Brilliant Australia blow India away in Melbourne

The most gripping day of the Melbourne Test ended in an anti-climax with Australia crushing India by 122 runs.

Australia had their backs to the wall at the start of Day 4, but their positive intent and perfect execution of bowling plans laid low their opponents. India were bizarrely defensive with the ball and showed no stomach for a fight with the bat chasing a stiff 292.

One of Australia’s finds of the season, James Pattinson, and Peter Siddle made the most of India’s trigger-happiness with the bat. They bowled in the right areas — Pattinson’s high pace in particular troubled every batsman — and India obliged them with outside edges.

This was the sort of wicket were the home team also made the same mistakes with the bat. But the key to winning this game was building partnerships. Australia had several; India, none.

India let momentum slip

In the morning session, Mike Hussey, Pattinson and Ben Hilfenhaus thrived with MS Dhoni’s conservative field settings that allowed them to pick easy singles and score the occasional boundary.

India, 230 runs behind at the start of the day, let the momentum drift. No team has chased more than 250 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground since 1961.

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir fell cheaply. The contest practically ended when Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli fell within a few overs of each other in the noon session. What came to hurt India bad was their conservative tactics against the Australia lower order.

Their last four wickets added 119 runs in the first innings and 92 in the second. In a low-scoring game such as this, 211 runs were a lot to give away to the tail-end. To Australia’s credit, they fought tooth and nail and the 60 runs they added this morning caused a seismic momentum shift.

Pattinson took seven wickets in the game, and batting at No. 10, was unbeaten in both innings in making 18 and 37. But this wouldn’t have been possible had Dhoni applied greater pressure on him his partners.

Former Australia captain and commentator Ian Chappell in particular was critical of Dhoni’s methods. Today, he described them as “... ridiculous... an absolute blue print on how to lose a Test match.” India proved him right.

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1:59 AM

AUSTRALIA won by 3 runs in 5th ODI leading 3-2

Amazing finish to an amazing match! Australia held their nerves towards the end in a tight situation and they hence win by just 3 runs. They now lead the 7-match series 3-2 with couple of games to play. India were chasing a mammoth 351 in their 50 overs but they still got closer with Tendulkar smashing a scintillating 175 off just 141 balls.

The home side were off to flying start with Sehwag (38) again playing a cameo upfront. The middle order failed miserably but Raina (59) got together with the Little Master and build on a stunning stand that almost took their side through. Jadeja (23) played a crucial role as well but again poor running between cost him his wicket. Once again, towards the end, the last wicket was almost there before a risky second got Kumar run out which sealed the victory for Australia.

The wicket was absolutely great as there were 697 runs scored on it. But still, debutant McKay and Watson bowled beautifully picking up three wickets each which counted a lot in the end. Hang on for the presentation news..

Sachin Tendulkar is awarded the Man of the Match for his outstanding innings of 175 that took India and the match that closer. He seemed pretty disappointed that he couldn't win the match even after scoring that many runs.

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10:02 AM

Batsman should fire in 5th ODI

With the seven-match series tantalisingly poised 2-2, India will have to overcome its batting shortcomings when they go into the crucial fifth cricket one-dayer against a spirited but depleted Australia here on Thursday.

The Indians, seeking to dethrone Australia from the number one spot in world rankings, will be strengthened by the expected rerun of Gautam Gambhir, who had to skip last match due to a neck injury.

Although the left-hander Gambhir`s presence will lend solidity to the top order, the worrying factor for the hosts has been the lack of good starts in the series so far.


Clearly the onus is on the Indian batsmen to deliver the goods on a track which according to the curator has plenty of runs to offer but will also aid the bowlers.

Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar have put on stands of 25, 21, 37 and 40, and the home team would be hoping this can be extended to something closer to the hundred mark which would be the ideal platform for Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni and Raina to launch a blitz later on.

Tendulkar is on the verge of reaching another milestone in his glittering career as he his just seven runs short of touching the 17,000 run-mark and the champion batsman would take inspiration from the moment to score big.

"We failed as a batting unit. We should have batted the full 50 overs but that was not possible because we kept losing wickets at regular intervals," India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had said after the defeat in the previous match.

While the Indians have their task cut out for the flood-lit encounter the Aussies have been grappling with a spate of injury problems ever since the series began.

The latest to join the casualty list is Peter Siddle, who has returned home because of a side-strain. They have already lost the services of pace spearhead Brett lee, stumper Tim Paine, and all-rounder James Hopes.

Dhoni`s men did a remarkable turnaround after narrowly losing the first ODI at Vadodara but a shoddy batting display in the fourth match saw the hosts handing back the advantage to Ricky Ponting`s outfit.

Another batting failure could spell disaster in tomorrow`s match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium at Uppal as the team that wins the clash is sure to hold a huge advantage in the final outcome of the rubber, with the last two ties scheduled at Guwahati (day) and Mumbai (day/night).


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Gambhir`s presence in the line-up has become a crucial one as he brings in the virtue of patiently working the ball into the gaps and rotating the strike to the other stroke-makers in the team.

The Delhi left-hander can change gear as per the needs of the situation and has been the calming influence in the top- order while skipper Dhoni has taken over this job in the latter part of the innings.

What the Indians would be hoping for is explosive opener Sehwag`s longer stay at the crease as he has rocketed off with a flurry of boundaries but continues to lose way in the 30s and 40s.

If he and Tendulkar, can give a better start than what they had done thus far, the others can cash in on the inexperienced and injury-hit Australian bowling attack.

India`s bowling has been a mixed bag with Ishant Sharma, in particular, blowing hot and cold.

The pick has been left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra whose display in the beginning as well as the end of the Australian innings has been outstanding.

Praveen Kumar has been steady while off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has also shown improved form after an indifferent start to the series.

The visiting team`s pace attack has lost a bit of bite after losing very impressive Siddle and they would hope Mitchell Johnson, who has been inconsistent, to put up an improved show.

Doug Bollinger has impressed in the absence of his seniors colleagues and off-spinner Nathan Hauritz has also done well though he lacks support in the middle overs.

In batting too, the Australians have depended on skipper Ponting and his deputy Michael Hussey to a large extent while Shane Watson`s all round display at Mohali must have gladdened them.

Left-handed Hussey, in particular, has become the thorn in the India`s flesh as he has smashed three half-centuries in four matches to frustrate the hosts.

The Teams (From):

Australia: Ricky Ponting (C), Michael Hussey (VC), Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Jon Holland, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Cameron White, Clint McKay and Moses Henriques.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Sudeep Tyagi, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.

Hours of play: 14:30 to 1800 IST and 18:40 to close of play.

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9:49 AM

Dhoni and Yuvraj played excellent to give India 2-1 lead

An implausible 148-run partnership between Yuvraj Singh and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni sailed India through the turbulent 3rd ODI, beating Australia by 6-wickets and, thus, taking a 2-1 lead in the 7-match Hero Honda Cup series on Saturday.

Interestingly, this is also the 100th ODI between the two teams, and the first day-night match ever of the stadium.

After Australia posted a competitive 229/5 largely built around Michael Hussey’s unbeaten 81, Yuvraj (78) and Dhoni (71 not out) played their innings brilliantly to guide the team home with 10 balls to spare in a relatively low-scoring contest.

Both the batsmen started cautiously on a difficult Feroz Shah Kotla strip before unleashing a barrage of strokes in a record fourth wicket partnership, which took the game away from the hapless visitors.

The capacity crowd at the Kotla burst into celebrations as Suresh Raina hit Mitchell Johnson to the boundary to bring about the winning runs, leaving the world champions in a daze.

Yuvraj and Dhoni stitched a record 148-run partnership against Australia in India, eclipsing the previous best of 119 between Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir in the last game in Nagpur.


The dashing left hander perished after putting India within sniffing distance of victory, but Dhoni ensured that there were no further hiccups.

Both the teams will now travel to Mohali for the fourth game to be played on Monday.

Indian openers milked 12 runs off the first over with Sachin Tendulkar hitting Mitchell Johnson for two boundaries – one past cover and the other clipped to the square leg boundary.

Playing in front of his home crowd, Virender Sehwag (11), however, looked strangely subdued. Even when he middled the ball, he did not find gaps and to make it worse, the hard-hitting opener was hit on his foot by a Peter Siddle yorker in the eighth over which had him in pains, needing the physio’s attention.

When play resumed, Sehwag slashed Johnson for his only four but three balls later, he had his middle stump uprooted by a Johnson express that simply crashed through his defence.

Hit on his neck while fielding that prompted him to leave field, Gambhir walked out to hearty applause but he too found boundaries were not easy to come by as the Australians maintained stiffling line and length and did not hesitate to throw themselves around to cut short boundaries.

It took India 13.2 overs to reach 50 and a batting collapse was just round the corner with Johnson again in the thick of things as it was a rude shock for the hosts who slumped from the comfort of 37 for no loss to 53 for three inside 16 overs.

Tendulkar, who was content running hard between wicket in absence of easy boundaries, could not beat Johnson’s direct throw from mid-off and perished in his quest for a risky single.

It was a sad end to his 47-ball knock of 32 and Tendulkar didn’t even wait for the third umpire’s verdict before starting the long walk back.

Two runs later, Nathan Hauritz’s second delivery turned sharply to beat Gambhir’s (6) defence and clipped off-stump to silence the entire stadium.

The team in dire strait, captain Dhoni joined Yuvraj in the middle with a herculean task ahead of them and both showed willingness to toil for every run as boundaries dried up.

Both Yuvraj and Dhoni played cautiously as they went about the job of rebuilding the innings and were quite content to keep the scoreboard moving with gentle pushes and nudges.

Yuvraj picked up young Moises Henriques for special treatment by clobbering him for a six and a delectable boundary in the same over. In the very next over, he spanked Adam Voges for a six and a four off consecutive deliveries to notch up his 42nd ODI half century.

Earlier, electing to bat, Australia were well served by Hussey who gauged the conditions well to crack an unbeaten 81 while Ponting produced a fighting 59 to steer the visitors to a competitive 229 for five.

While Shane Watson (41) also chipped in with an useful contribution, none of the other batsmen could hang around for long on a pitch which was not conducive for strokeplay.

Ponting, opening the innings for only the second time in his career, and Shane Watson provided a solid start to the innings with both the batsmen playing cautiously on the slow track.


Watson, however, began on an aggressive note by square cutting paceman Praveen Kumar to the point boundary in the last ball of the opening over of the day.

Both Ponting and Watson curbed their natural strokeplay and took their time to adjust to the low bounce of the pitch which had produced a number of low-scoring matches during the recent Champions League.

The two Aussie openers were showing signs of accelerating the pace of scoring when part-timer Yuvraj provided the breakthrough to the home team.

Watson was smartly stumped by Dhoni as he stretched forward to counter the spin which brought an end to the 72-run opening partnership. His knock of 41 was studded with five boundaries.

The experienced Hussey then joined his captain in the middle and the two seasoned players went about consolidating the position for the team with a risk-free approach.

Ponting, who looked quite comfortable at the middle, soon notched up his 72nd ODI half-century but could not survive long after that as he fell prey to Jadeja.

Ponting was trapped in front of the wicket by a Jadeja delivery which kept a trifle low and umpire Sanjay Hazare had no hesitation in ruling him out.

The hosts struck in the very next over when another part-timer Raina evicted Cameron White with Dhoni taking the catch after fumbling for a long time. White was, however, distinctly unlucky as the television replays showed that the ball had hit his pads before going to Dhoni.

From a comfortable 128 for one, the visitors suddenly slumped to 129 for three, bringing some life back into the game.

Voges joined the action after White’s brief stay at the wicket and took the score to 172 before becoming Harbhajan Singh’s first victim with Praveen latching on to a brilliant catch.

However, some lusty hittings by Hussey in the fag end of the innings took the visitors to a decent total.

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11:51 PM

Dhoni stars in a fabulous win in 2nd ODI

It was all about Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on October 28. He played the innings of his lifetime that enabled India to erect their highest-ever ODI total against Australia. Then he led from the front in the field until he himself whipped the bails off to run out the last man to signal the end of the match.

The skipper was the star of India’s most comprehensive win over Australia for quite some time. The Indians needed something as awesome as this one to stamp their authority over the Aussies whom they have been giving tough time for a number of years now.

The Indian cricket fans would remember the day for a long time as they watched the Aussies being floored decisively by a determined outfit who outplayed their fancied rivals in the two key departments of the game, batting and bowling.

It doesn’t really how many qualified coaches do they hire and how many youngsters do they blood, the standard of Indian fielding remained as dismal as it has mostly been over the years. Their batting and bowling has improved in leaps and bounds but fielding is an area that remains a cause of concern for them all along.

The Indians are fortunate to have been blessed by so many outstanding batsmen and bowlers at the moment. No other team possibly can be expected to win a game if they field as poorly as they do.

What a pity that they could still not raise their spirits in the field when in the driving seat. The Australians were always going to struggle while chasing a target of 355 against a potent bowling attack.

The Indians would have won the match by a much bigger margin if their fielding was upto the mark. The manner in which Praveen Kumar misfielded more than once was shameful of an international cricketer. He made a mess of a catch in the deep that should have been nothing more than a regulation catch near the fence. Instead he gifted a six to Shaun Marsh much to the dismay of left-arm spinner Ravindu Jadeja who was bowling exceptionally well.

The catching technique of Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh in the outfield also left a lot to be desired. Even the schoolboys in Australia and South Africa are expected to take the catches that they dropped.

The Indians should be indebted to their captain for not having lost his cool even with those dreaded lapses in the field by the celebrated members of his team. He made near perfect bowling changes to ensure that the match was never opened.

Earlier in the day Dhoni entertained the crowd with one of the greatest ODI innings. Coming in to bat at number five he initially consolidated the innings with Gautam Gambhir and then cut loose in the company of Suresh Raina. He scored 124 off 107 balls to power India to their highest-ever total against Australia.

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7:35 AM

India have ability to beat Australia

Harbhajan Singh says India have what it takes to beat Australia in the ongoing one-day series and promised to be his aggressive self while playing against the World Champions.

"I believe if we play to our potential we will win 5-2. It is very important for me to do well. I am most happy when the situation demands that I perform well for my country," Harbhajan told an Australian daily.

The off-spinner is struggling to get back his touch as a bowler but was impressive with the willow as he blasted a 31-ball 49 in the first match to steer India close to win though the hosts lost by four runs in the end.


"It would have been nice to win the game with the bat but, obviously, when you come so close from nowhere it is quite satisfying. Next time I will make sure that we win."

A win in the series would ensure India number one spot in world rankings.

The turbanator insisted that taking the bull by horn is the only way to tackle the Australian team.

"It is always fun to play Australia. There is something about it that seems to make me lift to a higher level. I am a confident person and it helps me when I play against the best team in the world.”

"It brings the best out of me. They like to dominate and intimidate but I just give it back, just believe in yourself," he said.

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9:44 AM

Nagpur stadium READY for 2nd ODI

Nagpur: Stadium in Nagpur has been decked up to host second match of the seven-one-day international cricket series between India and Australia.

The Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) in the city will be hosting the first day and night match, the second of the seven-one-day match series on October 28.

The stadium officials said the security of the cricketers and the spectators is very important and so they have taken all measures to ensure that.


“All the areas which were earlier not covered with the close circuit television (CCTV) surveillance like parking, inside stadium, peripheral gates, all have been covered with the CCTV surveillance. This has been added this year. Apart from this, the security remains very tight, every spectator will be under cover,” said Sudhir Dabir, coordinator, Vidarbha Cricket Association.

The stadium, which has the capacity for 44,000 spectators, has sold most of the tickets.

The enthusiasm among the cricket lovers has not taken a beating despite the defeat of the home team in the first match.

The fans said they hope their side not only to win the second match but also the whole series.

“Obviously Sachin Tendulkar is there. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and some of the new players are also in good form. So, we hope that the India not only wins the second match but the whole series,” said Jayant Mangrulkar, a resident.

Australia beat India by four runs in a thrilling first match of the one-day international on Sunday in Vadodara.

The other matches will be played in New Delhi (Oct. 31), Mohali (Nov. 2), Hyderabad (Nov. 5), Guwahati (Nov. 8) and Mumbai (Nov. 11).

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8:44 AM

Batting becomes crucial in ODIs

After playing a nail-biting series-opener, rival captains Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ricky Ponting acknowledge that batting power-plays have become crucial as it can influence the result of a one-day match.

India lost the first ODI of the seven-match series by a narrow four-run margin against Australia here yesterday and both the captains said that performance during the power-plays can have a bearing on the match.

Chasing 293 to win, India were quite comfortable at 167 for three at one stage but the script changed when skipper Dhoni opted for batting-power play and ended up losing four wickets in that period.

“We lost wickets during power-plays, too many in fact. That was the turning point. If you don`t have enough wickets in hand you cannot cash in on the power-play,” Dhoni said.


He also defended his decision to take power-play a little early -- between 35 and 39 overs -- saying that conditions demanded that move.

He reckoned that in sub-continent conditions the batting power-play can be best utilized against a hard ball, so when ball got changed he opted for it.

“In the sub-continent you want the ball to be hard as once the bowlers work on the ball they get reverse swing going and once it happens it`s difficult to force the pace.”

“The momentum happens when the ball is hard and new. At the end of the day you don`t want the difference between balls (remaining) and runs (to be scored) to be around 30 or 35,” he reasoned.

Australian skipper Ponting admitted that his team take power-plays seriously and do adequate planning.

“We got to get it right as it can cost you a game as you saw it today (Sunday). We have been guilty of it in the last few games that we have played.”

“When we take our Power Play, we have generally lost a wicket in the first over. We lost one (Cameron White) to the second ball of our PP today. India lost one first ball.”

“If you lose wickets in a Power Play, it slows you down and makes it almost irrelevant,” Ponting said.

Ponting also wondered why batsmen do not play orthodox shots during power-plays but just throw their bat at each and everything.

“Once the field comes in, you think you have to hit a six every ball. If you still play normal cricket shots, like you do in Test matches, you can still hit the ball through the field and it travels pretty quickly,” he said.

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8:33 AM

Players are injured but fit for first ODI

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Saturday that despite being hit by injuries, Team India is prepared for its campaign against Australia that starts on Sunday.

Briefing the media after the news of Gautam Gambhir’s injury starting doing the rounds, Dhoni said that many players in the team are indeed facing trouble with their fitness, but also assured that the issues are not that serious.

“We (Team India) are hit by injuries, but most players will be fit for tomorrow,” said Dhoni ahead of the first ODI against Australia that will be played on Sunday.

Four crucial players in the Indian team are currently hit by injuries.


While Gambhir injured himself in the head during net practice in Vadodara on Saturday, captain Dhoni injured his knee while practicing on Friday.

Reports also claimed that Virender Sehwag was too hit on the chest accidentally while practicing on Friday, due to which, he also missed the session on Saturday. Dhoni, however, attended the session.

Apart from these, all-rounder Yuvraj Singh’s injury too is a major setback for the team.

Dhoni said that though it is still unclear if Yuvraj will be able to play the first ODI, he is sure to participate in the second match.

The sacking of fielding coach Robin Singh and bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad has also left the team stranded. However the captain courageous said that the team must not mourn the loss of specialized coaches and have to prepare themselves with the provisions they currently have.

Not disclosing the possible Playing XI for the first ODI, Dhoni said that the team will play 5 bowlers in the match.

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1:07 AM

Confident Australia not to underestimate India

For a change there’s no war of words on the eve of an important series. It was becoming a tradition to say something that provoked the opposition and then a debate ensued on irrelevant matters.

Thankfully Ricky Ponting didn’t fire any shots in the air and his carefully worded media briefing in Mumbai on October 21 reflected the maturity expected of a captain who must be feeling at the top of the world after sterling performances with a youthful squad at his disposal.

The Australians, having thrashed England 6-1 in the ODI series before retaining the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa earlier this month, take on India on their turf in a series of seven One-day Internationals starting on October 25.

Australia, with their recent triumphs, have regained their number one status in the ODI rankings with India not very far behind at second position. So the series is actually a battle between the top two teams of the world at the moment.

Ponting, unlike the past, talked very positively upon his arrival in India and the message was loud and clear that his team was there to play cricket and avoid unnecessary controversies. It was a pleasant surprise to watch the Australian captain acknowledging the strength of their opponents instead of highlighting their weaknesses.

Ponting is obviously very keen for his Australian one-day side to continue their spectacular form into the Indian series.

"We have been playing very good one-day cricket for the last few months, beginning from the England tour, and we want to continue with that. We could not have done better than what we did in the last few one-day games. But we have a fresh set of challenges here," the Australian skipper remarked.

"India has a very good and strong one-day team and we are not underestimating them. We are the number one and number two teams in the world which points to an entertaining and good contest over the next few weeks. We just need to keep improving and be at our best right through the series," Ponting added.

He did not mince words in stating that he will have to shoulder additional responsibility in the absence of his deputy Michael Clarke due to a back injury. Also missing the ODI series are wicket-keeper Brad Haddin, batsman Callum Ferguson and left-arm quickie Nathan Bracken.

"The challenge will be how our middle-order batsmen cope with playing spin bowling over the next few weeks. Mike Hussey has played a lot of cricket here. Shane Watson and Tim Paine play spin well. I am confident the team will do a very good job," Ponting, in terrific form of late, hoped.

"I have played some of my best one-day cricket over the last few months. A lot of responsibility is on my shoulders as the number three batsman in the team," he conceded.

"We have always enjoyed playing in India and our rivalry over the last few years has been growing which is good for the world game," Ponting pointed out.

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1:23 AM