The Hindu : Sport : Australia falters after a good start

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Australia falters after a good start

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Watson, Ponting White and Hussey come good

— Photo: S. Subramanium

Speedy work: Moises Henriques is stumped by M.S. Dhoni off Harbhajan Singh.

Mohali: Australia lost the plot in the slog as the Indian bowlers struck back to bowl out the visitor for 250 in 49.2 overs in the fourth One-Day International of the Hero Honda Cup series at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here on Monday.

Among the top-order, Shane Watson (49), skipper Ricky Ponting (52, 59b, 5x4, 1x6), Cameron White (62, 71b, 3x4, 1x6) and Michael Hussey (40) enjoyed their starts but failed to construct that one defining innings, which could have guided the team past the 300-mark.

It proved to be an evening in which the Indian bowlers largely found their mark though Ishant Sharma proved expensive while the fielders rifled in four run-outs to vindicate their captain M.S. Dhoni’s decision to field on winning his first toss of the series.

The afternoon began with Virender Sehwag being cleared for the match while Virat Kohli replaced an injured Gautam Gambhir and once Dhoni opted to field, Ashish Nehra swerved one in to a tentative Shaun Marsh’s pads and patted the pitch in delight.

Sense of purpose

Australian captain Ricky Ponting immediately strode out with a sense of purpose and pulled the first ball he faced over square-leg. Ponting and Shane Watson played their strokes on a pitch that favoured shots as the ball came on nicely unlike the slow pitch at the Ferozeshah Kotla, where the teams played on Saturday.

The duo shared a 64-run second-wicket partnership.

Watson, who is rediscovering his batting form, hit through the line as he punched a few fours down the ground off Praveen Kumar and Nehra, while Ponting waded into his old nemesis Ishant Sharma swinging his arms and striking a six over long-on and a four past long-off.

Harbhajan Singh (two for 48) then stepped in and struck with his first delivery as Watson poked at the ball and edged to Dhoni. Ponting, however, put matters in perspective, slog-sweeping Harbhajan. He found an able ally in White.

Fielding brilliance

As Ponting and White gained understanding and confidence in each other, a piece of fielding brilliance ruined the Australian skipper’s big-innings plans. Ponting tucked Harbhajan past square-leg, ran his first run a wee-bit slow and while returning for the second was caught short by Ravindra Jadeja’s sharp throw.

Hussey walked in with the weight of three consecutive fifties bolstering his confidence and he settled into a cameo while White drove Ishant to distraction. Hussey meanwhile displayed an impish streak, reverse sweeping Yuvraj for a single and later pulled the part-timer for six.

Hussey’s partner White also played the inside-out drive off Harbhajan and just as another partnership began to blossom, another wicket fell. Hussey swatted Yuvraj Singh straight down deep mid-wicket Ishant’s throat.

Hussey and White shared a 73-run fourth-wicket partnership, which proved to be the last stand of relevance as the Australian innings subsequently suffered a downward spiral.

Australia struggled in the final stretch as wickets tumbled through a blend of comical run-outs and miscued shots.

White backed out too far and an agile Nehra swooped on Mitchell Johnson’s feeble drive to knock down the non-striker’s stumps.

The batting power play (overs 45 to 49) proved to be a disaster for the visitor as only 27 runs were scored while four batsmen returned to the pavilion with Johnson and Moises Henriques failing to reveal their all-round skills.

Nehra (three for 37) bowled well in the death and with the fielders staying alert, India settled for a reasonable target instead of the imposing one that loomed when the Australian top-order clicked.

SCOREBOARD

Australia: S. Watson c Dhoni b Harbhajan 49 (52b, 6x4), S. Marsh lbw b Nehra 5 (23b), R. Ponting (run out) 52 (59b, 5x4, 1x6), C. White (run out) 62 (71b, 3x4, 1x6), M. Hussey c Ishant b Yuvraj 40 (41b, 2x4, 1x6), M. Henriques st. Dhoni b Harbhajan 6 (13b), M. Johnson b Nehra 8 (15b), G. Manou (run out) 7 (6b), N. Hauritz (not out) 8 (10b), P. Siddle c Jadeja b Nehra 1 (5b), D. Bollinger (run out) 0 (1b); Extras (lb-1, w-9, nb-1): 11. Total (in 49.2 overs): 250.

Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Marsh), 2-88 (Watson), 3-123 (Ponting), 4-196 (Hussey), 5-217 (Henriques), 6-226 (White), 7-236 (Johnson), 8-241 (Manou), 9-247 (Siddle).

Power Plays: One (Overs 1-10): 37/1; Bowling (11-15): 36/0; Batting (45-49): 27/4.

India bowling: Praveen 9.2-0-41-0, Nehra 8-0-37-3, Ishant 5-0-42-0, Jadeja 7-0-27-0, Harbhajan 10-0-48-2, Yuvraj 10-0-54-1.

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