From R Kaushik, DH News Service, Brisbane:
It was the most miserable day possible for a game of cricket. Sunday began dull, gloomy and wet, and ended pretty much the same way.
In between irritating spells of steady drizzles, there were unsettled but dramatic bursts of play at the Gabba in the opening match of the final triangular series on the Australian calendar. India found time enough to dig themselves into a hole, before the elements intervened to allow Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men to come away with a share of the points against the home team.
It was a wonderful tribute to the drainage facilities which allowed the match to begin on schedule despite the torrential downpour no more than two hours before the start. Dhoni surprisingly chose to bat first, but India's young guns couldn't rise to the occasion, finding the conditions as well as Australia's bowlers, again spearheaded splendidly by five-wicket man Brett Lee, too hot to handle. Had not 66 been realised off the last nine overs after the first rain interruption of the evening forced their innings to be reduced to 45 overs, India would have fallen well short of their eventual 194, modest but no more and well short of par for the course.
A downpour during the innings-break slashed Australia's target to 192 in 43; a further 73-minute stoppage at 33 for one reduced it to 141 in 26. India appeared up for the fight by winkling out two wickets in five deliveries upon resumption. Once the hosts reached 51 for three, the skies opened up with finality, emphatically forcing the abandonment of the match, both sides getting two points each.
Hostile spell
Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was as hostile and fired up as two nights back at the Twenty20 fixture, and found rewards too as he snaffled Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting, the latter for a duck with late away movement.
Ishant Sharma continued his progress with an exceptional breakback that screamed through the gate and pegged James Hopes' off-stump back. The pace unit relished the bounce and seam assistance the surface offered; they made sure no one could accuse India of getting out of jail, because despite the wealth of batting talent at their disposal, by no means were Australia guaranteed victory if the rains hadn't intervened.
Of course, India's batting left a fair bit to be desired. There were flashes of exceptional class, particularly from the 20-year-old Rohit Sharma, but once again, settled batsmen casually tossed their wickets away, forcing the normally free-stroking captain to change tack and rally the lower middle-order.
As outstanding as Lee was, India had themselves to blame for their batting woes. The bulk of the experience disappeared early as Virender Sehwag chopped Nathan Bracken on and Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed hit wicket for the first time in 656 international innings as he right-heeled his off-stump in going right back on to the stumps to tackle a Lee lifter. At 26 for two, India were in some bother when Gautam Gambhir was joined by Rohit in the only meaningful (65 in 78 deliveries) top-order association .
Lapses
The two picked the right deliveries to hit, but also ran superbly between the wickets, putting the Aussies under rare pressure and eliciting uncharacteristic lapses. Dropped twice off successive legal deliveries from Mitchell Johnson, first by Mike Hussey at second slip and then by Ricky Ponting at first, the left-handed Gambhir ought to have cashed in. Instead, his dismissal, falling over in trying to work Johnson to leg, triggered a rot that saw India lose three for three in 19 deliveries.
Where Gambhir was workmanlike, Rohit was outstanding during his short stint. Especially when he stood tall and drove square on the off-side, he more than looked the part, having the extra time to play his strokes that separates the extremely good from the average. On the temperament count, though, he disappointed, throwing his bat at a wide delivery from Lee in the over after Gambhir's dismissal.
Debutant Manoj Tiwary, picked on 'instinct' by Dhoni no more than 30 hours after landing in Brisbane, was worked over by Lee, who fed him a diet of short stuff before cleaning him up with a predictable yorker. It was a baptism by fire, but the talented 22-year-old will be the better for it.
Dhoni took it upon himself to steer the ship home, first alongside Irfan Pathan and then with an innovative Harbhajan Singh for company in successive stands of 45 and 42 for the seventh and eighth wickets respectively. Once again, Harbhajan was heckled and hooted by the crowd, but he got his own back by feigning deafness. Good stuff! Score board
INDIA Sehwag b Bracken 6
(8b, 1x4)
Tendulkar hit-wkt b Lee 10
(17b, 1x4)
Gambhir lbw Johnson 39
(51b, 4x4)
Rohit c Gilchrist b Lee 29
(43b, 5x4)
Tiwari b Lee 2
(16b)
Dhoni c Ponting b Lee 37
(61b, 1x4)
Uthappa c Clarke b Noffke 5
(13b)
Pathan (run out) 21
(40b, 1x6)
Harbhajan c Clarke b Lee 27
(19b, 3x4)
Sreesanth (run out) 4
(3b)
Ishant (not out) 1
(1b)
Extras (LB-7, W-4, NB-2) 13
Total (all out, 45 overs) 194
Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Sehwag), 2-26 (Tendulkar), 3-91 (Gambhir), 4-93 (Rohit), 5-94 (Tiwary), 6-102 (Uthappa), 7-147 (Pathan), 8-189 (Dhoni), 9-190 (Harbhajan).
Bowling: Brett Lee 9-2-27-5 (nb-2), Nathan Bracken 9-0-55-1 (w-1), Ashley Noffke 9-0-46-1, Mitchell Johnson 9-2-33-1 (w-2), James Hopes 6-0-17-0, Michael Clarke 2-0-5-0 (w-1), Andrew Symonds 1-0-4-0.
Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 17/1; 10: 44/2; 15: 67/2; 20: 92/3; 25: 101/5; 30: 111/6; 35: 122/6; 40: 152/7; end of innings: 194 all out in 45 overs.
Runs during: Power Play 1: 1-10 overs: 44/2; Power Play 2: 11-15 overs: 23/0; Power Play 3 (3 fielders out): 16-20: 25/1.
AUSTRALIA
(TARGET 141 in 26 UNDER D/L)
Gilchrist c Dhoni b Sreesanth 14
(17b, 2x4)
Hopes b Ishant 17
(12b, 4x4)
Ponting c Sehwag b Sreesanth 0
(2b)
Clarke (not out) 2
(8b)
Symonds (not out) 5
(6b, 1x4)
Extras (B-4, W-4, NB-5) 13
Total (for 3 wkts, 7.2 overs) 51
Fall of wickets: 1-33 (Gilchrist), 2-38 (Hopes), 3-39 (Ponting).
