Related Links : ICC Champions Trophy 2006 : Scorecard
Aussies have made shortwork of a toothless Indian Challenge at Mohali to storm into the Semi-Finals of the Champions Trophy. On a pitch that was full of runs, the Indian batsmen fell about 50 runs short due to a magnificently controlled bowling from the World Champs. The bowling from India was in the hands of inexperienced blokes with the exception of Harbhajan Singh and the target of 250 was easily achieved by Australia which won the match by six wickets with 26 deliveries to spare.
Damien Martyn got his second consecutive Man of the Match as he once again came up with a fluent knock, another unbeaten half century. Martyn was also the top scorer of the day with 73 that had come in 104 balls with 8 fours. His stay in the middle had nothing to do with pressure as the platform for a comfortable victory was laid by an opening start of 61 followed by another 50-run partnership. Shane Watson and Skipper Ricky Ponting had also chipped in with attractive half-centuries. Adam Gilchrist was the only one who missed out in getting a big one after he had cut a Sreesanth delivery uppishly to point.
The bowling from India was very loose, giving away plenty of boundary scoring opportunities as the bowlers sprayed on both sides of the wicket. The only way India could win this match was to take wickets at regular intervals which never happened. The team had to look up to Harbhajan Singh as usual to produce his magic, which he failed to do so as the Australians were smart enough to keep him away. Harbhajan went wicketless in his 10 overs in which he conceded 49 runs which was a big blow for Rahul Dravid. Of all the bowlers, Shantakumaran Sreesanth looked the better as he bowled some beautiful deliveries by getting the ball to pitch on the seam. Sreesanth picked up two wickets that of Gilchrist and Ponting in his 8 overs. He was not originally part of the tournament but was a late replacement for the injured Ajit Agarkar.
This was a virtual Quarter-Final between these two teams and the side that won today’s game was going to meet New Zealand in the first Semi-Final at Mohali on the 1st. Rahul Dravid had won the toss and had done the right thing in batting first. A big total of 300 plus was required as the Aussies bat deep down the order with each batsman being a match winner on his own. Virender Sehwag started on the right note taking the bull by its horns. His flashing shots at the start of the innings saw Brett Lee taken out of the attack. But India’s bright start was given a halt by Glenn McGrath who once again got the better of Sachin Tendulkar who could make just 10.
Dinesh Mongia, the new no.3 looked solid in his stay but was not helping the game to move forward in the powerplay and with that India was starting to lose the momentum created by Sehwag. Mongia was out after making 18 and Dravid, the next man got a decent partnership with Sehwag. The Australian bowling was giving away nothing as the bowlers never bowled the boundary balls as they got settled into a good rhythm. India’s progress was hit back badly in the 29th over when Virender Sehwag was lbw to a surprise inswinger from the left armer Mitchell Johnson. Sehwag couldn’t carry on to make a hundred as he fell for 65. Although he got off to a flier, he was pegged down by some tight bowling to finish at facing 90 balls to get those 65 which had 9 hits to the fence.
Dravid helped himself to a fifty before falling in the crunch trying to step up the gas. Even in the slog overs, India couldn’t really get going thanks to consistent use of overpitched deliveries from the Aussies which kept the big shots from the lndians down. Dhoni somehow managed a 23-ball 28 which got India to close at 249 for 8. The last ten overs had produced just the 57 runs! Glenn McGrath was top notch with figures of 2 for 34 in his 10 while Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken had also picked up a couple of wickets going at around 5.50 runs per over in their 10 overs. Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson who provided the bowling depth bowled accurately well besides taking a wicket each.
In the end, India was outplayed in all the three departments by the far superior Australian team. The Aussies just coasted to victory and were never under any pressure to get the runs on this pitch.