October 31st, 2009
Yuvraj-Dhoni drive India home
The pitch on offer at the Feroz Shah Kotla wasn’t fitting of the occassion. The Kotla was hosting it’s first day-night ODI but the pitch turned out to be a damp squib being slow and low throughout the match. Australia posted a competitive 230 batting first and had India at trouble at 53/3 before Yuvraj and Dhoni forged a 148-run stand for the fourth wicket stand to seal Australia’s fate. Yuvraj and Dhoni read the pitch well and played sensibly, never looking to force the issue, instead looking to work the ball in the gaps. The asking rate was never too high and the singles allowed both batsmen to settle down. Yuvraj looked in good touch from the start putting two loose leg side deliveries away. Overs 26-33 didn’t produce any boundaries and the game seem ed evenly poised before Yuvraj took the attack to debutant Moises Henriques, smashing a six and a four in the 34th over. Ponting gambled with Voges in the next over but that didn’t pay off either as Yuvraj hit another six and a four to reach his 42nd ODI fifty. Meanwhile, Dhoni was playing in his typical style, using his wrists well to steer the ball into empty spaces, content with taking the singles. Henriques’ misery wasn’t over as Yuvraj blasted two successive fours in his next over to tilt the scales in India’s favour. Runs came thick and fast there on before Yuvraj fell in the 44th over, with India needing 29. By then, the damage was done. Dhoni broke the shackles once the batting powerplay was taken, putting to rest any hopes Australia might have had. India have never lost when Yuvraj and Dhoni have been involved in a 100-plus stand and the duo ensured their record remained intact.
Dhoni steers India to victory
October 28th, 2009
Captain MS Dhoni struck a breathtaking 124 as India put up an all-round display to crush Australia by 99 runs in the second ODI.
With this victory, India levelled the seven-match series 1-1, on Wednesday.
Day’s action in pics
Dhoni smashed a 107-ball 124 to guide India to a record 354 for seven, the highest against Australia, after they were sent in to bat before the home team bowlers bundled out the visitors for 255 in 48.3 overs at VCA Stadium at Jamtha, to cancel out their narrow four-run loss in Vadodara on Sunday.
Besides tearing visiting attack to shreds to notch up his fifth ODI ton in 147 matches, Dhoni clobbered two century stands — 119 with Gambhir for fourth wicket and 136 with Raina for the fifth, pushing India score past earlier highest against Australia — 315 all out in Bangalore in March 2001.
It’s all about numbers
Australia were never in the hunt to chase down the mammoth target as they were just 115 for four by the 25th over and the asking run rate climbed to 11 plus by the 31st over.
Michael Hussey top-scored with a 60-ball 53 and he tried in vain to make a match out of it by sharing a 47-run stand for the fifth wicket with Adam Voges (36).
Young Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of Indian bowlers with figures of 3/35. He nipped in bud any chances of an Australian middle order fightback. Pacers Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma were also impressive with 2/37 and 2/34 respectively.
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The two teams will now travel to Delhi for the third one-dayer on Saturday.
Earlier, Dhoni blazed his way to his first ODI ton in more than a year to lead India to a record 354 for six.
Dhoni completed his century in 94 balls, studded with two sixes and seven fours, as he simply tore the visiting team’s attack to shreds on a good batting track. He was finally out for 124 after hitting three sixes and nine fours in 107 balls.
Dhoni, who came to the crease when India were struggling at 97 for three in 16th over, first consolidated the innings with Gambhir (76 in 80 balls) by running the singles and twos well and then opened up in the slog overs in the company of another left hander Raina (62 off 50 balls).
Top Performer: MS Dhoni
After Sehwag made a quick-fire 40 off only 31 balls, Dhoni, whose last century (109 not out) was against lowly Hong Kong in June 2008 in the Asia Cup tie in Karachi, and Gambhir laid the platform with a stand of 119 runs for the fourth wicket in only 113 balls.
Gambhir, who faced 80 balls and hit six fours, was run-out at non-striker’s end by backing up too much just when he was poised to up the tempo in the company of his captain.
Dhoni, who was adjudged man of the match, joined forces with Raina, who struck one six and six fours, to simply tear the Aussie attack to ribbons with a partnership of 136 in only 96 balls.
The fifth wicket pair utilised the batting Power Play, taken between 40th and 44th overs, to add 39 runs, with the India captain in full flow with his bottom-handed shots against the Aussie pacemen Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson.
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Australia conceded as many as 116 runs in the last eleven overs from the time India’s batting Power Play ended.
India began their innings in spectacular style with Sehwag taking a particular fancy for the swing bowling of inexperienced Tasmanian Ben Hilfenhaus.
Sehwag spanked the second ball he faced in the match from the 27-year-old rookie, playing only his 14th ODI and first in the subcontinent, to the covers and then square-drove the bowler off the backfoot for another four to set the tone.
Tendulkar (4) worked Siddle off his toes for a four but was dismissed stretching out to a ball that was bowled wide of the stumps by the bowler in his next over and edged it to the slip cordon. He had got out in a similar fashion at Vadodara.
Super Selector: Start building your team for the India-Oz series
Sehwag lofted Johnson, who passed a fitness test to play in the match after an ankle-injury scare, for a straight six.
The Delhi batsman, however, fell to the left-arm pacer as he mistimed a lofted shot to haul out to Hilfenhaus. His 40 came off 31 balls and included six fours and a six.
Yuvraj Singh, who came in for Sehwag, showed no uneasy signs of playing his first match since mid-September, and timed the ball beautifully in making a quickfire 23 with two fours and a six before being brilliantly caught and bowled by Hilfenhaus when he could not keep down a straight drive.
For Australia, Peter Siddle was the pick of the bowlers with his pace and effective use of the short ball in his earlier spell before he too was carted around by Dhoni and Raina.
India, Australia to resume rivalry
October 24th, 2009
The injury-hit hosts are fully aware that a series triumph in the seven-match rubber would catapult them to the number one spot.
The Indians will also be keen to make amends for their ICC Champions Trophy debacle as they take on the world champions in what promises to be a thrilling contest of nerve and skills.
Though flamboyant Virender Sehwag has returned to bolster the Indian top-order, Yuvraj Singh is unlikely to take the field for the series-opener at the Reliance Stadium.
Australia are in super form having clinched the Champions Trophy title, which followed an impressive 6-1 thrashing of England while the Indians have not quite lived upto expectations in recent times.
The hosts were knocked out of the Champions Trophy at the league stage where they could manage just one win.
India have done well in the last couple of years and would take inspiration from the fact that they had beaten Australia in their own den when they clashed last in a one-day series.
But India have a less-than-impressive one-day record in bilateral series against Australia at home, having won seven and lost 12 of their 23 encounters over the years.
It will, therefore, be a sort of revenge series for both teams as before India’s victory in Australia, the visitors had outclassed the hosts 4-2 in their last best-of-seven contest in this country two years ago.
Sachin Tendulkar’s form is crucial to India’s fortune.
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He was instrumental with an unbeaten ton and a score of 91 during India’s historic triumph in the VB Series Down Under.
With a line up of Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Dhoni, the home team’s batting is their strength.
Ponting has already sounded wary about the strength of India’s batting line-up led by Tendulkar and the fit-again Virender Sehwag at the top by calling it “formidable”.
Bowling is a big concern for India after a lacklustre performance in the Twenty20 World Cup as well as the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.
Ishant Sharma, who has struggled to recapture the sort of rhythm and speed with which he rattled even a great batsman like Ponting on India’s last visit to Australia, is under pressure.
The bowling attack has been re-arranged with the inclusion of Munaf Patel for R P Singh to support the in-form Ashish Nehra and Ishant. Praveen Kumar and Sudeep Tyagi are the other two pacers in the running.
The spin department, which would hold the key in the middle overs, is spearheaded by off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who needs to come up with a better performance than his haul of three wickets in seven matches in the previous series between these two teams to make an impact.
Leg spinner Amit Mishra is the back-up for Harbhajan if included in the playing eleven.
The poor bowling performance in two ICC events has led to the sacking of bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and it would be interesting to see how the team copes up with the change in their support staff.
In form skipper Ponting and vice captain Michael Hussey hold the key to the Australian batting , not to forget all-rounder Shane Watson who has come to India on the back of successive hundreds in the semi-final and final of the Champions Trophy.
Ponting is aware of the threats posed by the Indian slow bowlers especially in sub continent conditions but is confident that his batsmen would be up for the challenge.
Australia would bank upon their strong pace attack, and especially on Brett Lee who powered New South Wales to the maiden Champions T20 League title last night.
Lee and left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson pack a lot of punch in their attack and were in the forefront when India were routed for 148 in the previous encounter between the two teams at this venue two years ago.
With the impressive Peter Siddle, the Victorian who also has got used to the Indian conditions by playing in the CLT20, and swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus present as the other options, Australia carry a huge pace armoury.
Spin looks to be their weak spot with neither off spinner Nathan Hauritz nor rookie left-arm slow bowler Jon Holland expected to give the Indian batsmen cause for major worries.
Approaching milestones
- Brett Lee (49 wickets at 20.55 runs apiece in 28 matches) needs one wicket to become the first bowler in India-Australia ODIs to complete 50 wickets. For India, Kapil Dev (45 wickets at 27.68 runs apiece in 41 matches) holds a record against Australia.
- Ricky Ponting (16 wins in 27 ODIs) needs one victory to register his 17th win against India to establish an Australian record against India. Allan Border has also 16 wins in 27 matches against India.
India’s overall record at Baroda:
Played: 7
Won: 5
Lost: 2
Winning %: 71.43
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