Australian's are closer to series win

West Indies 312 and 9 for 308 (Deonarine 82, Nash 65) need 51 runs to beat Australia 7 for 520 dec & 150 (Bravo 4-42)

Australia are on track for victory in the third Test against the West Indies at the WACA Ground after snaring the crucial scalps of dangermen Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan.At lunch on day four, the Windies were 3-68 chasing 359 for victory, with Narsingh Deonarine (12no) unbeaten at the crease after Sarwan (11) edged Nathan Hauritz behind on the last ball before the break.Earlier in the day, Australia were skittled for 150, with Sulieman Benn (3-29) and Dwayne Bravo (4-42) claiming the last two wickets after the home side resumed at 8-137.

In reply, Windies opener Travis Dowlin fell for 22 to Doug Bollinger (1-20) but it was the wicket of Gayle for 21 that had the Australians celebrating -- perhaps over exuberantly.After a seaming Shane Watson (1-11) delivery found the inside edge of Gayle and Brad Haddin took a low catch behind the stumps, Watson stood barely a metre away from the batsman, stared him square in the eyes and yelled out in triumph as umpire Billy Bowden raised his finger.Gayle avoided any ugly confrontation by walking away and Watson was later spoken to by umpire Ian Gould.

Gould also spoke with skipper Ricky Ponting, although it is unknown whether Watson has been cited over the incident.The Windies' woes were compounded when a loose cut by Sarwan led to his demise.Should the Windies reach the victory target, it would be the eighth highest successful fourth-innings run chase in Test history.The Windies still hold top spot after posting 7-418 against Australia in Antigua in 2003, while South Africa's 4-414 against Australia at the WACA Ground last summer is next best.But the Proteas' total was reached on a batter-friendly Perth wicket -- a far cry from the current deck that is offering plenty of turn for the spinners and juicy cracks for the pacemen.

Australia's second innings total was their lowest score since making just 93 against India in Mumbai in 2004.Gayle thrilled the crowd with his exquisite batting and juggling soccer skills over the opening three days of the match and his handy footwork saved his skin in the fourth ball of the West Indies' second innings.After fending off a rising Bollinger delivery, Gayle watched in horror as the ball bounced towards the stumps.But just as it appeared the ball would hit its target, Gayle instinctively stuck out his boot to safely kick the ball away.Dowlin threw away his wicket when a poorly-executed pull shot sailed straight to Michael Clarke at deepish square leg, and the Windies were in deep trouble when both Gayle and Sarwan departed.

MS Dhoni banned for two ODIs, Sehwag named as captain

MS Dhoni, India's captain, has been banned for two ODIs for India's failure to maintain the over-rate during the second match against Sri Lanka in Nagpur. The ban is effective immediately, which means Dhoni will be unavailable for the games in Cuttack and Kolkata, returning only for the final ODI in Delhi. Virender Sehwag will captain the side in his absence.The severity of the penalty - a ban instead of a fine - is because India were three overs short, which comes under the "serious over-rate offence" category. Falling short by up to two overs in an ODI, and five in a Test day, is considered a "minor offence", and merits a ban only if the offence is repeated twice in 12 months. On Friday night, though, India finished their 50 overs about 45 minutes after the scheduled finish and left match referee Jeff Crowe with no choice but to impose a ban.

If India repeat a serious over-rate offence in any form of the game within the next 12 months,  Dhoni could earn himself a ban of two to eight ODIs or one to four Tests."The India captain, like his Sri Lanka counterpart, was reminded and warned before and during the ODI series to be mindful of the slow over-rates and the penalties under the revised code," Crowe said. "The Indian side was at par until the 42nd over but bowled only eight overs in the last hour which, is unacceptable. I accept the fact that the ultimate desire of the Indian side was to win the match but at the same time it had deadlines to meet and also fulfill the responsibilities it owed to the stakeholders."The rest of the Indian players were fined 40% of their match fee for the offence - 10% each for the first two overs of minor offence and 20% each for every subsequent over. The BCCI has also stated that it will not appeal against the ban.

"We have received information that the match referee has put a two-ODI ban on Dhoni for slow over-rate," Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI's chief administrative officer, said. "We are waiting for a formal communication on this. We will look into details and then make further comments."Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka's captain, came close to getting banned when his side were found to be two overs short during the second Twenty20 international in Mohali. Sangakkara was fined 40% of his match fee while the rest of the team was docked 20% each, but Crowe said Sangakkara escaped a much bigger penalty."Kumar was kept informed throughout the match by the on-field umpires of where his team was with its over-rate," Crowe said. "Under the revised code of conduct, Sri Lanka was very close to being three overs behind and charged for a Serious Over Rate Offence, which would have resulted in its captain being suspended in the next two ODIs." Within the next 12 months, Sri Lanka can afford to repeat this minor offence once. Third strike, and Sangakkara will be out for a game.