Humiliating loss for India

Hussey, Hilfenhaus help Australia score commanding 110-run win

The imposing grandstand and the highly biased and loud Australian fans justify Brisbane Cricket Gound’s nickname – the Gabbatoir, a place for visiting teams to get slaughtered.

Such is their impressive record here that Australia walk on to the field with that ‘our venue’ feeling.
After two successive defeats against India and Sri Lanka, the sight of Gabba might have filled in them a sense of invincibility that they translated into a commanding 110-run victory over India on Sunday. Australia thus moved back to the top of the table with 14 points, while India slid to second with 10 points.

It was a brilliant effort from Australia, and they need to thank their bowlers profusely for coming up with an aggressive effort right from the first ball after a solid batting performance led them to 288 for five in 50 overs. The Indian chase ended at 178 all out in 43.3 overs.

There was no one more impressive than Ben Hilfenhaus, who returned to wear coloured clothes after a gap of more than two years. Incidentally, the Tasmanian’s last one-dayer was also against India, in Hyderabad on November 5, 2009. But Hilfenhaus, who had a wonderful Test series against India last month, didn’t show signs of any rust, rattling the Indian batsmen with a five-wicket haul (5/33) that earned him the man of the match award.

The Gabba pitch has always offered something for bowlers willing to read the conditions here, and Hilfenhaus utilised the bounce and swing to telling effect. Virat Kohli fell to Hilfenhaus’ ability to procure swing. Kohli failed to resist the temptation of playing Hilfenhaus’ awayswinger that nestled in the hands of David Hussey at slip.

Though Kohli was not too pleased with the decision to give him out, Hilfenhaus could derive immense pleasure from the way he bowled to the Delhi lad. If swing pushed Kohli to perdition, bounce ended Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s stay. The Indian skipper, who notched up his second fifty of the tri-series, couldn’t keep his pull shot off Hilfenhaus in check, and it ended up in the hands of Daniel Christian at mid-wicket. Hilfenhaus might buy stumper Mathew Wade, who took five catches on the day, a few cans of beer for holding on to a couple of sharp chances, especially the ones to dismiss Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan.

However, Brett Lee too should be given a share of credit for inflicting some early blows by removing Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma. Gambhir, who made two scores in the 90s in the last two matches, feathered a quick delivery to Wade while Rohit’s attempt to slash Lee too ended in the hands of Wade.

But it wasn’t that India were completely absent from the field. They too had their share of moments under the sun like when they managed to dislodge David Warner, who added 70 for the opening wicket with Wade, and skipper Ricky Ponting within 13 runs.

The two dismissals slowed down the progress of Australia considerably, as Wade and Peter Forrest concentrated on not giving away another wicket to India. Wade was jettisoned against the run of the play when he scooped a simple return catch to Rohit, and India’s misery also started with that dismissal.

Mike Hussey and Forrest milked 100 for the fourth wicket, and the alliance was not without incidents. Dhoni effected a stumping off Suresh Raina when Hussey was on one, and the on-field umpires referred it to the third umpire for reviewing, and the Indians might have been a relieved lot once the giant screen flashed ‘out’.

But it lasted only a few seconds as umpire Billy Bowden ran after Hussey, who had already started his walk back to the hut, to call him back much to the bewilderment of the Indians, who were told that there was a technical snag.

From that point, Hussey, who made 59, and Forrest squeezed the life out of the Indians till Pathan evicted the duo in the space of six runs. David Hussey and Christian were much more blatant in punishing the sloppy Indians, cracking 65 runs in the last six overs, and Australia never let the momentum of that late blitz slip away.

Score board

AUSTRALIA

Wade c&b Rohit    45
(67b, 2x4, 1x6)
Warner c Tendulkar b Pathan    43
(46b, 5x4, 1x6)
Ponting c Pathan b Zaheer    7
(26b)
Forrest c Kohli b Pathan    52
(71b, 5x4)
M Hussey c Raina b Pathan    59
(52b, 6x4)
D Hussey (not out)    26
(20b, 1x4, 1x6)
D Christian (not out)    30
(18b, 5x4)

Extras (B-2, LB-12, W-12)    26

Total (for 5 wkts, 50 overs)    288

Fall of wickets: 1-70 (Warner), 2-83 (Ponting), 3-117 (Wade), 4-217 (M Hussey), 5-223 (Forrest).

Bowling: Zaheer 10-0-46-1 (w-4), Vinay 10-0-60-0 (w-1), Pathan 10-0-61-3 (w-5), Raina 10-0-44-0, Yadav 7-0-46-0 (w-1), Rohit 3-0-17-1 (w-1).

Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 17/0; 10: 51/0; 20: 85/2; 30: 129/3; 40: 187/3; End of innings: 288/5 in 50 overs.

Power Play1: 1-10 overs: 51/0; Power Play 2: 16-20: 12/1; Power Play3: 36-40: 37/0.

INDIA

Gambhir c Wade b Lee    5
(5b, 1x4)

Tendulkar c Doherty b Hilfenhaus    3
(12b)

Kohli c D Hussey b Hilfenhaus    12
(25b)

Rohit c Wade b Lee    0
(5b)

Raina c Wade b Christian    28
(41b, 1x4, 1x6)

Dhoni c Christian b Hilfenhaus    56
(84b, 2x4, 1x6)

Jadeja c Forrest b Starc    18
(35b, 1x4)

Pathan c Wade b Hilfenhaus    19
(27b, 1x4, 1x6)

Vinay b Lee    6
(12b)

Zaheer c Wade b Hilfenhaus    9
(11b, 2x4)

Yadav (not out)    6
(6b, 1x4)

Extras (LB-4, W-10, NB-2)    16

Total (all out, 43.3 overs)    178

Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Gambhir), 2-15 (Tendulkar), 3-19 (Rohit), 4-36 (Kohli), 5-82 (Raina), 6-114 (Jadeja), 7-149 (Dhoni), 8-162 (Vinay), 9-168 (Pathan).

Bowling: Hilfenhaus 9.3-1-33-5 (nb-1, w-1), Lee 10-0-49-3 (nb-1, w-3), Christian 6-0-27-1 (w-2), Starc 8-0-36-1 (w-2), Doherty 10-0-29-0 (w-2).

Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 15/2; 10: 33/3; 20: 70/4; 30: 114/5; 40: 160/7; End of innings: 178 all out in 43.3 overs.

Power Play1: 1-10 overs: 33/3; Power Play2: 16-20: 21/0; Power Play3: 35-39: 26/1.