Undone by the Australian quicks on a juicy Kensington Oval pitch, India hurtled to a 49-run defeat in a Group `F' match of the ICC World Twenty20 Super Eights here on Friday.
India, fatally, went into the contest a paceman short and then its batting floundered against some high quality fast bowling from Dirk Nannes and Shaun Tait.
Only Rohit Sharma, getting on top of the bounce and striking the ball with timing and confidence, defied with a 46-ball unbeaten 79 as India chased a daunting 185.
Even as wickets fell around him, the wristy Rohit displayed character.
He pulled Mitchell Johnson for the maximum, struck Shane Watson over the long-off fence, whipped Nannes over the long-on ropes and waded into leg-spinner Steven Smith. His was a brave effort in vain.
India was rocked early by the pace duo of Nannes and Tait. The side's old failing against the short-pitched stuff from the quicks was evident again.
The red hot Nannes, working up real pace from a left-armer's testing angle, took out Murali Vijay in the third over when the batsman got a leading edge attempting to work one off his legs; the ball got to him faster than expected.
In the same over, Nannes prised out the left-handed Gautam Gambhir on the pull stroke. The sluice gates had been opened.
The speedy Tait gave little respite from the other end. IPL hero Suresh Raina looked like a cat on a hot tin roof on this bouncy track. The southpaw miscued a pull – the ball climbing into him a touch too quickly – and was walking back.
Nannes then fired out the left-handed Yuvraj Singh with a scorching yorker. India was reeling at 23 for four after five overs. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, forced to target leggie Smith, holed out. And Yusuf Pathan fell to a brilliant catch by David Warner at deep point when he sliced left-arm paceman Johnson. India was 42 for six after nine overs. There was going to be only one winner in the contest.
India, which opted to field, got the composition of its attack horribly wrong. It was incomprehensible why the side did not pick a third paceman in the eleven on a Barbados pitch.
If Vinay Kumar - a crafty paceman well-equipped for Twenty20 cricket - is not fielded even in an emergency situation caused by the injury to Praveen Kumar, then what is the point in bringing him to the Caribbean?
By retaining left-arm spinning all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and including an additional batsman, the Indians were a bowler short as well. This was a largely defensive ploy.
Jadeja was dismissed for six successive sixes - off his last three deliveries of the fourth over and the first three balls of the tenth over - by Watson and David Warner.
He pitched short at Watson, who was brutal with his trademark pulls. And then he bowled predictable length deliveries to the left-handed Warner, who bludgeoned the ball between long-on and mid-wicket.
The Indians were paying the price for faulty selection.
Jadeja had earlier grassed a hard catch at square-leg to reprieve Watson (on seven) off Harbhajan Singh.
The experienced off-spinner, who operated with the new ball, varied his pace and trajectory and switched his line capably to the right-left combination. The others struggled.
Watson, a terrific batsman on bouncy tracks, excelled his horizontal bat strokes. He picked the length in a jiffy and was ready with his response.
Left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan was dismissed over the long-on fence by Watson. Australia and Watson seized the initiative even as Zaheer struggled to slip into a rhythm.
Warner rocked from the other end. He is a powerful southpaw with terrific bat speed. He is someone who hits through the line - unmindful of the length - banking on his strength to muscle the ball over the field. The left-hander's six over long-off off Zaheer was a awesome strike.
Australia, gaining momentum, was 53 for no loss after the six overs of field restrictions.
The openers continued to pound the bowling. The fielders were forced to watch the flight of the ball into the stands.
The breakthrough was achieved against the run of play. Watson (54 off 32 balls) reached his half-century swiping Yusuf Pathan over the mid-wicket fence and was bowled attempting a similar stroke. The
opening pair had put on 104 in only 10.5 overs. Warner (72 off 42 balls) continued relentlessly, striking Yuvraj Singh's left-arm spin for sixes in the arc between long-on and mid-wicket before being snared outside the off-stump by a delivery of extra bounce.
David Hussey (35 off 22) biffed a few weighty blows during an entertaining cameo. However, the Indians came back strongly in the last two overs with left-armers Zaheer and Nehra giving little away.
Australia made only eleven runs off the last two overs and just five from a superb last over of short-of-a-good length deliveries and yorkers from Nehra.
But then, the Aussies had inflicted too much damage earlier.
