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 The
Australian batting might crumbled against the spin challenge posed
by India on a slow wicket, and India, powered by Sachin Tendulkar's
brilliant hundred, registered an emphatic win over the Aussies by 37
runs, and moved to the top of the table in the TVS Cup trination ODI
series.
The Indians, who
lost to Australia in the World Cup final, thus had the satisfaction
of making the Aussies bite the dust in a grudge match at Gwalior.
The Aussies were
going strong at one stage, at 132 for no wicket, with Gilchrist and
Hayden playing shots all round the wicket, particularly against the
medium pacers. But the introduction of the spinners, though belated,
turned the match round on its head. The Australians lost wickets at
regular intervals and the asking rate kept climbing, increasing the
pressure on the new batsmen.
 In
the end, the Aussies finished at 246 for nine wickets in the
allotted 50 overs -- a situation they wouldn't have bargained for
after Gilchrist's brilliant 83.
Once Gilchrist
left, slowly but surely, the spinners established a stranglehold on
the match. The noose gradually tightened, with the asking rate
climbing constantly. It was apparent that all India needed at this
stage was a couple of wickets. Harbhajan and Kumble put the squeeze
on the Aussies and came out trumps, dismissing both Ponting and
Hayden.
Dravid, who
otherwise captained the team well, made two grave errors -- the
delayed introduction of the spinners and in particular the
inexplicable delay in bringing on Sehwag, who is a vastly
under-rated bowler. The moment Sehwag came on, it was apparent that
his tactics of bowling into the stumps all the time without giving
any width to the Aussies, would mount pressure on the batsmen.
 Sehwag's
decisive twin-blows in one over, followed by a wicket at the other
end from Tendulkar, exposed the brittleness of the Australian
batsmen in trying conditions.
The Indian
think-tank must get its tactics right. In day-night matches, when
the dew can affect the bowlers since they can't get a firm grip on
the ball, it would be better to bowl first. Also, India depends on
its batsmen, who will know the target while chasing.
Secondly,
innovative tactics, based on an assessment of the strengths and
weaknesses of the opponents, must be used. This was sorely lacking
when the Indians used pace instead of spin against the Aussie
openers.
Thirdly, the Indian
batsmen tend to slow down when approaching individual landmarks.
Both Tendulkar and Laxman were guilty of slowing down right from the
seventies. Precious deliveries were lost as they crawled to their
centuries. The Indians should learn from the Aussies here as
Gilchrist and Hayden bat just as aggressively in the eighties and
nineties as in the early part of the innings.
When Australia
began the run chase, the Indians made the same mistake as in the
World Cup final and in earlier matches against the Aussies by
attacking with pace, instead of bowling spin at both ends against
Hayden and Gilchrist. In the early part of the innings, the Aussies
like the ball to come quickly on to the bat. Zaheer Khan and Agarkar
went for runs, and the Indians had allowed the Aussies to get off to
a rolicking start.
 The
introduction of the spinners, though belated, immediately brought
dividends, curbing the Aussie openers amd bringing down the scoring
rate.
Parthiv Patel
failed to stump Hayden off Harbhajan Singh at 69. The two spinners
had put the brakes on the scoring. The 50 had come up off just six
overs but the next 31 runs took them 10 overs, reflecting the impact
of the spinners on the game. Gilchrist got a life when he was
dropped at deep mid-wicket by Zaheer Khan off Kumble at 81. Thus,
both the openers were let off the hook and the 100 came up in the
21st over.
Gilchrist, finally
ran out of patience, swinging wildly at Zaheer, to be bowled for 83,
Australia 132 for 1, 24.4 overs.
The game began to
swing the other way as skipper Ricky Ponting, looking uncomfortable
against spin, played too early to a Kumble delivery and was caught
and bowled for 2. Australia were two down for 135 in 25.5 overs.
Enter Damien Martyn, with the asking rate going up to 6.17 per over.
Pressure was
mounting on the Aussies who were finding it difficult to negotiate
spin on a slow wicket. Kumble finally found the right rhythm,
flighting a googly to Hayden and getting him stumped for 47.
Australia were struggling at 140 for 3 in 27.2 overs.
 Australia
were in deeper trouble when Symonds seemed to get a bad decision to
be declared out LBW when the ball appeared to be going down the leg
side. Australia 141 for 4. Bevan joined Martyn with the asking rate
climbing to over 6.6 runs per over.
Sehwag troubled
Martyn and Bevan and got a just reward when he bowled Sehwag with a
straight delivery. Australia 176 for 5 in 35.4 overs. He delivered a
double blow when he bowled Bevan, again a straight delivery, hitting
him on the pad and going on to hit the middle stump. Australia
177for 6 in 36 overs.
With the asking
rate going up to 8.2 runs per over and climbing sharply with every
dot ball, Harvey, under extreme pressure, heaved at a straight
delivery from Tendulkar to be bowled for 4, Australia 195 for 7 in
38.2 overs.
Bichel hit a six
but the asking rate climbed to over 10 runs per over and to over 11
with just seven overs to go.
Brad Hogg tried
gamely for Australia but the task was too stiff and was out stumped
off Harbhajan. Australia 225 for 8 in 45.4 overs. Bickel fell to a
brilliant catch by Kaif off Zaheer when he made a wild hit. Kaif
took a remarkable catch, running back several metres.
Brad Williams and
Bracken played out the remaining overs without any real hope of
making the runs. All they did was to ensure that the Aussie overall
run rate would have a healthier look. After all, the run quotient
could play a crucial role later. Australia finished their allotted
50 overs at
 Earlier,
batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar powered India to a big total of 283
for 5 in the allotted 50 overs, making a brilliant hundred, his 35th
in ODIs. Laxman too scored a hundred, his second in ODIs, and Yuvraj
(44) and Agarkar (22) chipped in with some big hits towards the end,
taking full toll of an Australian side, clearly weakened by the
absence of Mcgrath, Lee and Gillespie.
Overcoming the
early loss of Virender Sehwag to Bracken, Tendulkar and Laxman were
involved in a big partnership, noted for some superb drives,
delectable flicks and fine leg glances
The in-form
batsman, V V S Laxman, kept Tendulkar admirable company, to keep up
a steady and breathtaking flow of runs as the new Australian bowling
combination was smashed to smithereens.
Tendulkar glanced
Brad Williams to fine leg and long leg for two consecutive
boundaries while Laxman, flicked the first two deliveries off the
next over from Bickel to mid-wicket and cover point for fours,
making it four boundaries in a row.
Tendulkar was on 51
and Laxman on 25 when drinks were taken at 81 for 1 off 16 overs.
The scoring rate
was brought down by Ricky Pointing once the fielding restrictions
were lifted after 15 overs. The 100 came up in 19.5 overs, a good
rate considering that Australia had things in control in the first
six overs.
 Tendulkar
latched on to a slower delivery from Harvey and hit it over long on
for the first six of the innings. But otherwise, scoring was
restricted to singles with spinners Hogg and Symonds operating.
Laxman was dropped
by Symonds off his own bowling with the score at 159 for 1. He
celebrated his reprieve with a backfoot cover drive for four. The
pair was still together at the second drinks break, India 177 for 1
(36 overs), Tendulkar 94, Laxman 75.
 Tendulkar reached
his 100 but fell immediately thereafter, caught behind by Gilchrist
off Bracken who was getting some reverse swing while the ball was
now keeping low as well.
Yuvraj
came in, ahead of Dravid, apparently to go for the slog. Yuvraj
flicked Williams over mid-wicket for six and hit him for two more
boundaries in the over, while an intended leg glance fetched four
leg byes. He later drove Harvey through the covers for another four.
Laxman got to his
hundred, a fine effort, though he was too slow towards the end and
couldn't produce the big hits required to boost the total. He was
run out by a direct throw, very much on the cards. 256 for 3 in 47.5
overs.
Ajit Agarkar hit
the first ball, sweetly to the cover boundary for four and scored
three more boundaries. Yuvraj holed out to long on off Willams for
44 well made runs, but Agarkar and Kaif lifted India's score to 283
for 5 in the allotted 50 overs. This score was ultimately too much
for the Aussies on a slow track. Scorecard
| Country |
P |
W |
L |
N/R |
Points |
| India |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
| Newzealand |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
| Australia |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Australa will
next play New Zealand at Faridabad on October 29.
R Rangaraj
Published: Sunday, October
26, 2003
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