Tenth ODI: Australia vs. India at Sydney

February 25th, 2008 | by Ravi

India put up a spirited fight at the SCG and the young

guns showed the oodles of talent; and kingsize

confidence they carry in their ability. It wasn’t all

flashy strokes and nimble footwork: their running

between the wickets also conveyed that Indian cricket

has turned the corner as far as athleticism goes.

It delighted one no end to see Gautam Gambhir scamper

through for three after gliding one to fine leg and

even picking up a brace even when the ball hasn’t gone

outside the circle. Australians were kept on their

toes and it was a sight to see Adam Gilchrist run and

dive to save a four at the boundary.

There was much displayed on the field which conveyed

that these young Indians were more trying to play for

the team rather than for selves. Even when Lee was on

rampage, he picked five wickets, Uthappa still was

coming down the track as he tried to meet the steep

target. They had got Australia on the run and wanted

to keep it that way till the end.

In the success of Gambhir and Uthappa; and the

continued solidity of Mahinder Singh Dhoni, it still

was apparent that the top order isn’t quite firing. It

was a good pitch to flourish but the top order still

didn’t show up. India is still not in the finals and

now must hold their breath for its’ fate in this

competition.

Unfortunately, dismissals of top batsmen too are

eerily familiar. Batsmen are wasting good starts;

hanging bats outside the off-stump is a norm and

worse, wickets are falling in a clutch.

Australia, on the other hand, came on to their own.

Their batting finally purred to life and the final

piece of their jigsaw has fallen in place. Ricky

Ponting has been central to their batting thrust and

not surprisingly, his century led to their batting

revival. It was a vintage Ponting knock, full of

elegant drives and thunderous pulls.

So it was with Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds who

both were looking for a good innings in the series.

They, together with their captain, raised their best

from the competition. Ponting, indeed went past 11000

runs and his 26th one-day hundred now puts him behind

only to Sachin Tendulkar. There is a gap of 15

centuries between the two but then it’s another

matter.

I wouldn’t fault India’s bowling even though a score

of 300-plus was managed against them. The fifth

bowler’s worry didn’t bother Indians at all as between

Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, 14 overs were bowled

at a minimum cost. Ishant Sharma was marked for

special attention both with bat and tongue by the

Australians and the way the youngster stood his

ground, points towards a sturdy character. He is 19

and all but his talent and mind are promising a

rewarding career ahead for him.

I still feel though at the end of it all there is a strong case for robin
uttapha being smartly whe the occasion demands.