Mishra puts Australia on the ropes

Amit Mishra is congratulated by his team-mates en route to five wickets as a debutant

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Leg-spinner Amit Mishra claimed a five-wicket haul on debut as India had Australia on the ropes on the third day of the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar series.

Mishra picked up three wickets today to add to the two he had taken on the second day as Australia were bowled out for 268 just after tea, following fighting half-centuries from Michael Hussey (54) and Shane Watson (78).

It still gave India a first innings lead of 201, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to bat again rather than enforce the follow-on.

Virender Sehwag responded by slamming a half-century and together with Gautam Gambhir helped India off to a solid start.

The opening pair put on 100 runs in an unbroken stand for the opening wicket as India extended their lead to 301 with ten wickets in hand.

Sehwag reached his fifty with a boundary through square-leg off Mitchell Johnson, the sixth boundary of his innings.

Sehwag was on 53 and Gambhir four runs short of a half-century when stumps were drawn for the day.

Gambhir has so far hit four boundaries, all in spite of a defensive field from Ricky Ponting.

If the first day of this Test belonged to Sachin Tendulkar and the second to Sourav Ganguly, then the third belonged to Mishra.

The leg-spinner, who came into this match for an injured Anil Kumble, picked up the wickets of Watson (78), Cameron White (five) and Peter Siddle (nought) adding them to the two - Simon Katich and Michael Clarke - he had claimed on the second day.

Hussey was joined by Watson at the start of the day and the two foiled India's relentless pace attack for most of the first hour.

Hussey pulled Ishant for a couple of runs to square leg to bring up his half-century, but fell two deliveries later.

Shane Watson's long vigil was ended when Mishra had him leg before for 71, triggering the downfall

After the left-handed batsman survived a close call off the first delivery, he was snapped up off the next ball, a thin edge going straight to Dhoni.

Dhoni then slowed the pace of the India attack, turning to Harbhajan who responded with the wicket of Haddin, deceiving the batsman with flight and knocking back the off stump.

Mishra then found a way past White's defences with a googly for his first wicket of the day, the ball sneaking through a gap between bat and pad.

Watson, who had watched the wickets go down at the other end, was joined by Lee just before lunch and the two helped Australia recover some ground with a valuable 73-run stand for the eighth.

Watson, tentative at the start of the day, opened up to collect his first Test fifty.

He drove Ishant Sharma through covers to get past the mark and, a little later, hit Mishra over the top for the six.

His 156-delivery vigil at the crease was punctuated with 10 boundaries and a six.

Lee enjoyed a few telling strokes of his own, two boundaries in one over off Mishra and a straight drive off Zaheer Khan to bring up the fifty partnership.

The partnership was finally broken by Harbhajan Singh, the off-spinner getting Lee to prod at a delivery and the edge going straight to Rahul Dravid at first slip.

Watson fell just after tea, trapped in front by one that stayed low from Mishra.

The end came shortly later as Siddle stepped out to drive Mishra only to miss and for Dhoni to complete a stumping.