Australia seals series with emphatic win

November 08, 2009 03:53 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 10:47 am IST - Guwahati

Doug Bollinger's five wicket haul rattled the Indian batting

Doug Bollinger's five wicket haul rattled the Indian batting

It was a hug that signalled a significant moment for the Australian team. Adam Voges clattered two fours off Sachin Tendulkar and was lost in Michael Hussey’s relieved embrace as Australia defeated India by six wickets in the sixth One Day International of the Hero Honda Cup series to gain an unassailable 4-2 lead.

Bereft of key players, plagued by injuries and running into a home team high on public support, Australia still had enough steel to clinch the series through a steady chase of a measly target at the Nehru Stadium here on Sunday evening. The teams will now clash in a redundant seventh match at Mumbai on Wednesday.

Disastrous start

M.S. Dhoni’s men paid the price for a disastrous morning session in which the top five were back in the pavilion with just 27 on the board.

It was a development that ruined the Indian skipper’s decision to bat though Ravindra Jadeja and Praveen Kumar’s vital fifties, helped the host score 170 in 48 overs.

Australia took its time to whittle down the runs though Shane Watson did drive the first ball he faced off Praveen towards the cover picket. Watson (49, 49b, 10x4) essayed his powerful shots down the ground and off his legs while Shaun Marsh fell early to Munaf Patel.

The jitters while chasing small totals however was avoided as skipper Ricky Ponting (25), Cameron White (25), Hussey (35 not out) and Voges (23 not out) weighed in with small but substantial contributions.

Dhoni swapped around nine bowlers and though Harbhajan dismissed Ponting, it was an incision that came too late as Hussey and Voges helped Australia finish with 172 for four in 41.5 overs.

Jadeja digs in

Earlier Jadeja’s 57 (103b, 6x4) helped India marginally cope with the Australians’ rude wake-up call in the morning as left-arm seamers Mitchell Johnson (three for 39) and ‘Man of the Match’ Doug Bollinger (five for 35) struck in tandem.

The southpaw’s innings and his partnerships with skipper Dhoni (24, 77b, 1x4) and Praveen (54 n.o., 51b, 7x4, 1x6) that yielded 48 and 74 runs for the sixth and eighth wickets respectively revived an innings that had almost turned comatose.

The morning’s hint of moisture and swing allied with Johnson and Bollinger’s ability to bowl at the right areas left the Indian top-order groping for an anchor.

Nightmare begins

Johnson castled Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in the day’s opening over and Bollinger forced Tendulkar to pat one back while shaping to drive a ball that came a tad slow off the pitch.

The batting horrors continued as Yuvraj Singh lunged forward and while trying to swivel back to the crease, watched the ball clip his bail. A tentative Suresh Raina then found a waiting Nathan Hauritz at short mid-on and half the Indian side was back in the pavilion within nine overs.

Dhoni quickly buckled down and found a partner in Jadeja. The left-hander found his initial runs behind the wicket before displaying a penchant for the drive past cover.

Dhoni eventually fell to Bollinger, who was returning after a miserly first spell of 5-4-6-2, though the ball seemed to be angling past off-stump.

Praveen’s maiden fifty

Jadeja then allied with Praveen, who carved the seamers and scored his first ODI fifty while enjoying his luck on 40 as Voges dropped him off Watson. Jadeja too relished a reprieve on 45 as his stinging shot eluded a diving Bollinger.

Jadeja fell in the batting power play (overs 41 to 45) and Australia gradually closed in on a series triumph that was as inevitable as the Assam bandh that will be observed here on Monday.

Scores:

India : V. Sehwag b Johnson 6 (4b, 1x6), S. Tendulkar c & b Bollinger 10 (17b, 2x4), G. Gambhir b Johnson 0 (2b), Yuvraj Singh b Bollinger 6 (16b, 1x4), M.S. Dhoni lbw b Bollinger 24 (77b, 1x4), S. Raina c Hauritz b Johnson 0 (5b), R. Jadeja c White b Bollinger 57 (103b, 6x4), Harbhajan Singh b Bollinger 0 (2b), Praveen Kumar (not out) 54 (51b, 7x4, 1x6), A. Nehra b Watson 4 (12b), Munaf Patel b Watson 0 (2b), Extras (b-1, lb-1, w-4, nb-3) 9; Total (all out in 48 overs): 170.

Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Sehwag), 2-7 (Gambhir), 3-23 (Tendulkar), 4-24 (Yuvraj), 5-27 (Raina), 6-75 (Dhoni), 7-75 (Harbhajan), 8-149 (Jadeja), 9-170 (Nehra).

Power Plays: One (overs 1-10): 27/5; Bowling (11-15): 9/0; Batting (41-45): 34/1.

Australia bowling: Johnson 9-1-39-3, Bollinger 10-4-35-5, McKay 10-1-44-0, Hauritz 9-2-19-0, Watson 8-0-27-2, Voges 2-0-4-0.

Australia : S. Watson c Sehwag b Harbhajan 49 (49b, 10x4), S. Marsh lbw b Munaf 6 (14b, 1x4), R. Ponting c Raina b Harbhajan 25 (57b, 3x4), C. White lbw b Raina 25 (48b), M. Hussey (not out) 35 (62b, 2x4), A. Voges (not out) 23 (21b, 4x4), Extras (b-6, lb-2, w-1) 9; Total (for four wkts. in 41.5 overs): 172.

Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Marsh), 2-85 (Watson), 3-90 (Ponting), 4-143 (White).

Power Plays: One (overs 1-10): 41/1; Bowling (11-15): 26/0.

India bowling: Praveen 2-0-10-0, Nehra 3-0-21-0, Munaf 4-1-13-1, Jadeja 10-1-36-0, Harbhajan 10-1-23-2, Yuvraj 7-1-29-0, Raina 3-0-13-1, Sehwag 2-0-8-0, Tendulkar 0.5-0-11-0.

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