India: worthy winners of Commonwealth Bank Trophy

Ravi LADDUWAHETTY

It was a clash of the Titans. Three times running World Champions Australia and India, widely believed to the second best one day side in the world today, which could give a run to the Aussies in their own back yard.

The two better teams India and Australia made it to the finals of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Any cricket lover will ungrudgingly endorse that.

India took the first of the best of three finals at Sydney with maestro Sachin Tendulkar scoring a breezy match winning 117 which led India to a thrilling 6- wicket triumph over pre tournament favourites Australia.

The winning target was 240 following Mathew Hayden’s 82 and the icing on the cake came when Skipper Dhoni hit the winning boundary for the sub continental visitors to take the lead 1-0. Tendulkar’s 117 was his 42nd One Day International century was off just 120 deliveries with 10 hits to the ropes.

He was ably supported by all rounder Rohit Sharma, who struck a rapid 66 off 87 deliveries to buttress the eventual winners. Tendulkar and Robin Uttappa also put on 50 runs before Uttappa was caught by Mike Hussey at deep square leg off all rounder James Hopes.

India shaky after just two overs, out by James Hopes with India 56/2 at the end of the 12th over. But the fourth wicket stand of Tendulkar and Sharma took the scoreboard from 87/3 to 210 who stroked a half -century in 70 balls.

Hayden’s 55 also helped bolster the Aussie total. Gilchrist just made 7 when he mistimed a stroke and pulled Praveen Kumar to be caught at mid on.

Ponting also wanting to pull Praveen Kumar over mid wicket off the back foot only was instrumental in bottom edging the ball to his own stumps.

Michael Clark was also given out and with Australia down 24/3 until Symonds and Hayden appeared to put Australia beyond 300 runs with the score at 124 in 23 overs. Australia passed 100 in the 18th over when Symonds effortlessly lofted Harbajan Singh over mid wicket for 4. But Harbajan made the breakthrough when the burly all rounder holed out a catch for 31, trying to hit the turbanded spinner out of the ground.

The second ODI which turned out to be the final, was also not without drama.

Chasing 259 after Sachin Tendulkar posted a classy 91 which was also supported by Yuvraj Singh (38) and Skipper Dhoni (36), Australia struggled to recover from the loss of Adam Gilchrist, who scored just two in his final international innings, and skipper Ricky Ponting for one.

Matthew Hayden (55) and the middle order provided some resistance to set up a nail biting finish, but the Indian bowlers skittled the Aussie tail to clinch victory.

India were almost made to rue not setting a higher total after Tendulkar’s innings, Yuvraj Singh’s 38 and Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s 36 had set the platform.

A lower-order collapse prevented a more daunting total but, in reply, Australia made a nervous start and lost Gilchrist in the first over.

He tentatively prodded at Kumar’s third delivery and edged behind to Dhoni, and was followed by Ponting, whose century against India in Sydney was a rare highlight in an otherwise dismal series with the bat. The skipper mis-timed a pull off a short Kumar ball, which Yuvraj snaffled easily at mid-on.

Michael Clarke temporarily steadied the ship, hitting 17 off 22 balls, but he was fooled by a slower ball from Kumar, which stayed low and he was bowled trying to play across the line.

Symonds, not distracted by having to poleaxe a streaker before he had even faced a ball, signalled his intent by cutting Kumar for three, which followed Hayden’s powerful pull for his second boundary.

Although restricted for long spells by the excellent India attack, Hayden brought up his 50 by clipping Harbhajan for a single and Symonds gave Australia some much-needed impetus by hauling Piyush Chawla for six off the spinner’s first ball.

But the opener’s innings came to an end just after the halfway point when he was sent back to the non-striker’s end by Symonds and was run out for 55.

The all-rounder followed two balls later when he was trapped lbw by his adversary Harbhajan for 42, giving the hosts a mountain to climb on 123 for five.

Hopes and Mike Hussey (44) brought Australia back into contention with some aggressive stroke play in a partnership of 76 but India made a breakthrough when the latter edged Sreesanth behind.

Hopes continued to bludgeon the ball all over the ground but Australia lost Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Bracken cheaply.

Hopes was then caught out himself attempting to launch Irfan Pathan for six with the third to last ball to hand India victory. Earlier, Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat but the tourists struggled to get going initially because of some tight bowling from the Australians. The first boundary did not arrive until the seventh over and was when Robin Uthappa whipped Lee through square leg.

India survived to win the second final by 9 runs with Irfan Pathan taking two wickets in the final over with Australia needing 13 runs to win in Brisbane. A half century from all rounder James Hopes had earlier inspired an Aussie fightback.

India’s strategy pays dividends

India just had what they wanted. They wanted Sachin Tendulkar to build an innings for the rest of the batsmen to score round him to get round 260, which would have been a match winning total at Brisbane. They had what they wanted exactly.

India had the blessings of its youth blended with the experienced Tendulkar, Virendra Shewag, Irfan Pathan and Yuvraj Singh.

One of the other advantages that India was blessed with was the four-Test tour and the ODIs which assisted them to get used to the wickets. The Indians had their mandate cut out for them by avoiding the extravagant strokes and they accumulated the runs slowly. Tendulkar has matured and played a much subdued innings. The Aussies tried to push it, but by saving runs they also lost the wickets.

The Indian youngsters also were elegant. Especially, Rohit Sharma is for the future and Gautham Gambhir, though not large in build, has the power to play the strokes forcefully. He plays square of the wicket, also straight down the grounds and is matured in the Indian batting.

India did the impossible. They beat Australia on their home soil. However, what Australia needs is some quality spinners when they go on tour especially.

Man to man: Australia

Taking the sides, man to man, despite Australia being world champions, skipper Ricky Ponting was off colour and out of touch until that blistering 124 against India at Sydney at which proves that he is returning to form.

The eternal mistake that he is making is that he is putting his front foot forward and seems to be falling over. These are some of the remarks that legendary Aussie skippers Ian Chappell and Bill Lawry made during the commentaries which also had Mark Nicholas.

Then Andrew Symonds, who is a world class bat who is worth his money, though he had a bad series. Mike Hussey and Michael Clarke along with Adam Gilchrist are world class players who could individually tell the team: “You go back to the hut, I will get the runs for you”.

There is also Brad Hogg who is retiring. New all rounder James Hopes who is quite capable of getting a 100 plus score in the middle order. He is technically sound.

In the bowling department, there is the left hand / right hand combination of Bret Lee and Nathan Bracken respectively, the former being the world’s fastest bowler now. He was quick at around 150-152 kilometres per hour. Lee bowls fast to the left hander while Bracken bowls similarly to the right hander. The other player to watch is Stuart Clark who knows what to bowl where.

Mitchell Johnson is the new revelation. These are some of the reasons why Aussies are looking so awesome even after winning the World Cup three in a row at that. They may not have a Shane Warne or a Glen McGrath in the side now, but they are consistent.

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene put his feet into his mouth when he said that there are cracks appearing in the Australian side. If there were cracks, the Aussies would not have played so well in the series, barring the finals. They appeared to be the best team of the three until the finals.

Man to man: India

India entered the finals and quite rightly so. The Indian selectors have to be admired for their judgments of the players’ performances.

After having been undone in the Caribbean World Cup in under a year ago and despite not having even entered the Super Sixes, the core issues have been addressed beautifully and immediately. They dropped the big and the hot guns Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly and even Ajith Agarkar and Zahir Khan, the latter who was nursing an injury.

However, the redeeming factor for the Indians was that there were plenty of players in the cupboard from which they could draw, Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is doing a sterling job as skipper and leads from the front having scaled down his batting.

He is currently playing the vital pivotal role that Arjuna Ranatunga played in the run up to and finals of the 1996 Wills World Cup. Dhoni has the ability to consolidate which will add the much- needed stability to the side and the Indian top order looks simply fabulous.

They had both Virendra Shewag and Tendulkar, especially the latter, still a world class act. There is also Irfan Pathan who has the ability to open the batting where the others fail. India has all the all rounders right at the top. Left handed Gautham Gambhir, who is a treat to watch when in full cry, also won the accolades of the top commentators- former Aussie greats - Bill Lawry and Ian Chappell along with top commentator Mark Nicholas.

There is a full bag in the Indian middle order. Take Rohit Sharma, a promising and technically correct bat. Yuvraj has hit a bit of a patch and with a niggling injury and if he does not recover from it, he will find it very difficult to return to the side, which is believed to be the second best one day side in the world now.

There is also the tall, lanky kid - the long-haired Ishan Sharma who comes racing in at around 140-145 kilometres per hour. Munaf Patel can support the fast bowlers’ cordon and along with Irfan Pathan.

Sreesant also can fit into the side if any of the bowlers are injured. He has an ideal cricketing brain and cricketing sense. He knows to bowl what and when. He bowls the out swinger well to the left-handers and while he is also a touch bowler who bowls at an angle which nips back to the right hander. The combination looks good.

There is also “Barjie” or Harbajan Singh. We know that he was called an “obnoxious little weed” by Mathew Hayden. But, that is Barjie.

His higher hand coordination is ideal and bowls the doosra like Murali, while having a deceptive off break, which turns sharply into the right hander’s pad. The spin cordon is good but India will be looking forward to adding another spinner. The tangible difference is that they have plenty of cricketers at hand.

What was one of the most cherished games in the run up to the finals of the Commonwealth Bank series was the match that Australia beat India by a whisker at Sydney. Both sides were strong but the edge that the Aussies have was their fielding. They are faster off the block. They have large arms and are physically larger as well, aren’t they? Their bone structures have helped them to be better cricketers.

The inaugural Commonwealth Bank series commenced in 1979, which was a deal organized between the then Australian Cricket Board and tycoon Kerry Packer for Channel 9.

The inaugural winners were “super cat” Clive Lloyd’s West Indians, hot on the heels of their second consecutive World Cup win. The losing finalists were England, led by Mike Brearley, who had the rare double of leading England while being Oxford University Professor of History!!

However, in the true spirit of the game, India has proved this time that they are the only side, which can take on three-times-in-a-row World Cup Champions Australia in their own backyard. Both teams played neck to neck. One would not know where to put his money. I don’t.