Brisbane: The three-month long tour Down Under could not have ended on a better note for India. An incredible 2-0 win over the World Champions in the CB series marks the young Indian team’s announcement in world cricket as a force to reckon with.
After bagging the first final in Sydney, India beat the Aussies by nine runs at the Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday. Chasing 259 to square the series, Australia were bundled out for 249 with two balls to spare. As the hosts crumbled under the tremendous pressure exerted by India, James Hopes stood tall with 63 off 80 balls. Hopes held the fort from one end and came up with big shots as the all-rounder batted resolutely with the tail. But his efforts could not take Australia home as he was the last man to fall for the hosts to give India a historic win at the Gabba.
After Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds revived Aussie fortunes, Hopes along with Mike Hussey took Australia close to the target with a 76-run stand. But once Hussey was dismissed by S Sreesanth for 44, the hosts had a daunting task on hand.
Hopes batted bravely with Brett Lee (seven), Mitchell Johnson (eight) and Nathan Bracken (one) but in vain.
Earlier, Praveen Kumar once again rattled Australia by removing the top three Aussie batsmen in quick time. Adam Gilchrist was the first casualty of Praveen’s super spell as the southpaw edged the third ball of the innings to MS Dhoni for two.
Ricky Ponting continued his poor run with the bat as like at Sydney the pull shot came to his undoing once again. This time the Aussie skipper miscued it to mid-on for one. Michael Clarke became Praveen’s third victim as Australia with the home-team tottering at 32-3 in nine overs.
Hayden and Symonds then launched a counter attack to revive the Aussie innings as the duo strung together a crucial 89-run stand. Irfan Pathan once again took some heavy toll giving away 41 runs in six overs. The blitzkrieg partnership looked ominous for the Indians who desperately needed a breakthrough at the halfway stage. And India got a lucky break when miscommunication between the two burly Aussies led to Hayden’s dismissal in the 26th over for 55 comprising seven boundaries.
And before Australia could recover from Hayden’s wicket, Harbhajan Singh in the very same over trapped Andrew Symonds leg-before for 42 to push the hosts further on to the backfoot with the score reading 123 – 5.
In the Indian innings, Sachin Tendulkar, following his match-winning ton in Sydney, plundered another brilliant knock to take the visitors to 258-9. Tendulkar fell agonizingly close to his ton after smashing seven boundaries in his determined 91.
India were 175-2 in 35 overs but regular wickets never allowed India to pick up the momentum from thereon. Only Tendulkar was able to manage a big score to his name. And after his dismissal in the 40th over, it went downhill for the visitors.
India got off to a steady start after choosing to bat first on a bouncy Gabba pitch. Robin Uthappa along with Tendulkar added 94 runs for the opening partnership before the former was dismissed by Stuart Clark, who made his way in the eleven replacing Brad Hogg. Uthappa after playing an uncharacteristically patient innings departed for 30 in an attempt to clear the in-field.
Indian number three Gautam Gambhir failed for the second time in succession in the finals as a rush of blood shot undid him. Like Uthappa, Gambhir too attempted a big shot only to hold out at long-on for 15.
Yuvraj Singh after looking good in his run-a-ball 38 fell in similar fashion as India's run-rate slowed down. Tendulkar held the fort from one end but wickets falling on the other end slowed him down. Nine runs short of his century, Tendulkar fell to a soft dismissal to Clarke.
Rohit Sharma was the next to depart managing only two runs. MS Dhoni cracked a few powerful blows in his 37-ball 36 but attempted one shot too many to expose the Indian tail a bit too soon for the visitors’ liking. The lower order could not shift the momentum as the Aussie bowlers stuck to a tight line and length.
But the modest total proved an uphill task for the formidable Aussies as India won the controversy marred series in grand style.
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