Runs and Sachin Tendulkar were like two estranged lovers meeting after a long time on a Saturday afternoon. The poetry was back, so was the grace and elegance.
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It doesn't matter if Tendulkar's knock doesn't translate into a century on Sunday - the sheer joy of watching a Tendulkar classic again made it an afternoon to remember for the 20,000-odd who braved the cruel sun to be at the ground.
After Australia folded up for 380 at the stroke of lunch, India were reduced to 11/2 in no time. James Pattinson was breathing fire, removing Virender Sehwag and M Vijay, and another wicket at that stage would have made life extremely difficult for India.
But Tendulkar did what he has done for over two decades. The first ball he faced off a rampaging Pattinson was caressed through cover for a boundary. He opened the face just a little bit for the second ball and the result was the same.
A ruffled Pattinson drifted onto the pads and a delicate leg-glance followed. The Australian skipper Michael Clarke removed Pattinson straight away and the pressure came down by a few notches.
India built on that counter-attack and by the end of the day, had reached 182-3, with Tendulkar (batting 71) and Virat Kohli (batting 50) holding fort.
The genius of Tendulkar was central to India's fightback on a crumbling pitch with variable bounce, against a quality pace bowling attack. Sachin seemed to have decided that he won't close the face of his bat against these pacers and looked to play everything as close to his body as possible.
As he looked completely under control at one end, Cheteshwar Pujara too played his part.
The Saurashtra man, batting at No. 3 waited for the ball to come to him and looked to find the gaps. Even as Mitchell Starc and Peter Siddle looked to attack, there wasn't a dry period when the runs were choked.
Tendulkar seemed to relax just a bit and tried a paddled sweep off the first ball he faced off off-spinner Nathan Lyon and the ball struck his pad low down. There was a vociferous appeal, but the umpire turned it down, much to the relief of the fans and Tendulkar himself.
The Pujara-Tendulkar partnership was broken after tea when Pattinson was brought back for his second spell. The ball came back just a little bit and Pujara (44) played down the wrong line, to be bowled through the gate.
At this stage, one would have expected Pattinson to bowl a longer spell, but Clarke once again took him away from the attack after three overs. The skipper probably has Pattinson's fitness issues in mind and he wants to use him short bursts so that he doesn't break down along the course of the series.
Kohli, who came in at Pujara's dismissal, seemed determined to buckle in and grind. But the natural aggressive streak in him forced the Delhi boy to go for his shots when the opportunity arose and he took the pressure off Tendulkar.
However, India are still 198 short of Australia's target, and skipper Clarke, who eventually scored 130, deserves all the credit for guiding the visitors to 380.
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