked flat but pedestrian. They started the second day with Jason Krejza despite operating with the second new ball. Brett Lee took the ball from the other end, but it was more than a tactical error. Mitchell Johnson, the pick of Australian bowlers this series, has been off-colour in the final Test, often spraying wide of off-stump and far too full.
