Day 3: Advantage Aussies

India will have to do what no other Test team has done before to come from behind and win the first cricket Test after Australia set them a historic run chase at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The Australians offered the Indians 499 runs to win with two days left after declaring their second innings at 351 for seven late on the third day.

India safely reached stumps at six without loss, with Rahul Dravid on three and Wasim Jaffer on two.

Only three teams in Test cricket history have scored 400 or more in the fourth innings for victory.

The West Indies hold the Test record of 418 for seven when they beat Australia at St. Johns in 2003, while India amassed 406 for four to down the West Indies in Port-of-Spain in 1976 and Australia hit 404 for three to defeat England at Headingley in 1948.

But the drop-in pitch is playing low and cracking, making high scoring problematic in the fourth innings.

"I'd like to say they have no chance, but the reality is they have to get 493 runs and they've got two days to get it so they have plenty of time," Australian batsman Michael Clarke said.

Before lunch India claimed the wickets of first-innings centurion Matthew Hayden and skipper Ricky Ponting, followed by the dismissals of Phil Jaques, Mike Hussey and Andrew Symonds in the middle session, with Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist sent on their way after tea.

Opener Jaques picked up his sixth consecutive Test half-century and was out next ball to a return catch by Anil Kumble for 51 shortly after lunch.

Hayden had just passed 8,000 Test runs when he skied finger-spinner Harbhajan off a leading edge to Sourav Ganguly at long-off for 47.

Harbhajan's Test career high point was his 32 wickets at 17.03 in the three-match home series against Australia in 2001.

SCOREBOARD

Australia 1st innings: 343 M. Hayden 124, P. Jaques 66; A. Kumble 5-84,
Zaheer Khan 4-94


India 1st innings: 196 S. Tendulkar 62, S. Ganguly 43; S. Clark 4-28,
B. Lee 4-46



Australia 2nd innings

P. Jaques c and b Kumble 51
M. Hayden c Ganguly b Harbhajan 47
R. Ponting c Dravid b Harbhajan 3
M. Hussey c Tendulkar b Singh 36
M. Clarke st Dhoni b Kumble 73
A. Symonds lbw b Zaheer 44
A. Gilchrist c Singh b Harbhajan 35
B. Hogg not out 35
B. Lee not out 11
Extras lb3, nb13 16
Total for 7 wkts declared 351



Fall of wkts 1-83, 2-89, 3-139, 4-161, 5-243, 6-288, 7-316


Bowling
Zaheer 20-2-93-1 (13nb)
Singh 16-1-50-1
Kumble 25-2-102-2
Harbhajan 26-0-101-3
Tendulkar 1-0-2-0



India 2nd innings



R. Dravid not out 3
W. Jaffer not out 2
Extras nb1 1
Total for no loss 6



Bowling Lee 3-1-4-0 (1nb)
Johnson 2-1-2-0
Clark 2-2-0-0
Hogg 1-1-0-0