Indian batsmen cave in yet again

India face a heavy defeat in the third cricket Test and a series loss against Australia after slumping to 88-4 in their second innings at stumps on the second day yesterday. India started the innings 208 runs behind, and Rahul Dravid (32 not out) and Virat Kohli (21 not out) will resume today, faced with the task of saving the Test and keeping the series hopes alive. Sachin Tendulkar again fell well short of his 100th century, scoring just 8 runs before he was trapped lbw. Australia scored 369 runs in their first innings after a career-best 180 by opener David Warner, who shared a 214-run opening stand with Ed Cowan (74). Yadav's career best Paceman Umesh Yadav took a career-best 5-93 to spearhead a creditable comeback for the visitors, who claimed the last seven Australian wickets for 79 runs. He was well supported by the experienced swing bowler Zaheer Khan (2-91). The pair bowled in tandem and reverse swung the old ball to end any hopes Australia had of batting India completely out and taking a stranglehold of the test and the series. Australia lead the four-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-0, following wins in Melbourne and Sydney, and are well placed to wrap up the series. Despite India's spirited fightback, the game has, so far, belonged to Warner, the pugnacious left hander. Warner continued from where he left off in scoring the fourth quickest Test century in the last session on the first day, and tormented the India bowling that looked toothless until the ball started to reverse swing. Belligerent innings Warner smashed five sixes and 20 fours in his 159-ball knock while sharing the stand with Cowan, but was deceived by a slower ball from Ishant Sharma and caught in the outfield, attempting another big hit. He left to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd. Cowan finally came out of the shadows of Warner's innings and was the dominant partner on the second morning before Yadav bowled him. Cowan hit 10 fours in his three-hour stay at the wicket. Yadav then dismissed an out-of-form Shaun Marsh (11) and Ricky Ponting (7) in quick succession as Australia took lunch on 256-3. The fall of Warner triggered the second collapse as captain Michael Clarke (18) and Brad Haddin (0) fell in successive Khan overs. Local hero Michael Hussey because debutante Vinay Kumar's maiden test wicket. Only Peter Siddle (30) offered any resistance before Yadav claimed him and Ryan Harris in the space of two overs, and the innings ended when Ben Hilfenhaus fell into the trap of lofting a Virender Sehwag delivery right down the throat of long-on. "I am very happy with my performance, but at the same time, we're going to lose this test match," Yadav said of his maiden five-wicket haul in only his fifth test match. "What I learned from the Australian bowlers is to bowl a good line. I think that helped me." Yadav, who also caught Warner in the outfield, said he felt a lot of pressure when taking the catch. "The batsman was on 180 and if I had dropped (it), the situation would have been worse for India," Yadav said. Prized wickets Indian openers Gautam Gambhir (14) and Sehwag (10) batted confidently, but a double bowling change caused trouble for the tourists. Leftarm swing bowler Mitchell Starc (2-14) had Gambhir caught at gully with a rising delivery, and later trapped Tendulkar lbw. In between, Siddle (1-21) accounted for Sehwag caught behind by Haddin. On Friday, Tendulkar was dismissed lbw after scoring 15 runs. The 187-Test veteran will get one last opportunity on Australian soil to reach the milestone century when the two teams meet in the fourth and final Test starting in Adelaide on January 24. Tendulkar arrived and left to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd that probably saw him in action for the last time in Perth. Starc said he cherished the moment when he dismissed the Indian great. "It's an amazing feeling. Any time you take a Test wicket, it's special," Starc said. "To get the ‘Little Master', it was a great feeling. ... We have been good with our plans and being strict on ourselves has helped. Hope we can continue with that into tomorrow." Scoreboard Australia 1st innings (overnight 149 for 0) -    E. Cowan b Yadav 74 -    D. Warner c Yadav b Sharma 180 -    S. Marsh c Laxman b Yadav 11 -    R. Ponting b Yadav 7 -    M. Clarke c Dhoni b Khan 18 -    M. Hussey c Sehwag b Kumar 14 -    B. Haddin c Dhoni b Khan 0 -    P. Siddle b Yadav 30 -    R. Harris c Gambhir b Yadav 9 -    M. Starc not out 15 -    B. Hilfenhaus c Kohli b Sehwag 6 -    Extras (lb3, w2) 5 -    Total (all out; 76.2 overs) 369 -    Fall of wickets: 1-214 (Cowan), 2-230 (Marsh), 3-242 (Ponting), 4-290 (Warner), 5-301 (Clarke), 6-303 (Haddin), 7-339 (Hussey), 8-343 (Siddle), 9-357 (Harris) 10-369 (Hilfenhaus). -    Bowling: Zaheer Khan 21-3-91-2 (1w), Umesh Yadav 17-2-93-5 (1w), Vinay Kumar 13-0-73-1, Ishant Sharma 18-0-89-1, Virender Sehwag 7.2-0-20-1. India 1st innings 161 (V. Kohli 44; B. Hilfenhaus 4-43) India 2nd innings -    G. Gambhir c Hussey b Starc 14 -    V. Sehwag c Haddin b Siddle 10 -    R. Dravid not out 32 -    S. Tendulkar lbw Starc 8 -    V.V.S. Laxman c Marsh b Hilfenhaus 0 -    V. Kohli not out 21 -    Extras (b1, lb1, w1) 3 -    Total (for four wickets, 32 overs) 88 -    Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Gambhir), 2-25 (Sehwag), 3-42 (Tendulkar), 4-51 (Laxman). -    Bowling: Ryan Harris 8-1-23-0, Ben Hilfenhaus 9-2-25-1, Mitchell Starc 6-2-14-2, Peter Siddle 7-2-21-1 (1w), Mike Hussey 2-0-3-0. -    Toss: Australia -    Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK), Kumar Dharmasena (SRI) -    Video umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS)