Bowlers dominated the first day, batsmen the other three, which consisted chiefly of vast feats of run-making. Nine centuries were made and conceded by batsmen and bowlers, 11 if you include all of Michael Clarke's. But only one of the two most dwelled-upon hundreds materialised.

Ricky Ponting is free of the bonds of expectation at last, but not yet Sachin Tendulkar. The ovation for him upon exiting yesterday was warm, but its timbre was a little reserved, as if the SCG was saying farewell just in case.

The wicket of Tendulkar was the game's last staging post. In the karmic way of these things, it fell to Clarke, who had brought himself on for a speculative spell of his occasional but deceptively guileful left-arm spin while waiting for the new ball to fall due.

The ball bounced a little and spun a little, but sometimes in cricket, a little is more deadly than a lot. This subtlety is true even of T20. This ball clipped the edge of Tendulkar's bat, flicked the fingertips of Brad Haddin's gloves - much did this day - and was caught by Mike Hussey at slip.

Nothing in the preceding three hours of imperious batsmanship pre-empted this.

Clarke in this match demonstrated touches both exquisite and Midas. He spent all but 40 minutes of it on the ground. He is making a new name for himself, and it was written all over this Test.

Ben Hilfenhaus and the new ball then assured victory, taking the wickets of V.V.S. Laxman and M.S. Dhoni. Although, perversely, neither triumph was immediately evident to Hilfenhaus.

He bowled Laxman a ball that diverted just enough to ghost past the outside edge, but not so far as to miss the off stump, which it kissed. Hilfenhaus appeared first to think the ball had missed everything, then that Laxman had edged it to the keeper, before noticing the awry bails. Here, his face said, was the providence that had abandoned him when bowling to Tendulkar the previous evening.

Then when Dhoni prodded a yorker back to Hilfenhaus, he seemed to think only that he stopped it.

But the slips were exultant, prompting the umpires to ask for a video verdict, which showed Dhoni had indeed scooped the ball back to the bowler. It was perhaps the first instance in Test history of a ''crowd catch'' that was out.

Hilfenhaus was a broken bowler after the Ashes series a year ago, but is remade. Yesterday, he bowled as if wrestling a shark, and his sheer strength won the day. He would make this his second five-wickets innings in two Tests.

Thereafter, the match galloped to its inevitable end.

As is now commonplace in Test cricket, five days worth of cricket had crammed itself into four. Only the bean-counters will be displeased, though even beans have been plentiful this summer.

From its nadir 12 months ago, Australia has recovered steadily. It goes on to the next Test in Perth in rude health, but with wide scope to improve.

In this match, Shaun Marsh faced only one ball, Haddin's keeping was inglorious and Nathan Lyon created only half-chances.

Tyro James Pattinson's injury is a blow, and acts as a timely warning about the fragile nature of rebuilds.

And Australia must avoid self-delusion, for India is again proving a feeble traveller: this was its sixth away defeat in a row.

In England, a body of thinking has it that the sudden wealth of Ponting and Hussey runs is a setback to rebuilding.

All setbacks should be so inspiring.