|
|
| CricketZone.Com | IndiaExpress.Com ApunKaChoice.Com |
 |
|
NEWS India-Australia-West Indies Tri-Series>Brett Lee blows India away in Kuala Lumpur 22nd Sept 2006 21.37 IST By Manish Kumar India had no answer to Brett Lee ’s thunderbolts who took five wickets as India failed to chase a meager target and lost the virtual semi-final of the Tri-series by 18 runs at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur on September 22. Lee registered his sixth five-wicket haul and struck at all the right times as India, chasing a victory target of 214 runs, were bundled out for 195 runs in 43.5 overs.
Glenn Donald McGrath bowling his first over bowled a short delivery to Sachin Tendulkar who tried to pull, he missed the pull and was hit on the shoulder and keeper Brad Haddin collected the ball, the Australians appealed for the catch and the English umpire Mark Benson gave it out initially and then realizing his mistake called back Sachin at which Australian captain Ricky Thomas Ponting was livid. But Sachin’s joy and Ponting’s agony was short-lived as in the next over Sachin edged an outswinger from Lee to backward point for Michael Hussey to take the catch. Sachin, who had also failed in the last encounter with Australia in this tournament, today scored 4 runs. Lee then struck in the next over sending a high-speed inswinger that went through the defence of Virender Shewag shattering his stumps. Sehwag (10) was clean bowled ‘through the gate’ without moving his feet – the same way he was dismissed by Dwayne Smith on Wednesday. Mohammad Kaif , who played today in place of a sick Yuvraj Singh , was promoted to the number three spot but he could score 21 runs before he was dismissed caught and bowled by Stuart Clark. Indian skipper Rahul Dravid continued with his bad form in the tournament and was trapped plumb in the same over by Clark after scoring 7 runs. India were rocked onto the backfoot at 50/4 when Suresh Raina walked in to join Dinesh Mongia at the crease. The left-handed pair added 46 runs for the fifth wicket before Raina (26) was beaten by the googly of Brad Hogg and edged it onto his stumps. With Mahendra Dhoni walked in the last hopes of an Indian victory. The dashing wicket keeper batsman tried his best to remain calm and cool during his knock of 23 runs off 34 balls without a four and only a six. Dhoni was going well but as it is said that strength becomes your biggest weakness if you don’t play it right – the same happened with Dhoni. In a bid to match aggression with aggression, Dhoni hit a bouncer from Lee over the covers hoping to see the ball sailing over the cover fence but it landed straight into the hands of Damien Richard Martyn just in front of the boundary. Looking at the stage of the game – India had lost five wickets – Dhoni played a careless and irresponsible shot. But more careless and irresponsible was the Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf who seemed to be day-dreaming and failed to notice that Lee had over-stepped at the bowling crease and that it was a no-ball. Ajit Agarkar scored 9 runs before he too was flummoxed by the googly of Hogg and was trapped leg before wicket. Rauf was caught day dreaming again in the 41st over when he adjudged Harbhajan Singh (0) caught behind by Haddin off Andrew Symonds even though there was daylight between the ball and Harbhajan’s bat. Rudra Pratap Singh (4) ignorantly took a single on the last ball of the 43rd over and faced Lee who promptly had him caught at backward point by Hussey. Munaf Patel got off the mark on the second delivery but Mongia gave him the strike again with two balls still to go and Munaf was caught at the covers on the very next ball by Symonds and Lee registered his sixth five-wicket haul in ODI cricket. The only meaningful contribution in the Indian innings came from Mongia who was playing his first ODI after seventeen months and hit an unbeaten knock of 63 runs that came off 90 balls and consisted of five fours. Earlier Ponting won the toss and elected to bat. Australia dropped Michael Clarke , Shane Watson and Nathan Bracken for Hogg, Martyn and McGrath. Agarkar got the first breakthrough for India in the ninth over when Simon Katich (9) cut to backward point where Raina dived to his left to take a stunning catch. Munaf struck next getting the big wicket of Ponting (4) who flicked a delivery in the air for Agarkar to take the catch at fine-leg. Matthew Lawrence Hayden reached his 27th ODI 50 before he was run out. Martyn tapped the ball to point, went for the run, Hayden first refused then ran but it was too late as R P Singh fielded the ball threw it back to Dhoni who dislodged the bails. Hayden scored 54 runs. Martyn himself got run out soon after as he tapped the ball close on the off side and set off for the single, Sachin ran in from point and fired the throw in at the bowler's end, Mongia didn't collect it properly but the ball bounced off his hands to hit the stumps and Martyn (19) was adjudged run out by the third umpire. On the very next ball Mongia trapped Symonds (2) plumb in front of the wicket to reduce Australia to 97/5. The third run out of the Australian innings almost happened soon after as Hussey flicked a Harbhajan delivery past square, there was an easy single but Hussey called Haddin for the second. Haddin was short of the crease when the throw came into Harbhajan who whipped off the bails at the non-strikers end, Haddin was initially given out but replays showed that Harbhajan had broken the stumps without the ball in his hand and Haddin returned to the crease. But Harbhajan made up for the error by bowling from round the wicket, dismissed Hussey (13) by having him caught at first slip by Dravid. But Haddin did the damage by hitting four sixes and one four in his 63-ball knock of 46 runs and adding 77 runs off 81 balls with Hogg for the seventh wicket. R P Singh dismissed Haddin who tried to pull a short delivery but edged it high up in the air for Dhoni to take the catch. In the next over R P Singh ran out Hogg (38) by deflecting a straight drive from Lee onto the stumps at the non-strikers’ end. Agarkar then clean bowled Clark (2) in the next over and R P Singh took the last Australian wicket when Lee (7) pulled to deep mid-wicket for Sehwag to take the catch as Australia were bowled out for 213 runs in 48.1 overs. Lee won the Man of the Match award for his heroics with the ball and sending India out and Australia into the finals of the tournament that’ll be played against the West Indies on Sunday. Also View In-Depth Coverage: India-Australia-West Indies Tri-Series Team Page: India Team Page: Australia | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
|
|
|