Australia’s Cricket Team Wins DLF Cup over India, West Indies
The story was over for India as of Friday, a melancholy finish after the series opened with Sachin Tendulkar’s storybook comeback of an unbeaten 141. The Australian team edged past the Indians with 18 runs, to take its place in the series final on Sunday.
Australia elected to bat first, and its runs were kept down respectably by another fine showing from the Indian bowlers. Opener Matthew Hayden scored 46 runs and Brad Haddin claimed 46; despite a middle-order collapse that included three run outs, the Aussies garnered an average total of 213 in 48.1 overs. 213 was a reasonable target, but the Indian batsmen failed to match it.
The Indians’ downfall was their batting; one could also say that the Australian’s triumph was their bowling, but India won on Wednesday against the West Indies more or less in spite of similarly mediocre batting, rather than because of it. It does seem, however, that both sides of that statement are true, as Australian fast bowler Brett Lee took five wickets, making him the star of the match.
Meanwhile, India lost its top four wickets for a scant 50 runs. Lee eliminated Tendulkar with only 4 and Virender Sehwag with 10. Tendulkar was declared caught off, but when replays showed the ‘catch’ coming off of Tendulkar’s shoulder, umpire Mark Benson took back his decision. Observers noted that the batsman did not seem the same after he was called back, and the confusion may have addled him. Suresh Raina, on the other hand, was notable for a classy handling of the sharp bowling, though his knock only led to a modest 26 runs.
Surprise hero Dinesh Mongia had the highest score of the match at an unbeaten 63, and a sixth wicket partnership with Mahendra Singh Dhoni made India’s hope surge before Dhoni was out for 23. The rest of the lineup fell through, giving India only 195 runs in 43.5 overs.
But it must be said that India fared considerably better against Australia than the West Indies, who were plowed under by a margin of 127 runs at the series final on Sunday. The Windies’ bowlers, most notably Ian Bradshaw, gave their batters a fair target of 241 runs to chase, but the team ultimately collapsed with a mere 113 runs. Brent Lee claimed four wickets, once again proving himself a formidable foe. No doubt: India fell to reigning world champions.
And in the meantime, the debate has raged on about what is to be done to improve the Indian team. Skipper Rahul Dravid said that the loss on Friday was “a hard one to stomach.” “Today was a great opportunity,” he continued. “We lost it with the bat. There is no doubt about it. We didn’t string enough partnerships together.”But Dravid’s captaincy has drawn critcism from former all-rounder Ravi Shastri, who says that Dravid does not assert himself enough against coach Greg Chapell in decisions affecting the team. But Dravid denies assertions that the batting lineup strategy, which placed Dravid, Sehwag, and others in anomolous order, is the cause. “You need to bat well,” he reiterated. “I don’t think we are losing games because of poor strategy. If you are asked to chase 213 on a pretty good wicket, you need batsmen to score and get good partnerships.”