The end of an era of domination
The quarterfinals between India and Australia marked the end of complete domination of Australia in world cup cricket. The defending champs crash out of the mega tournament.
Pointing did the Aussies a great favor by winning the toss and batting first.The pitch was slow and assisted the spinners from ball 1 and it would only get worse for batting as the day went by.What fallowed after the toss was a visual treat for any cricket lover. Irrespective of which team you support,you just put your hands together for a champion like inn gs from a champion who did it time and again for Australia. The hall mark of his inn gs was the way he crafted and pushed the ball into the gaps on a slow track where the ball was just not coming on to the bat. D.Hussy provided the icing on the cake with a fantastic finish. 260 on that track was a match winning target in my view.
On a slow and sluggish track chasing 260 under lights was never going to be easy against the Australian team.
So it was imperative for Indians to get off to a steady start . The Indian top order had to ensure that they do not get the fast bowlers into the game by giving their wickets away.The strength of the Australian attack was their fast men, who could bowl at 150 clicks and get wickets by sheer pace in the air.Sachin and Sehwag got of to a perfect start before the later was bounced out by Watson Every Indian batsmen got off to starts and got out. There was no one big 100 by anyone,but instead everyone contributed.In all fairness 260 was a winning score on that track if they had a certain S.K.Warne on that track.The spin department of Australia could never take advantage of a surface that helped them.Kreja dropped the ball either short or bowled full tosses which leaked the pressure.It also meant that Ricky was never in a position to attack the batsmen to get them out. But it was only self destruction of Indian middle order (kholi getting out to a full toss,Gautam getting run out and Dhoni) that got them back into the game.At one stage it looked as if they would run away with the game but Yuvraj the man of the moment for India and Raina had other plans. I think the 2 overs between Lee and Tait which yielded 25 runs was the turning point of the run chase. It inverted pressure back on the bowling and the chase gathered momentum Raina symbolizes the change in Indian cricket. Batsmen of the past would have defended under pressure,but Raina walked out and counter attacked which gave the momentum for the finish. Yuvraj was the man for the crisis for India again. The way he handled pressure was one the factors which helped India chase the runs down.
I believe that the real difference between the 2 teams was their spin attack. Indian spinners got the ball to grip the surface and made the batsmen drive the ball. They tossed the ball up and got purchase from the track.Not to forget Zaheer who got two wickets to slow the Aussie onslaught. The aussies however found ways to leak runs. The spinners never looked threatening, and Ricky had to rely on his fast men to get him wickets on a slow track. "Form is temporary and the class is permanent".This statement was proved right again where two champion batsmen who were woefully out of form stood up for their respective nations( Ricky and Yuvraj). This match reminded me so much of cricket in the late 90's where 260 was a respectable score and the team chasing had to bat well to get it.Finally it is the team which held their nerve that won the match.
P.S It sets up what i call a mother of all encounters.Ind vs Pak.Can it get any better?
Pointing did the Aussies a great favor by winning the toss and batting first.The pitch was slow and assisted the spinners from ball 1 and it would only get worse for batting as the day went by.What fallowed after the toss was a visual treat for any cricket lover. Irrespective of which team you support,you just put your hands together for a champion like inn gs from a champion who did it time and again for Australia. The hall mark of his inn gs was the way he crafted and pushed the ball into the gaps on a slow track where the ball was just not coming on to the bat. D.Hussy provided the icing on the cake with a fantastic finish. 260 on that track was a match winning target in my view.
On a slow and sluggish track chasing 260 under lights was never going to be easy against the Australian team.
So it was imperative for Indians to get off to a steady start . The Indian top order had to ensure that they do not get the fast bowlers into the game by giving their wickets away.The strength of the Australian attack was their fast men, who could bowl at 150 clicks and get wickets by sheer pace in the air.Sachin and Sehwag got of to a perfect start before the later was bounced out by Watson Every Indian batsmen got off to starts and got out. There was no one big 100 by anyone,but instead everyone contributed.In all fairness 260 was a winning score on that track if they had a certain S.K.Warne on that track.The spin department of Australia could never take advantage of a surface that helped them.Kreja dropped the ball either short or bowled full tosses which leaked the pressure.It also meant that Ricky was never in a position to attack the batsmen to get them out. But it was only self destruction of Indian middle order (kholi getting out to a full toss,Gautam getting run out and Dhoni) that got them back into the game.At one stage it looked as if they would run away with the game but Yuvraj the man of the moment for India and Raina had other plans. I think the 2 overs between Lee and Tait which yielded 25 runs was the turning point of the run chase. It inverted pressure back on the bowling and the chase gathered momentum Raina symbolizes the change in Indian cricket. Batsmen of the past would have defended under pressure,but Raina walked out and counter attacked which gave the momentum for the finish. Yuvraj was the man for the crisis for India again. The way he handled pressure was one the factors which helped India chase the runs down.
I believe that the real difference between the 2 teams was their spin attack. Indian spinners got the ball to grip the surface and made the batsmen drive the ball. They tossed the ball up and got purchase from the track.Not to forget Zaheer who got two wickets to slow the Aussie onslaught. The aussies however found ways to leak runs. The spinners never looked threatening, and Ricky had to rely on his fast men to get him wickets on a slow track. "Form is temporary and the class is permanent".This statement was proved right again where two champion batsmen who were woefully out of form stood up for their respective nations( Ricky and Yuvraj). This match reminded me so much of cricket in the late 90's where 260 was a respectable score and the team chasing had to bat well to get it.Finally it is the team which held their nerve that won the match.
P.S It sets up what i call a mother of all encounters.Ind vs Pak.Can it get any better?
posted by Suryahindustani @ 21:57
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