Australia four wickets from a 4-0 whitewash

ndia 272 and 6 for 166 (Sehwag 62, Ishant 2*, Saha 0*, Lyon 3-57) need another 334 runs to beatAustralia 7 for 604 dec and 5 for 167 dec (Ponting 60*)

	Nathan Lyon was thrilled to get rid of Sachin Tendulkar

Whitewash, clean sweep, shutout. Whatever you like to call it, Australia were on track for a 4-0 series victory over India by stumps on the fourth day in Adelaide. Four wickets stood between Michael Clarke's men and the completion of a remarkable feat. India finished the day needing a further 334 for victory, but a comeback from Kapil Dev is more likely than one from India in this match.

At stumps India were 6 for 166, having been set a target of 500. To put that in perspective, the highest successful chase in all of Test history was 418 by West Indies in Antigua nine years ago. The best in Adelaide was the 315 that Joe Darling's Australians chased down against England 110 years ago. In the past century, the highest Test chase in Adelaide was less than half of what India required in this innings.

Ishant Sharma was at the crease on 2 and Wriddhiman Saha was yet to score.

Full report to follow

Tea India 272 and 2 for 92 (Dravid 19*, Tendulkar 7*) need another 408 runs to beat Australia 7 for 604 dec and 5 for 167 dec (Ponting 60*)

Virender Sehwag gave Indian fans a brief glimmer of hope with a brisk half-century but at tea on the fourth day in Adelaide, Australia were on track towards their goal of a 4-0 whitewash. Australia needed eight more wickets for victory and India required a further 408 runs to win, and even with Test cricket's two leading run scorers of all time at the crease, it did not appear a realistic target.

Rahul Dravid was on 19 and Sachin Tendulkar was on 7 at the break, as India reached 2 for 92, having been set 500 for victory on an Adelaide Oval pitch that was expected to become harder to bat on. By setting such an enormous target, Michael Clarke ensured not only that India would need comfortably the highest successful chase in Test history, but they would require more than double the best Adelaide chase in the past century.

For a period, while Sehwag was attacking, it seemed that he might at least push India halfway towards their goal. He struck 12 boundaries in his 62 from 53 deliveries, flashing hard through the off side against the fast men with no regard for whether he was hitting in the air. Eventually his downfall came when he miscued an attempted slog off a Nathan Lyon full toss and was caught at cover.

Already India had lost Gautam Gambhir, who will finish the series with a disappointing average of 22.83 after he pushed at a Ryan Harris delivery and was caught behind for 3. India had come to the crease after Clarke allowed his own batsmen to play for three overs after lunch in order to set the target of 500, before he declared with Australia on 5 for 167. Ricky Ponting finished unbeaten on 60 and Brad Haddin was on 11.

As Homer Simpson once pointed out after observing that it was time to play the waiting game, "the waiting game sucks. Let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!" Such was the case in the first session as Australia accumulated more and more runs without any sense of urgency, despite already having ample to defend, with both teams waiting patiently for Clarke's declaration.

Australia added 104 in the first session for the loss of two wickets. Clarke had just started to lift his tempo against the spin of R Ashwin when he feathered a catch behind for 37 off Umesh Yadav, and Michael Hussey was judged lbw to Ishant Sharma for 15.

As the innings moved on, India's batsmen could see that some runs remained in the pitch but the surface was only going to become more difficult, perhaps another reason for Clarke delayed his declaration. Whatever the case, India would have to completely rewrite history in order to escape with a victory.

The highest chase in all of Test history was the 418 that West Indies achieved in Antigua, and the best at Adelaide Oval was the 315 that Joe Darling's Australians chased down against England at the venue 110 years ago.