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Aussies humiliate the Indians
By G. Viswanath
Matthew Hayden sweeps Balaji. — Photo: V.V. Krishnan
SYDNEY, FEB. 8. Matthew Hayden scored a high-quality century and Andrew Symonds gave a powerful exhibition of his strokeplay as the Australian batsmen plundered runs and crushed India in the second final at the SCG on Sunday. It was all over once the home team posted a mammoth 359 in its 50 overs.
Australia's quest for an emphatic win was quite remarkable and the 208-run margin must have cheered up the sports-loving nation. What made it more memorable was the way the Australians planned the dismissals of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. A leg-slip was stationed for the Indian openers and Brett Lee came up with breathtaking catches on both sides to send back the openers.
The Indians had been beaten hollow at Melbourne on Friday. Nevertheless, a great deal of interest surrounded the second final given that Sourav Ganguly's team had proved a tough nut to crack, playing superb cricket for two months and giving an impression that it had the wherewithal to bring down the World champion as it had done at Brisbane.
The Indians made a couple of tactical changes in their bowling department on a pitch different from the one at Melbourne. Leg-spinner Anil Kumble made way for left-arm spinner Murali Kartik while Ashish Nehra came in for Ajit Agarkar. Though Adam Gilchrist, who has been a thorn in the Indians' flesh, and Australia made a typically rousing start, the Indians had reasons to feel happy.
For the first time since the setback at Perth, India seemed able to check the marauding Gilchrist, who had made the most of Agarkar's wayward bowling in the previous matches. After not being given the width by Irfan Pathan and Laxmipathy Balaji, the left-hander was forced to play down the ground and was not able to find the square boundary as often as he usually does. When Gilchrist holed out to Ganguly at mid-on, the Indians felt a major obstacle had been removed but the mistake of focusing all their energies and tactics on one batsman proved costly.
Hayden in full cry
Hayden had given ample indications of returning to form with the innings at Melbourne. Though not in great touch in the tri-series, the Queenslander had blasted 109 off 107 balls in a league match at the Gabba. The Australian batsmen have the knack of swapping roles and as it transpired on Sunday, Hayden assumed the role of aggressor soon after Gilchrist's dismissal while Martyn played the bulwark.
The duo began to build a partnership that not only gained in strength but also played on Ganguly's mind. Hayden never missed an opportunity to dispatch the short balls to the on-side boundary, eliminating the risk of getting caught by finding the gaps. His judgment of length was perfect when he picked Balaji and lifted him straight for the first of his three sixes.
This was not the first time that the Indian captain has had to manage with a set of inexperienced bowlers in the VB Series. On a near-perfect batting pitch and against a set of bowlers who relied on line and length, Hayden and Martyn worked the ball away and also hit some forceful shots. The Indians seemed to be going through the motions before Sachin Tendulkar — bowling for the first time since the TVS Cup final in Kolkata in November — struck, dismissing Hayden. Attempting to reverse hit Tendulkar, the left-hander missed the line and lost his leg-stump.
Hayden and Martyn had sustained the run-rate at a healthy six-plus an over. After their departure, Symonds showed his liking for the Indian attack and stepped up the scoring rate by leaps and bounds. It touched seven-plus during his fifth-wicket stand with Michael Clarke. From 242 for three after the 40th over, Australia galloped to 359, the score it made in the World Cup final. As many as 117 runs came off the last 60 balls as Symonds and Clarke came up with an awesome display.
After the run riot in the first session, Lee showed his alacrity at leg-slip with those two great catches after Sehwag had flicked Gillespie's first ball for a six. Once the opening pair was prised out, the Indian skipper cut a sorry figure for half-an-hour before falling to Ian Harvey.
Australia was a deserving winner after proving to be too good for India in the last three matches.
Adam Gilchrist was declared the `player of the series' and Hayden, the `man of the match.'
|
|
| A. Gilchrist c Ganguly b Nehra
| 29 |
| M. Hayden b Tendulkar
| 126 |
| R. Ponting c Dravid b Pathan
| 4 |
| D. Martyn c Badani b Pathan
| 67 |
| A. Symonds b Nehra
| 66 |
| M. Clarke (not out) | 33 |
| S. Katich (not out) | 11 |
| Extras (lb-6, nb-2, w-15) | 23 |
| — — | |
| Total (for five wkts.
| 359 |
| — — | |
India bowling: Pathan 10 - 0-75-2, Balaji 9-0-65-0, Nehra 10-0-63-2, Kartik 7-0-51-0, Sehwag 5-0-30-0, Ganguly 1-0-9-0, Tendulkar 8-0-60-1.
| V. Sehwag c Lee b Gillespie
| 12 |
| S. Tendulkar c Lee b Gillespie
| 27 |
| V.V.S. Laxman c & b Lee
| 5 |
| S. Ganguly c Symonds b Harvey
| 3 |
| R. Dravid (run out)
| 0 |
| Yuvraj Singh c Gilchrist
| 4 |
| H. Badani (run out) | 18 |
| I. Pathan b Lee | 30 |
| M. Kartik c Gilchrist
| 23 |
| L. Balaji b Williams | 2 |
| A. Nehra (not out) | 14 |
| Extras (lb-7, nb-2, w-4) | 13 |
| — — | |
| Total (in 33.2 overs) | 151 |
| — — | |
Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Sehwag), 2-49 (Tendulkar), 3-49 (Laxman), 4-52 (Dravid), 5-52 (Ganguly), 6-59 (Yuvraj), 7-99 (Badani), 8-123 (Pathan), 9-136 (Kartik).
Australia bowling: Gillespie 9-1-52-2, Lee 10-1-39-2, Williams 6.2-1-12-2, Harvey 5-2-30-2, Symonds 3-1-11-0.
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