Carlton Mid Tri-series, Australia Date: 18/01/2015
Game 2
Australia Vs India at Melbourne Cricket ground
With the Carlton Mid tri-series moving to Melbourne on
Sunday, India and Australia, as expected, tried out new combinations with the
WC in mind. Australia handed one-day debut to Gurindar Sandhu. India included
all the three contenders for the opening slots, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan
and Ajinkya Rahane, in the XI. They won the toss, chose to bat first and sent
Sharma & Dhawan to open.
Dhawan did not last for long though. To the outsider
it looks as if Shikhar Dhawan is quite adamant on not correcting his mistakes.
He played only 3 deliveries before getting out on the fourth. Each of those 4
deliveries he played with more of misplaced aggression than common sense. His
dismissal brought Ajinkya Rahane (not Virat Kohli) to the crease. Rahane’s
nervous starts are fast becoming a trademark now. After a few tentative shots, he succumbed to
the debutant Gurinder Sandhu in the 8th over.
It is not known how exactly Sandhu’s parents wished
him luck before his debut against the country of his ancestors. But if there
was any NRI sentimentalism or dialoguebaazi
at home, it was not evident in the way Sandhu started his spell. He bowled well
within himself. Without trying anything fancy he bowled to his field and
conceded just 1 run in his first over. His second brought him success when he
persuaded Rahane to drive uppishly. His extra bounce resulted in an edge safely
pouched by Haddin. Virat Kohli got a raucous welcome from the MCG crowd. But he
too fell to an ill-advised, completely out of character short-armed pull shot
that did not go far and ended in George Bailey’s lap at mid-on off Faulkner’s
bowling. At 59/3 after 13 overs India found themselves in a similar position as
England were a couple of days ago in Sydney. They were staring at a middling
total and to avoid it they not only needed stability in the middle overs but
run scoring at a decent pace as well.
Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma stitched a 126 run stand
in 22.1 overs to guide India to a position from where they could set a target
closer to 300 for Australia. Raina successfully overcame the disappointment of
his pair at SCG. Smart running between the wickets, intelligent nudges around
the ground and the occasional well placed attacking shot made life easier for
him at the crease. It also allowed Rohit Sharma to follow his own path without
any pressure of putting bread and butter on the table. Throughout the innings Rohit
looked assured and never in a mood to throw his wicket away. What was
heartening to see was his poise. This very aspect of his game makes him a treat
to watch. So far he has been guilty of inconsistency in his international
career. But whenever he has gotten his tunes right, the songs he has penned
have been extremely melodious. Today was that kind of a day. He played an
extremely measured innings with attacking shots interspersed all along. He ran
well and along with Raina never let the run rate stifle at any point.
At the end of the 34th over India were at
180 for 3. With both batsmen well set India went for powerplay and that’s when
the disciplined Australian bowling started to take the game away from India.
Raina fell in the first over of powerplay in a bid to slog Mitchell Starc. The
last 15 overs were more about a display of bowling variations from the
Australian bowlers. A non-stop stream of slower deliveries from Sandhu and
Faulkner and a tremendous display of swing bowling at a lively pace by Mitchell
Starc restricted India to just 267. India lost 8 wickets, 6 of them to Starc who
ended with his best analysis in ODIs. Rohit Sharma fell in the 49th
over trying to score some quick runs. His 138 runs came off just 139 deliveries
and were decorated with 9 boundaries and 4 sixes.
The Australian reply started steadily. Warner was in a
belligerent mood as usual while Finch was more cautious in his bid to build a
substantial score. Indian bowlers, apart from Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, were wayward
which did not help in building pressure on the Australian openers. Umesh Yadav went
for 12 runs in his first and Shami for 9. Australia’s 50 was raised in the 9th
over and they looked well set for this chase. That’s when Dhoni brought Umesh
back and Warner holed out to his very first delivery trying to clear the
infield. Raina got under the ball that kissed the sky and caught it safely. It
brought Watson to the crease for whom this was another opportunity to get a big
score. The target was not very daunting, the start had been good and bowling
and pitch not particularly threatening. He started well and raced to 41 off
just 38 deliveries before his attempt to slog Aksar Patel out of attack
resulted in his off stump being pegged back.
That was the 23rd over and from then till
the 40th over the Australian innings went on like a Rolls Royce.
Without making any noise, hardly ever making its presence felt. Steven Smith
and Aaron finch added 101 runs without much fuss. At 216/2 with the required
run rate below 5, the game was Australia’s to lose. However, they lost Smith
and Finch (for 96 resolute runs off 127 balls) in the space of five deliveries and with
George Bailey falling for a leg side nick to Ashwin, the game looked suddenly
alive again.
Umesh, whose first seven overs had cost 46 runs,
started bowling accurate bouncers and pin-pointed yorkers. In an inspired burst
of 18 deliveries he conceded just 9 runs, picked up a wicket and unsettled
Glenn Maxwell. Once again though India could not maintain pressure from both
ends. Maxwell flexed his muscles against Ashwin, clobbering him down the ground
twice to eliminate any anxiety building in the Australian dressing room.
The game however was not over yet. Bhuvaneswar Kumar,
finishing Mohammed Shami’s over (Shami having hobbled off the ground clutching
his hamstring in the 47th over), lured Maxwell to play a bit too
early to a slower delivery and accepted the return catch. Australia needed 20
off the last 18 and the MCG crowd was only getting louder. Once again, like
their previous game against England, Australia had managed to bring life to a
dead game.
Brad Haddin and James Faulkner were more than
competent to take Australia over the line. Dhoni handed the ball to Aksar Patel
to bowl the 48th over and he conceded just 5, which left Australia
to get 15 off the last 12. Another lengthy round of discussions followed
between Dhoni and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar’s return of 29 in his 9 overs stood out for
the discipline he maintained through all his spells. Meanwhile, James Faulkner
found himself in unfamiliar territory getting stuck on naught after playing out
6 deliveries. Eventually though he managed to get going with a powerful hoick
off Kumar over deep square leg which brought the equation to 10 runs off 10
deliveries. Brad Haddin added another boundary which effectively sealed the
game for Australia.
Though Australia have chased successfully in both games
of this tri-series, the way they stuttered at the end of both these chases
would give some food for thought to Lehmann and team. Shane Watson is still
stuck with his penchant for sweet-nothings, George Bailey is horribly out of
form and even Aaron Finch was not entirely at his aggressive best today. Only
Warner and Smith have looked assured in their stays. Maxwell didn’t get much
opportunity so sending him up the order might be a good idea as Australia’s
place in the final looks more or less guaranteed.
India too, have plenty to work on before their game against
England on Tuesday. Shikhar Dhawan is increasingly looking clueless about the
approach required to score on Australian pitches. Bowling still lacks
discipline and India would do well to add an attacking spinner to their fold.
Dhoni’s favoured mantra of choking runs and creating pressure might not work on
these hard, unresponsive Australian pitches and big grounds. In a scenario
where his batsmen fail to put a substantial score to defend, the end for India
might come a bit too quickly.
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