Sachin Tendulkar and V V S Laxman stitched an 86-run unfinished partnership as India came back strongly at tea after losing three quick wickets in the morning session on the opening day of the fourth and final Test against Australia today.

At tea, India were 202 for loss of three wickets in 51 overs, after having added 80 runs in 27 overs in the post-lunch period of play.

Tendulkar was not out on 62, which included eight hits to the fence, while Laxman was unconquered with 34 (three fours).

Commencing after lunch, Tendulkar and Laxman, who is playing his 100th Test, were kept quiet for a while by pacer Mitchell Johnson and debutant off spinner Jason Krejza.

Krejza had stunned the hosts earlier by dismissing the dangerous-looking Virender Sehwag (66, 69 balls, 9x4 and 1x6) and Rahul Dravid (0) in the space of 12 balls.

After settling down, Tendulkar - 16 at lunch - began opening out by slog-sweeping Krejza and then lofting the slow bowler for two successive fours to bring up the 150. The first hour after lunch yielded 44 runs in 13 overs.

Laxman, after a fine pull shot off Johnson, struggled with his timing despite having come into this match with unbeaten scores of 200 and 59 in the third Test at Delhi.

Tendulkar, at the other end, was fluent as ever and completed his third half century of the series, and 52nd of career, in 65 balls with a couple to deep cover off Krejza.

Tendulkar thus overtook Allan Border of Australia in the number of plus-50 scores in his career 91 (including 39 tons) as compared to the former Australian captain's 90.

Krejza was replaced by leg-spinner Cameron White, after a long spell of 15 overs for 88 runs and two wickets, but the fourth-wicket duo looked untroubled.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting chose to use his spearhead Brett Lee for only nine overs in the first two sessions and the fast bowler failed to take a wicket.

Earlier, the hosts made light of the absence of banned in-form batsman Gautam Gambhir to make a rollicking start before losing three quick wickets in the last half hour's play to lunch.

Sehwag, who struck nine fours and a six in making a quick-fire 66, and debutant Murali Vijay, included in the team two days before the match, put on a near-century stand on a bone-dry wicket in impressive fashion before the visitors struck three telling blows to bounce back in style.

Krejza struck twice by removing out-of-form batsman Rahul Dravid for a duck, and the dangerous-looking Sehwag, who faced 69 balls, by turning the ball sharply after Shane Watson drew first blood by having Vijay (33) caught behind fending at a short, rising ball.

Krejza dismissed Dravid, by having the struggling former India captain caught off his glove at short leg off a sharply spinning ball when defending, soon after Watson got rid off Vijay. Dravid had scored only 117 runs in five innings going into the final Test.

India, looking to adjourn for lunch without losing a wicket, suddenly plunged to 99 for two in the space of six balls and were in deeper trouble when Krejza made a ball turn sharply into Sehwag who leaned back to cut it and managed to only chop it on to the stumps.