It never pays to fire the Australians up. Having played them often enough, India ought to have known that. If, for some reason, they didn't until Tuesday, they sure do now.

There is much about S Sreesanth that is admirable, but his propensity to get under the skin of the opposition for no discernible reason will most certainly not fall in that category. On his home patch at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, the Kerala paceman riled the Aussies enough for the World champions to put on an awesome display of complete all-round cricket.

Contrary to general consensus, the ground staff did remarkably well to get the venue match-fit despite the immense precipitation of the last several days. Consequently, game two of the seven-match Future Cup began only half an hour behind schedule, and without any reduction in overs. For a capacity crowd, that was about the only cause for cheer. For the rest of the day, they watched in nothing more than silent admiration and with no little envy as Australia opened up a 1-0 lead, courtesy their commanding 84-run triumph.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to bowl first, notwithstanding the presence of two spinners, was almost certainly influenced by the overhead conditions and the threat of rain that existed at the start of play. Inside the first 21 deliveries, it appeared the most sensible of calls as Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth struck once each to reduce Australia to eight for two.

Throwing up heroes

Over the years, Australia's strength has been their ability to throw up heroes for every crisis. On Tuesday, they found their stars in the massive frames of Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds, as well as the feisty Brad Haddin, to muscle their way out of trouble. Once they had amassed an intimidating 306 for six on a track that was always going to slow up and assist the tweakers in the afternoon, that was nothing if not a winning total.
India paid for not putting together a single partnership of note, slip-sliding to 222 all out, long-ranger Dhoni battling away in a losing cause in the only knock of any substance.

Sreesanth's antics -- including a silly attempt to run out a backing-up Symonds despite umpire Shastri declaring a dead ball -- had given the Australians the incentive they needed to unleash a command performance with ball and in the field. Brett Lee was the only one not in sync, brutally dismantled by Robin Uthappa during an exceptional cameo. The rest were all positively outstanding, the fielding characteristically electric and the lips working overtime as missiles flew from all directions and in all forms.

Partnerships

India needed an association worth at least as much as the Symonds-Haddin stand of 108 (94b). Instead, their highest partnership was 49 between the captain and the man he replaced at the helm. Rahul Dravid's dismissal, out fifth at 136, was the final nail in the coffin as Australia bore down inexorably through a combination of paceman Stuart Clark's wonderful accuracy and left-arm spinner Michael Clarke's adeptness at exploiting favourable conditions.

In the morning, for perhaps half an hour, Zaheer and Sreesanth too exploited the conditions brilliantly. Then, Hayden took charge in Clarke's company in rescue act number one, 58 accruing for the third wicket.
That was no more than the appetiser. The main course arrived in the form of Symonds, who linked up with fellow burly Queenslander Hayden in a fourth-wicket stand of 94 (94b). Hayden was a little more subdued in Symonds' company, allowing the right-hander to put Ramesh Powar off his rhythm. For the second time in two games, the offie had a wretched outing, as did the rest of the bowlers barring Zaheer and comeback man Irfan Pathan.
Just as he was beginning to hit overdrive, Hayden had his leg-stump uprooted by Pathan. Enter Haddin.
Had Michael Hussey been fit, Haddin would have been no more than a bit player. Making the most of a lucky break, Haddin etched a second important contribution in three days. He had played second fiddle to Clarke in Bangalore, but on Tuesday, it was Symonds who reined himself in as the reserve stumper took on first Harbhajan Singh, then turned his attention on Sreesanth.
The end of the Australian innings was such a contrast from its start as the last 25 overs leaked 182 runs. It isn't just the death bowling that is a cause for concern!

SCOREBOARD
AUSTRALIA
Gilchrist c Tendulkar b Zaheer 0
(5b)
Hayden b Pathan 75
(89b, 5x4, 3x6)
Hodge c Dhoni b Sreesanth 3
(10b)
Clarke st Dhoni b Pathan 27
(38b, 3x4)
Symonds c & b Sreesanth 87
(84b, 9x4, 2x6)
Haddin (not out) 87
(69b, 8x4, 3x6)
Hopes c Dravid b Sreesanth 4
(4b)
Lee (not out) 2
(2b)
Extras (B-4, LB-2, W-15) 21
Total (for 6 wkts, 50 overs) 306
Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Gilchrist), 2-8 (Hodge), 3-66 (Clarke), 4-160 (Hayden), 5-268 (Symonds), 6-297 (Hopes).
Bowling: Zaheer 10-1-55-1 (w-3), Sreesanth 9-0-67-3 (w-6), Pathan 10-0-47-2 (w-5), Harbhajan 10-0-57-0 (w-1), Powar 5-0-30-0, Tendulkar 3-0-22-0, Yuvraj 3-0-22-0.
Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 21/2; 10: 44/2; 15: 61/2; 20: 86/3; 25: 124/3; 30: 151/3; 35: 182/4; 40: 215/4; 45: 258/4; end of innings: 306/6 in 50 overs.
Runs during: Power Play 1: 1-10 overs: 44/2; Power Play 2: 11-15 overs: 17/0; Power Play 3 (three men out): 16-20 overs: 25/1.
INDIA
Gambhir b Johnson 7
(13b, 1x4)
Tendulkar c Symonds b Clark 16
(21b, 1x4, 1x6)
Uthappa lbw Clark 41
(30b, 5x4, 2x6)
Yuvraj c Hayden b Hopes 10
(10b, 1x6)
Dravid c Johnson b Hogg 31
(48b, 3x4, 1x6)
Dhoni c Hodge b Hogg 58
(88b, 2x4, 2x6)
Pathan (run out) 1
(7b)
Harbhajan st Gilchrist b Clarke 4
(10b)
Powar b Clarke 17
(18b, 1x4, 1x6)
Zaheer c Hodge b Hogg 3
(14b)
Sreesanth (not out) 7
(25b)
Extras (B-4, LB-6, W-10, NB-7) 27
Total (all out, 47.3 overs) 222
Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Gambhir), 2-58 (Tendulkar), 3-79 (Yuvraj), 4-87 (Uthappa), 5-136 (Dravid), 6-139 (Pathan), 7-154 (Harbhajan), 8-179 (Powar), 9-190 (Zaheer).
Bowling: Lee 7-0-44-0 (w-2, nb-6), Johnson 9-1-46-1 (w-6), Clark 6-0-14-2, Hopes 7-0-33-1 (w-1, nb-1), Clarke 9-1-35-2, Hogg 9.3-0-40-3 (w-1).
Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 29/1; 10: 67/2; 15: 87/4; 20: 103/4; 25: 136/4; 30: 154/6; 35: 179/8; 40: 191/9; 45: 210/9; end of innings: 222 all out in 47.3 overs.
Runs during: Power Play 1: 1-10 overs: 67/2; Power Play 2: 11-15 overs: 20/2; Power Play 3 (three men out): 16-20 overs: 16/0.