India all but eliminated

The crucial league match against Australia mirrored the shortcomings that have haunted India the whole summer.  

Their bowling lacked consistency, the batsmen crumbled against high-quality pace bowling on a pitch that contained no demons, and the fielding hovered just above the average for a large part of a clement Sunday at the SCG. That mediocre effort in all three departments ensured that India would end up with 165 all out while chasing 253 for victory.

The 87-run win propelled Australia to the tri-series final after they logged 19 points with a game to go against Sri Lanka at Melbourne. India now will need to beat Lanka with a bonus point and wait for the result of that MCG match to keep their hopes of entering the final alive, and that looks a distant possibility.

Agreed, it was collective malfunctioning, but the failure of the batsmen was most striking. It started from the now routine early departure of Virender Sehwag, who bowled a fine spell of off-spin earlier. Ben Hilfenhaus held on to a brilliant tumbling catch off his own bowling to jettison Sehwag, and thereafter the Indian innings never was on the right track.

Sachin Tendulkar, who was given a rousing welcome by the Sydney crowd, was run out after failing to move around Brett Lee, who came in his way, while attempting a quick single. Stuck behind Lee, the master batsman failed to reach crease before David Warner’s throw, and the Mumbaikar had to walk off in sheer frustration, of course to a standing ovation in perhaps his last visit to this ground.

A brief period of solidity followed with Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir adding 44 for the third wicket. During that stage, India looked in control of the chase, without being overtly aggressive. There were occasional hits to the fence, but the Delhi men pushed the board ahead through well-judged singles and doubles.

Australia took the bowling Power Play in the 16th over, and that changed the complexion of the game. The home side winkled out Kohli, Gambhir and Suresh Raina in that period to push India to 89 for five, and the last hope was the presence of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But the Jharkhandi, suffering from an upset stomach, could not force his way like he had done in a couple of earlier matches, looking jaded and unable to play those trademark big shots.

Hilfenhaus trapped him plumb in front with a quick, straight delivery, and India’s fight too ended with Dhoni’s dismissal.

Now, it’s time to ponder over the performance of Indian bowlers, who were no less culpable in India’s defeat.

In fact, they made a bright beginning under a grey sky and none was more impressive than Praveen Kumar. The medium-pacer was playing his third match since appearing in a one-dayer at the WACA, and he showed little signs of rust. The Uttar Pradesh medium-pacer exploited the swing-friendly conditions to the hilt to dismiss Shane Watson, who assumed captaincy in the absence of Michael Clarke, suffering from back spasms, and in-form Peter Forrest.

Mike Hussey got run out, and David Warner, who appeared poised to expand his 68 in to something more substantial, fell to Ravindra Jadeja as Australia slipped to 107 for four after 21 overs. Now, you’d expect the Indian bowlers to tighten their grip, but they transformed into passive on-lookers once David Hussey and Matthew Wade added 94 important runs for the fifth wicket.

The cricketing laws too favoured Hussey, as he seemed to have deliberately obstructed Raina’s throw from covers. But umpires Billy Bowden and Simon Taufel deemed that Hussey stopped the ball to protect himself from getting hurt, ruling him not out. Hussey added 37 to his personal score and helped Wade add a further 82 to their alliance as Australia marched to a competitive total.