Australia wins in a cliff hanger, as India lose first ODI by 4 runs
Vadodara:The first match of the seven-game ODI series
between India and Australia in Vadodara had a thrilling finish on Sunday, as the
Indian players failed to hold on their nerve and fell short by four runs. At one
point the match did seem like heading towards Australia’s grip after the Indian
star batsmen were unable to score freely on a batsman-friendly pitch, but the
late heroics by Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar made the last 10 overs of the
second innings added sparkle to the match. Earlier, opting to bat first Australia
scored a respectable score of 292 for eight wickets after a splendid batting performance
by captain Ricky Ponting (74 runs), Michael Hussey (73 runs), Tim Paine (50 runs)
and Cameron White (51 runs). With a target of 293 on the board, the Indian team
required a good start from its openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, but
both the batsmen struggled in front of Australian spearheads Brett Lee and Shane
Watson. Having a disciplined bowling and tight fielding, the Australians were
able to contain the openers for cheap and have a check on the middle order batsmen,
where except for Gautam Gambhir who scored 68 runs, Virat Kohli (30 runs), M.
S. Dhoni (34 runs), Suresh Raina (9runs) and Ravindra Jadeja (5 runs) found it
tough to score runs. The plot was out of consideration after reeling at 201-7,
however, lower order batsman Harbhajan (49 runs) and Praveen (40 runs not out)
added 84 runs from 57 balls for the eighth-wicket, to give the Vadodara spectators
something to cheer about. Harbhajan and Praveen were able to bring the target
down to nine runs from the last over from Peter Siddle, but the quick conceded
only four runs while clean bowling Harbhajan. At the end the Team India fell short
by four runs, courtesy a tight over by Siddle. The second ODI of the series will
be played at VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Wednesday.
