PERTH (Reuters) - India captured the vital wicket of Australian captain Ricky Ponting as they pushed for victory on the fourth day of the third test on Saturday.Fast bowler Ishant Sharma made the breakthrough before lunch when he dismissed Ponting for 45 as Australia crawled their way to finish the morning session on 142 for three.
They needed a further 271 to win the match and take a 3-0 series lead and India required seven more wickets to keep alive their hopes of winning the last two matches and squaring the four-game series.
When lunch was taken on Saturday, Mike Hussey was unbeaten on 39 and Michael Clarke was not out 11. Australia are hoping for a big partnership from them to have any chance of victory.
Australia coach Tim Nielsen said his team were confident of getting the runs because the WACA pitch was holding up so well, although history is heavily stacked against them.
Only one side in 131 years of test cricket have ever scored more runs in the fourth innings to win a test. That was in 2003 when the West Indies made 418-7 to beat Australia in Antigua.
Australia started the fourth day already in a precarious state on 65-2 after losing both their openers on Friday afternoon.
They made a cautious start and Ponting survived a series of loud lbw appeals from Sharma.
He looked to be on his way to a bigger score when his luck finally ran out. The lanky Sharma found the edge and Rahul Dravid took a sharp catch at first slip.
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