BRIDGETOWN: India's grandiose plans of trapping Australia in a web of deceit backfired equally sensationally here on a bright Friday afternoon.
Their gambit of going into the opening Super Eights match with just two speedsters, despite Kensington Oval's penchant for bounce and pace, was always laced with great risk; but they were surely being over-ambitious, if not downright cheeky, if they thought their part-time spinners could double as a fifth bowler too.
Not surprisingly, they suffered a thumping 49-run defeat while chasing 186; they also found a huge dent in their designs on a semifinal slot. Rohit Sharma, who was added as a contingency to any batting malfunction, slammed a counter-attacking 79 (46 balls, 4x4, 6x6); but it was always going to be only a face-saver, rather than a match-saver.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni showed that he follows the norm too, when he chose to bowl on winning the toss. But took his first chance by tossing the ball to Harbhajan Singh: the crafty off-spinner bowled a deceptive maiden over too to raise hopes of a successful ploy.
The mayhem, however, was just round the corner. Strike bowler Ashish Nehra was greeted by David Warner (54) with a boundary; Shane Watson (72), then, added to the insult, smashing him for a six. The opening pair hoisted 104 runs in just 10 overs to suggest a true and complete rout.
They maintained the same punishing rate till the 15th over, galloping away to 145 for 2; but the last five overs yielded only 39 runs to give India some respite, and even some hope.
Earlier, Harbhajan conceded only three runs in his second over too; it promptly forced Dhoni to make his next gamble: he summoned Ravindra Jadeja to replace Nehra at the other end. A double-spin attack by the fourth over itself on a pace paradise; if nothing, it exposed India's hand completely. The first three deliveries went off peacefully; but the next three sailed into the stands for spectacular sixes. The aerial assault had begun.
Dhoni persisted with spin from one end; from the other, he furiously rotated his meagre resources, hoping to regain some sanity, somewhere. But the Aussies had smelled blood; the bowlers continued to bowl short and they responded by swatting them like flies.
Jadeja was brought back in the 10th over, in a last-ditch attempt; he was promptly handed the same treatment. This time, Warner took up the mantle, belting him for three sixes. Yuvraj Singh had to fill in with his own left-arm spin for the remaining two overs. India needed a handsome start to make the chase: Murali Vijay waded through Dirk Nannes' opening over, which came at him at over 90 miles per hour. Suddenly, as the ball zipped past clueless bats, it looked the story was unfolding somewhere else. Gautam Gambhir drove his first delivery and tickled another to pick up two fours.
Nannes, however, delivered two quick blows in the next over to trigger the collapse; next over, Suresh Raina too fell, attempting another vain pull. By the fifth over, India had been reduced to 23 for four. Rohit, who came as high as No. 4, was joined by Dhoni: this was the last hope for a fightback.
But Dhoni too didn't last long, succumbing to the lone spinner. It was just a question of time after that. Rohit played many glorious shots but the tailenders, weighed down by the daunting target, kept attacking and tumbling.
In the end, Rohit remained unconquered on 79. India now play West Indies on Sunday in a must-win game for survival.
Squads:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Murali Vijay, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma.
Australia: Michael Clarke (C), Brad Haddin (w), David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Dirk Nannes, Steven Smith, Shaun Tait, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White.
TOI
Their gambit of going into the opening Super Eights match with just two speedsters, despite Kensington Oval's penchant for bounce and pace, was always laced with great risk; but they were surely being over-ambitious, if not downright cheeky, if they thought their part-time spinners could double as a fifth bowler too.
Not surprisingly, they suffered a thumping 49-run defeat while chasing 186; they also found a huge dent in their designs on a semifinal slot. Rohit Sharma, who was added as a contingency to any batting malfunction, slammed a counter-attacking 79 (46 balls, 4x4, 6x6); but it was always going to be only a face-saver, rather than a match-saver.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni showed that he follows the norm too, when he chose to bowl on winning the toss. But took his first chance by tossing the ball to Harbhajan Singh: the crafty off-spinner bowled a deceptive maiden over too to raise hopes of a successful ploy.
The mayhem, however, was just round the corner. Strike bowler Ashish Nehra was greeted by David Warner (54) with a boundary; Shane Watson (72), then, added to the insult, smashing him for a six. The opening pair hoisted 104 runs in just 10 overs to suggest a true and complete rout.
They maintained the same punishing rate till the 15th over, galloping away to 145 for 2; but the last five overs yielded only 39 runs to give India some respite, and even some hope.
Earlier, Harbhajan conceded only three runs in his second over too; it promptly forced Dhoni to make his next gamble: he summoned Ravindra Jadeja to replace Nehra at the other end. A double-spin attack by the fourth over itself on a pace paradise; if nothing, it exposed India's hand completely. The first three deliveries went off peacefully; but the next three sailed into the stands for spectacular sixes. The aerial assault had begun.
Dhoni persisted with spin from one end; from the other, he furiously rotated his meagre resources, hoping to regain some sanity, somewhere. But the Aussies had smelled blood; the bowlers continued to bowl short and they responded by swatting them like flies.
Jadeja was brought back in the 10th over, in a last-ditch attempt; he was promptly handed the same treatment. This time, Warner took up the mantle, belting him for three sixes. Yuvraj Singh had to fill in with his own left-arm spin for the remaining two overs. India needed a handsome start to make the chase: Murali Vijay waded through Dirk Nannes' opening over, which came at him at over 90 miles per hour. Suddenly, as the ball zipped past clueless bats, it looked the story was unfolding somewhere else. Gautam Gambhir drove his first delivery and tickled another to pick up two fours.
Nannes, however, delivered two quick blows in the next over to trigger the collapse; next over, Suresh Raina too fell, attempting another vain pull. By the fifth over, India had been reduced to 23 for four. Rohit, who came as high as No. 4, was joined by Dhoni: this was the last hope for a fightback.
But Dhoni too didn't last long, succumbing to the lone spinner. It was just a question of time after that. Rohit played many glorious shots but the tailenders, weighed down by the daunting target, kept attacking and tumbling.
In the end, Rohit remained unconquered on 79. India now play West Indies on Sunday in a must-win game for survival.
Squads:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Murali Vijay, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma.
Australia: Michael Clarke (C), Brad Haddin (w), David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Dirk Nannes, Steven Smith, Shaun Tait, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White.
TOI
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