Australia grit out

          That may seem a tailor-made surface for bowling first, but Australia's stand-in captain Shane Watson, taking over from an injured Michael Clarke, decided to bat knowing that the track will become even more difficult to score on as the match progresses. India could have shot out Australia for under 200, but for the resistance provided by Steven Smith, whose Test crediblity increased for the second match in succession, and Peter Siddle, who put away the mindless swipes usually associated with tailenders, to reach a career-best 47, and defy India for three hours.That wicket opened the doors to a collapse, and from a healthy 106 for 2, Australia tumbled to 136 for 7. The middle order for this Test - Hughes, Watson, Smith, Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell - is the weakest Australia have fielded in decades, and they were unable to cope with the accuracy of the spinners, and the ball darting around. The questions over whether Watson deserves a permanent place in the side will only grow after another failure - he was stumped off Ravindra Jadeja, who continued to torment Australia's captain this series. Much of the threat in the first session had come from Ishant Sharma, who dismissed David Warner for a duck, and had Hughes bowled for an enterprising 45. The spinners took over after lunch, as the ball began to rip, and the numbers of appeal ratcheted up. Cowan had played his typical unflashy innings, intent on preserving his wicket in the testing conditions, before he became the third Australian top-order batsman to be bowled round the legs by R Ashwin in the series, while attempting a sweep.