Friday, February 03, 2012

Young Indian burning fire buries the Aussie hatchet

Jadeja’s all-round performance powers India to a comfortable eight wicket victory.

India, chasing a mediocre total of 132, started off on a calm note for a change, Sehwag and Gambhir played off the Quick Start Overs scoring 42 runs without losing their wickets. Sehwag departed in his typical fashion, bringing in the man in form Virat Kohli to the crease. This is where the Aussies lost the plot as Kohli and Gambhir digged out runs from every nook and corner possible with some attacking shots as well as with clever singles and doubles. They did everything possible to thwart Bailey’s constant bowling changes.

Gambhir got to his 7th T20I fifty and did not lose his wicket till the end. When Kohli got out, surprisingly, the captain inserted himself ahead of Suresh Raina. All the four top order batsmen put up double figures.

Gambhir, for his unbeaten half-century, earned himself the Batting Momentum of 75. Brad Hogg, the left-arm chinaman, grabbed the Bowling Efficiency of 73. Dhoni and Gambhir did face some jitters at the end of the innings when it came down to scoring a run off three balls after  three runs were needed off two overs. In the Extreme Performance Overs, they picked up 21 runs for no loss.

Earlier, Australia started off on an average note as they lost the big-hitting David Warner early. Shaun Marsh, who is facing the biggest slump of his career, departed without disturbing the scorers. The Quick Start Overs fetched 42 runs for 2 wickets. David Hussey, the experienced campaigner in this format of the game, began to take the game to the Indians but departed off Jadeja. Aaron Finch, who replaced Travis Birt in this match, played some sparkling shots before he departed, achieving a Batting Momentum of 71.

The Australian middle-order showed its fragile nature as the wickets kept on tumbling at regular intervals. Ravindra Jadeja, the young athlete, affected three run outs and picked up a wicket, summing up his day’s work as phenomenal.

Matthew Wade, the star of the match the other night, again showed a contrasting display of cricket, as last time, he scored a breath-taking 72 off 43 balls, this time he went about calmly, composing a patient innings of 32 off 29 balls. Praveen Kumar and Vinay Kumar did well with some assistance from the pitch.

The ball was swinging both ways early in the innings, which prompted the skipper to romp in the medium-pacer Virat Kohli to bowl rather than the preferred offie, Ashwin. Praveen Kumar for his two wickets and 21 runs off 3 overs, earned the Bowling Efficiency of 100. The tail did not wag enough for Australia as the Extreme Performance Overs yielded them only 25 runs and a staggering five wickets. Australia ended up two balls before 20 overs at 131.

Click here for the Scorecard

India finished the game with 154 points, leading the home side by a comfortable margin of 9 points. Jadeja was named the Man of the Match for his stupendous efforts.

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Spectacular Wade sinks Indian ship

A splendid knock of 72 off 43 deliveries from Matthew Wade powered Australia to a thumping 31-run victory over India in the first T20I at Sydney.

Indian skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to field, but it was Australia who started off on a bright note as the opening pair of David Warner and Matthew Wade added a quick-fire 38 from 3.4 overs before David Warner, who played a brisk innings of 25 off 14 balls, departed off Vinay Kumar.

The Australians managed to score a decent 55 runs for the loss of one wicket in the Quick Start Overs. Wade then carried forward the  momentum and added 41 runs for the second wicket with Travis Birt before the latter departed in the 10th over off Ashwin.

Wade then brought up his maiden half-century off 34 deliveries and pairing with David Hussey, blasted 35 runs off combined 13th and 14th over. The duo added 56 runs for the third wicket before Wade was finally cleaned up for a sublime 72. 

At one stage the home side were cruising at 132/2 from 15 overs but India hit back well after the rain-break in the Extreme Performance Overs, giving away just 39 runs and picking up two wickets, thereby restricting the home side to 171 from 20 overs with some disciplined bowling. David Hussey chipped in with a useful 42 off 30 deliveries.

Vinay Kumar was the pick of the bowlers for India as he gave away just 28 runs off his four overs and picked up the important wicket of Warner. He achieved the Bowling Efficiency of 66, while Matthew Wade achieved the Batting Momentum of 149. 

Chasing 172, India got off to a bad start losing Virender Sehwag in the first over. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli then steadied the ship with a 41-run partnership but Gambhir departed in the last over of the Quick Start Overs and India were reduced to 49/2.

With 123 runs required from 14 overs, the Indians fell apart as they lost their next four wickets for 28 runs, being reduced to 81/6 in the 14th over. Skipper Dhoni led the fightback with some blistering power-hitting in the final stages, adding 59 unbeaten runs from 6.3 overs with Ravichandran Ashwin, but 86 needed off the last 6 overs was a bit too much for the pair as the home side beat the visitors comfortably to take a 1-0 lead in the two match T20I series.

Dhoni remained unbeaten on 48 off 43 deliveries, gaining a Batting Momentum of 73. David Hussey with two wickets and just four runs from two overs earned  a whopping Bowling Efficiency of 351.

Have a look at the scorecard

Australia finished the game with 62 points on the Index, leading India by a comfortable margin of 16. Matthew Wade was named the Man of the Match for a stupendous innings and he fetched an Overall Castrol Index of 56. But his teammate David Hussey topped the Index with 95 points for his all-round performance. 

Now, these two sides will collide in the second T20I match on the 3rd of February at the MCG.