Scorecard | Images

Australia dominated the first day's play at the Gabba making the Indian seam attack look pedestrian.

When bad light eventually ended the day's play, Australia were placed in a position of strength at 262-2 off 62 overs with opener Justin Langer undefeated on 115 and Damien Martyn, looking keen to make a tall score, on 36.

Comment and Analysis Why the Aussies rule cricket Indian cricket works on reputations The passenger list

Despite the tough conditions for batting in the morning, the Australians continued to score at more than four runs an over. They went on with their quick scoring even after losing Matthew Hayden rather early on.

In the absence of a genuine quick bowler in the team, the Indian attack clearly struggled. Zaheer Khan stood head and shoulders above the other seamers, snaring both the wickets to fall on the day.

Ajit Agarkar came back well after a forgettable opening spell of five overs that cost 40 runs, but was too inconsistent to worry the Aussies.

First Session:

After two rain delays, the match resumed without any further disruption and the Australian openers got down to business.

Langer was lucky to survive after he pulled one from left-arm fast-medium bowler Ashish Nehra straight into Akash Chopra at forward short-leg. The only flaw was that Nehra's foot was grounded on the crease rather than behind it and West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor was sharp enough to spot it.

But after 10 overs, the score read 37-0 and it seemed that the Indian bowlers, under the guidance of newly appointed bowling coach Bruce Reid, had put up a disciplined performance.

Three overs later, however, the score read 70-0. Thirty-three runs had been added in the space of three overs, with birthday boy Agarkar being the culprit-in-chief, gifting 27 runs in two overs after starting with a maiden.

Agarkar, in trying to keep the ball up to the batsmen, bowled too full and Hayden and Langer happily despatched the resultant half-volleys to the fence.

The breakthrough eventually came when V V S Laxman snapped up Hayden, who looked to be in the mood for another huge score, at second slip off the bowling of Zaheer Khan. The ball pitched just outside the off-stump and Hayden drove on the up, but only succeeded in edging a chest-high catch to Laxman.

Hayden had scored 37 runs off 52 balls with six fours. He fell with the team score at 73.

Ricky Ponting then arrived at the crease and was beaten off the very first ball he faced from Khan, missing the line completely.

Agarkar at the other end was more obliging, offering half-volleys to the Australian captain-in-waiting, always a shaky starter. Ponting played three delectable straight drives off the right-arm fast-medium bowler and raced into double figures in quick time. Why skipper Ganguly failed to bring Harbhajan Singh on at this point, considering the off-spinner's dominance over Ponting in Tests, remains a mystery. Instead, Ganguly went back to Nehra.

After the team for the Australian tour had been selected, a member of the side had pointed to the strike rates of the fast bowlers and expressed his displeasure, without spelling out any names.

Nehra has a strike rate of 72 from 13 Tests and Khan takes a wicket every 64 balls in the 26 Tests he has played so far. Agarkar on the other hand has played 16 Tests in six years and has a strike rate of 86.5 besides a bowling average of 46.57.

That is why Agarkar, after six long years, is still to cement his place in the side, let alone lead the attack. On the last tour of Australia in 1999-2000, he went in as a support bowler to Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad. On this tour, he is still playing the support bowler's role, to Khan and Nehra this time.

Agarkar's first spell of five overs cost 40 runs and gave the much-needed impetus to the Australians who began coasting at five runs an over.

Meanwhile, Khan continued to bother Ponting. In the twentieth over, the left-armer rapped Ponting on his pads with one that pitched on leg and straightened marginally. But West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor turned down the vociferous appeal.

Australia crossed the 100 run mark in the 25th over and after 27 overs the Aussies had smashed as many as 14 boundaries.

Agarkar then returned for his second spell and found the zone on the pitch to trouble the batsmen. Ponting struggled against Agarkar, who curled the ball briefly and beat the bat regularly. But Ganguly placed his fielders too deep to allow the batsmen to pick singles at will and thus relieve the pressure from time to time.

Harbhajan Singh was eventually introduced into the attack in the 31st over and Ponting greeted him with a huge six, overtaking Langer in the process.

Australia went into tea at 143-1 in 36 overs, scoring at four runs an over. Ponting got his 20th Test fifty and after a streaky start was looking set for a big score. Langer was unbeaten on 43.

Post-tea session:

Langer reached his half-century soon after tea and India's goose was well and truly cooked with Australia crossing the 150 run mark for the loss of just Hayden's wicket.

The only difference these days between Ponting's batting in Tests and one-dayers is the colour of his jersey. His attacking approach, however, proved to be his undoing as he top-edged Khan when he was shaping to pull him from outside the off-stump. Parthiv Patel behind the wickets collected the looping catch quite comfortably and Australia were 162-2, Ponting gone for 54.

The famous Indian huddle followed as an air of expectancy arose. Maybe Ponting's wicket was what the Indian bowlers needed to renew their challenge in the match.

Instead, an inertia set in with Langer, closing in on another Test century, and Damien Martyn looking rock solid at the other end.

Former captain Sachin Tendulkar appeared unhappy with the field placements and made it clear when he asked Ashish Nehra to get into a catching position at fine-leg. V V S Laxman ran in from the slips to suggest another change in the field to the skipper.

But none of this helped as Australia continued to score at four runs an over and the Indian bowlers were left wondering how they were able to do so even in the overcast conditions prevailing in Brisbane today.

Langer, who had struggled in the four Tests against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh earlier this season, reasserted his value to the team with his sixteenth Test century. In a side packed with stroke-makers, Langer is the grafter. His century was more effective than effervescent, yet it saw the Australians end the day at a rate that seems more in place in the abridged version of the game.

Langer and Martyn wove together a hundred-run partnership at a feverish rate off just 122 balls without resorting to any big-hitting or cross-batted heaves.

Harbhajan Singh's figures belied his effort, but it would be unfair to blame him since he came on to bowl when the Aussie batsmen had already got their eye in. Maybe a couple of overs from him when Ponting had just walked in could have altered the day's script.

Would five bowlers have helped the attack, as some experts, including former Australian captain Allan Border, had suggested? The way the Indians started the day, giving too many easy runs, that does not seem likely. It might, however, have been interesting to see Harbhajan Singh bowl to the Aussies after they had lost some early wickets.

In the first Test between Australia and Zimbabwe in October, the Aussies put on 368 runs on the first day off 90 overs at 4.08 an over. Compare that to Australia's 262 off 62 overs at 4.23 today and it speaks a lot about the quality of India's attack.

Ganguly's decision to bowl himself even though he has just recovered from a groin injury instead of asking Tendulkar to bowl seamers also smacked of unimaginative captaincy. But then that is a peripheral issue.

The main question is: what can a captain do with an indisciplined, one-dimensional bowling attack?

Perhaps bat first on winning the toss?

Scorecard | Images