India took full toll of the injuries that the Australian squad seem to be suffering from and thrashed them by 99 runs in the second ODI of the seven match series at Nagpur. With this win, the series is now tied at one game apiece and the action will move to Delhi where the two sides will play their third game.
The Aussies went into the game knowing very well that they were on the back foot even before the game had begun. They had already lost Brett Lee due to an ankle injury and James Hopes due to the issues with his hamstring. Mitchell Johnson had also not been fit enough, but somehow managed to take field in the game. Without two of their leading players, the Aussies decided that they could not afford to bat first and allow the weak bowling attack to be taken advantage of in the second half. Especially with the dew having to play a very strong factor in the second half under the lights.
However, the Indians batted them out of the game thanks to a gem from M.S.Dhoni and his two century run stands with Suresh Raina and Gautam Gambhir. For starters, it was Virender Sehwag who gave them a start to remember – scoring 40 off 31 – before falling to Johnson. Sachin Tendulkar had got out very early, and Yuvraj Singh looked good enough but could not convert his innings into some thing really big.
However, at this time, Dhoni – who had ruled out promoting himself up the order – came into bat and took the attack to the opposition. He smashed a classic century and in partnership with Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina, propelled the total to an almost unmatched 354 in the fifty overs.
Even if there was to be dew on the outfield, such a total would have been difficult to chase, and that is exactly what happened. The Aussies lost three quick wickets, including that of Ricky Ponting to Praveen Kumar – who enjoyed the swing and seam movement under the lights – and that pegged them back and they could never recover back. Michael Hussey did get going with a half century but without too much support from the top order, the Aussies collapsed to a 99-run defeat.
Tim Paine, the wicket-keeper was also injured in the match, and that means that he will also go back to Australia and will be replaced by Graham Manou.
You may also be interested in...
- IPL3 Schedule: Indian Premier League 3 Schedule – March – April 2010
- Aussies Struggle With Death Overs As Lee, Hopes Ruled Out Of Delhi
- Two New Franchises For IPL To Be Identified Before March 12
- Hopes, Lee, Johnson Out of Second Game At Nagpur
- Jaffer’s Mumbai Takes On Sehwag’s Rest of India in Irani Trophy
