Incredible India defeat Aussies

Matthew Hayden's demise was a major factor

Day Five, Second Test, Calcutta:
India 171 and 657-7 dec; Australia 445 and 212
India win by 171 runs

Click here for scorecard

India defeated Australia by 171 runs in Calcutta in one of the most amazing fightbacks in Test cricket history.

Harbhajan Singh dismissed Glenn McGrath with just six overs of the match remaining to seal the win.

It means Australia's record 16 match winning streak is over, after they had seemed destined to take the match after the first innings

India owe much of their victory to two men - Vangipurappu Laxman, whose 281 in the second innings helped the home side to their huge total, and Harbhajan Singh, who took six wickets in the Australian innings to add to the seven he took in the first.

After having been forced to follow on, the home side declared at 657 for seven on the morning of the final day, leaving Australia two and a half sessions to bat through to a draw.

At 166 for three, the visitors were strolling towards a draw before the loss of four quick wickets.

Harbhajan Singh took ten wickets in the match

Matthew Hayden and Matthew Slater had got the Australians off to a great start, putting on 74 runs for the first wicket.

That partnership was ended by Sachin Tendulkar who played a full part in the the Indian attack after a disappointing match with the bat.

He trapped Slater leg before after the opener had reached 43.

Justin Langer joined Haden and the pair moved the score past the 100 mark in comfortable fashion.

But Langer was dismissed on 28 and when Mark Waugh also departed for a duck, Australia were struggling on 116 for three.

Both lost their wicket to Singh, who was ably assisted at the other end by the spin of Tendulkar.

Captain Steve Waugh, so often the man for an Australian crisis, steadied the ship with Hayden and the match seemed to be headed for a draw.

But when Singh prised the skipper's wicket with the score at 166, few could have foreseen the collapse that was about to take place.

Both Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist fell without troubling the scorecards and when Shane Warne also lost his wicket, India were into the Australian tail with overs to spare.

Jason Gillespie's brief resistance gave the Australians some hope, but he fell on six, courtesy of Singh, to set up a tense finale.

McGrath and Michael Kasprowicz held the Indians at bay for over half an hour and rattled the attack with some defiant scoring shots.

But the task of lasting the remaining six overs proved beyond the pair, with McGrayth trapped right in front of his stumps for a very straightforward leg before.

The start of the day saw Vangipurappu Laxman finally undone after claiming the highest Test score by an Indian as the home side continued a remarkable recovery at Eden Gardens on the final day.

Nayan Mongia was hit in the face

Laxman was out for 281 off the bowling from Glenn McGrath, after hitting 44 boundaries from 452 balls, having surpassed Sunil Gavaskar's previous record of 236 not out.

Australia's hopes of a 17th successive Test win had faded in the first session of the day after Laxman and Rahul Dravid produced a brilliant batting display to build a big and unexpected lead.

Dravid was eventually run out after making a brilliant 180 runs and McGrath claimed the wicket of Mongia for just four.

Dravid's and Laxman's partnership was a new fifth wicket record for India, beating the stand of 214 between Mohammad Azharuddin and Ravi Shastri against England at the same venue in 1984.

Laxman, who top scored in the first innings, became the first Indian to score 250 in a Test.