Ponting leads Australia with ton

Matthew Hayden's miserable summer continued when he was out cheaply before Simon Katich and Ponting put on 107 for the second wicket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as Australia made a good start in their bid to level the series following the six-wicket first Test loss in Perth.

Katich (54) and Michael Hussey (0) fell to Dale Steyn in the second session before Paul Harris took the crucial wicket of Ponting, who was dropped by Neil McKenzie on 24 shortly before lunch, for 101 in the last over before tea.

Michael Clarke was unbeaten on 11 at the interval with Andrew Symonds set to join him in the middle at the resumption.

Speculation has been rife that this could be Hayden's final Test and Ponting won the toss and elected to bat, giving the 37-year-old opener an ideal opportunity to prove he was worthy of a place in the team.

However, Hayden, who has thrived at the MCG recently with six centuries in his last seven Tests, was out for eight in the eighth over, when he was tempted into a loose drive by Makhaya Ntini and caught at backward point by JP Duminy.

Ponting was dropped at third slip by McKenzie in the final over before lunch as Steyn was denied before he hit Ntini for three successive fours in one over to race to his fifty.

His century stand with Katich was ended when the latter became Steyn's first victim, catching an inside edge as he was bowled.

Hussey soon followed when he was caught behind by Mark Boucher after being caught in two minds by a good delivery from Steyn.

Ponting raced to his hundred, hitting his second fifty off 40 balls but fell after adding just one more run when his inside edge off Harris went onto the pad and Hashim Amla took the catch at short leg.