Cricket Tournaments

Australia won the toss on a warm and sultry morning at the Adelaide oval and decided as ever to have a bat. Australia aimed to keep their winning streak going and finish off the series by taking an unassailable lead of 3-0.

And so they did! The opening pair of Watson and Marsh started off in a circumspect manner with ‘wickets in hand for the last ten’ being their major priority. The duo put on 63 in 12 Overs with Watson falling for 33 attempting a wild slog. The skipper Ricky Ponting was next to go after misjudging the length of the ball. He was trapped LBW without scoring. Once again falling playing the pull shot. Ponting, one of the best players of short pitch bowling, ironically has been dismissed on quite a few occasions playing the pull Getting older, ehh?

Australia looked to be in a spot of bother at 65 for 2 but it was marsh with 83 who kept the score ticking along. Michael Clarke played another brilliant knock and was there right till the end forming substantial partnerships with marsh, white and Hussey. Clarke eventually fell for 80 in the last over of the innings.

Australia fell away a little in the middle stage of the innings due to some tight bowling from Saeed Ajmal and rana. But, again it was Pakistan’s indiscipline in the field and with extras that was their down bringing. Australia’s Michael Hussey took full toll of this and hammered the Pakistani’s to all parts of the ground en route his 28 ball 49 which gave the Australian innings some much needed impetus. Michael Hussey showed his class and skills once again and bailed Australia out of what would have been an average situation.

What a versatile player he is! Put him in at20 for 3 and he will come up with the goods or like today ask him to slog-he’ll do it for you. Truly, MR. CRICKET! Umar Gul one of the best death bowlers not just from Pakistan but in the world took a pasting on the day and went for 80 in his 10 over spell including a huge over which costed him 23 runs.

The momentum was with Australia when they came on to the field. Salman butt started positively playing some gorgeous flicks and cover drives. He eventually fell prey to Clint McKay LBW for 34. Ryan Harris the 30 year old seamer playing his second ODI bowled with good pace and eventually claimed 5 for 43 in his 10 over spell which included the wickets of Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi who at a certain point were threatening to take the match away.

Once again it was a failure of the top order. Former captain, Younis khan looks terribly out of form and Pakistan must consider promoting Umar Akmal or Mohd Yousuf to the crucial no 3 spot. Pakistan must try out new things considering they have already lost the series. However, these changes might help them in the long run too especially with England coming up soon.

Pakistan were in a precarious position at 60 for 4 before young guns Umar Akmal and Fawad Alam steadied the ship. They put on 85 before Umar Akmal fell to Harris. Afridi provided some late fireworks with a quick 29 ball 40. But, it was to be all to late in the cause and Pakistan eventually folded for 246 in 47 Overs giving Australia their 3rd straight win and the series.

Pakistan came back to Sydney—the same Sydney Cricket ground where they were embarrassed by the same Australian unit. Pakistan tried to lift their morale and change the result this time around. Not to be though.

Mohd Yousuf won the toss for the second time in a row and this time around put Australia in to bat. Australia fielded the same unit that played at the gabba after Michael Clarke (rib injury) was declared fit this morning.

However, Pakistan rung in one change i.e. they brought in Umar Gul in place of Mohd Asif.

The first ball of the match set the tone for what was to come! Shane Watson creamed Aamer through cover point for 4. It was clearly the sign of things to come.

Australian Dominance!!

Watson played some incredible shots through cover, over point and over mid-on. He later accepted in an interview that it was tough to bat if the ball was pitched up. Fortunately for Watson a lot of short balls were bowled which he took full toll of.

Watson played a brilliant pull of Rana Naved where the ball wasn’t too short but he just swatted at it on one knee and got six for it. Watson finally fell to Afridi for 69 but not before giving Australia a strong start.

The Aussies got a bit stuck in the middle over with the spin trio of Afridi, Ajmal and Malik working well for Pakistan. Australia took 84 balls to reach their 3rd fifty and from 80 for 0 after 13 Overs slipped to 138 for 3 after 30 Overs.

It was again Cameron white who rescued the innings for Australia with a powerful half century which got them up to 267 at the end of 50 Overs. White scored 55 with Clarke (25), Hussey (29) and Haddin (27) all chipping in.

Pakistan looked out of sorts from ball one. Australia came out and bowled with admirable discipline at the two Pakistani openers. Both Bollinger and Siddle were immaculate with their lines and lengths.

The duo together conceded just 7 runs in the first two wickets and picked up two crucial wickets including one of former captain Younis khan. Ponting was on the money with his captaincy and field placement. He had a 7-2 field for a short period of time.

The Australian fielders were brilliant with Ponting and Cameron white taking sensational catches at point and slip respectively. Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger and Clint McKay ripped the heart out of the Pakistani batting line up by picking up five quick wickets which left Pakistan struggling at 42 for 5.

The Pakistani batsmen barring Mohd Yousuf showed no kind of resistance and succumbed to the Aussie bowling attack. They were eventually bundled out for a 127 with the skipper Mohd Yousuf making 58 of those.

The wicket really seemed to liven up under lights with a tinge of moisture perhaps due to the dew around. The Australians profited from this and within 38 Overs of the Pakistan innings had them bowled out and ensured a 140 run win.

Another dominant display by the Aussies; another convincing victory and as it looks now another series victory coming their way.
Australia went into the match as favourites; came out giving a pounding!

Despite being massive disadvantaged due to their unending injury problems, Australia have still managed to compete and keep the series alive. At 2-2 going into Hyderabad it is anyone’s series and India will need to pull their socks up and not take the opposition lightly, like they did in Mohali resulting in a disaster. Australia, in the meantime, will also be without all-rounder Moises Henriques, who himself was brought in as cover for James Hopes, and so must have lost faith in process of replacements. Apart from the XI they played at Mohali, they only have two left in the reserves now – Clint McKay and Jon Holland, both of whom are likely to sit out at Hyderabad. Still, the victory in the last match would have boosted their confidence no end.

The Aussie batters have struck form with Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting getting among the runs at the top of the order. In the middle-order, Michael Hussey and Cameron White have been consistency-personified. If anything, they need better support from the lower order. With Henriques out, Adam Voges will be back, and he along with Graham Manou and Mitchell Johnson will be expected to make better contributions.

Bowling wise, Australia discovered a star in the making at Mohali in left-arm quickie Doug Bollinger. He was exceptional with his accuracy and movement and was justly rewarded. Shane Watson and off-spinner Nathan Hauritz also impressed, but the absence of the wicket-taking Peter Siddle will be sorely felt. He was undoubtedly Australia’s best bowler of the series so far. Ben Hilfenhaus, who is likely to take his place, will have a tough task on hand. But he is a competitive cricketer so expect him to come up with the goods. That leaves the Aussies with their biggest worry named Mitchell Johnson.

When Brett Lee was ruled out, Johnson automatically became the pace spearhead of the team. Unfortunately, he has done nothing to justify the position. If anything, he has been off target and been dealt with rather harshly but the Indian batters, Sehwag in particular. But with the lack of arsenal, Australia have no option other than to keep playing him. How Johnson fares in the remainder on the series will have a definitive impact on the final result. The death overs bowling is another area where the Aussie bowlers will have to improve their performance drastically to keep their team’s chances afloat.

The hosts, themselves, have quite a few tribulations of their own. Virender Sehwag has been giving the team rollicking starts, but none of his knocks have gone beyond the description of a cameo. India would be hoping for a big one from him. Ditto with Sachin Tendulkar and the back from injury Gautam Gambhir. If the top three fire, India’s middle-order automatically becomes doubly dangerous as Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni can directly go for the kill instead of rebuilding the innings first. Also, it is about time Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja come up with something substantial.

Before the start of this series, the Indian bowlers were under fire from all quarters. The much-maligned brigade has redeemed itself though, at least for the movement. Ishant Sharma’s rediscovery of himself has been the biggest plus, whereas Praveen Kumar is learning the art of bowling even when there is no swing. Ashish Nehra’s comeback is only getting better and better with every passing game. About Harbhajan Singh, India will have to wait and watch, because even though he is struggling with the ball, he is coming up with good knocks with the willow. It’s no rocket science though that India need Harbhajan the bowler back.

Keeping in mind, Australia’s depleted army of men, India are hugely advantaged. However, they can only utilize the golden opportunity if perform to potential and not get lethargic, like we witnessed at Mohali.