Aussie chase cut short, lead clipped

That this win came after 11 matches against this champion side, after well over three years 8212; the last win was in Brisbane in January 2004 8212; added the glow on MS Dhoni8217;s boys, who got the first breathing space in a series they still trail 1-2, heading for Vadodara in three days8217; time.

Matthew Hayden, who bulldozed to a run-a-ball 92, and Andrew Symonds, who lit up with a knock of 75 later down the order, dropped their heads in utter disappointment. But seldom have bowlers with final analyses of 10-1-66-2 and 9-0-68-0 walked out with so much pride to accept genuine appreciation. RP Singh and Zaheer Khan did just that today.

Both got smashed around with contempt and disdain by Hayden, with the new ball, erred in keeping a basic line and length, and had little to boast in their middle overs, even against Symonds. Then they returned for their final fling, and gave that finish the team needed then and there.

Needing 38 off the last five overs in pursuit of 291, RP Singh frustrated the Australians with three crucial overs conceding just 4, 6 and 6, taking the vital wicket of Symonds 8212; who threatened to run away with the match yet again after his third consecutive fifty-plus knock in this series. Then, with a run-out, the match went to the wire, slightly tilted towards the Indians. In between, Murali Kartik had squeezed in two good overs, the last one costing a mere two runs.

Zaheer Khan took the final over with Australia needing 16 runs with three wickets in hand. India8217;s Twenty20 last-over hero Joginder Sharma was a tense man watching from the stands as Zaheer got smashed down the ground first ball. Twelve required off the last five, when Zaheer got his bearings right; three single-run deliveries and two dot balls later, he was getting mobbed by teammates.

With the seam bowlers joining in, India8217;s victory was pinned on a total team effort 8212; skipper Dhoni came up with a stupendous knock of 50 from 35 balls, got two crucial stumpings of Ricky Ponting who was looking dangerous within his 29 and Brad Hodge, besides wearing an out-of-the-box thinking cap with tactical changes in batting line-ups and frequent one over changes.

The batsmen had all put their hand up 8212; Sachin Tendulkar made a sedate 79; Sourav Ganguly contributed 41 in that opening partnership of 91 with Tendulkar; Yuvraj Singh, promoted to number three, made a neat 39 and Uthappa, coming down at number six, made a blistering 30 off 18 balls. And the Australians slackened with the ball and donated an astonishing 31 wides to the Indian total.

Towards the evening, Irfan Pathan bowled a tidy spell down the middle with a wicket to bolster his figures; the two spinners Harbhajan Singh and Kartik bowling well to first control the rampage, and then providing the timely breakthrough.

Making a return to the team, Kartik stuck to his job well, getting a bit of turn with the right loop and changing dimensions with the arm ball. The left-arm spinner got Hayden to trigger an Indian revival as the burly Australian opener tried to heave it along with turn over mid-wicket but the ball stopped on him a bit and went straight to Zaheer Khan in the deep instead.

Hayden had got Australia off to a flier, brutal at anything pitched up on the off, and lethal with those flicks over mid-wicket. He raced on his fifty in just 39 balls with six fours and two sixes and Australia were running almost 7.5 runs per over after the first ten.

Harbhajan stemmed the rot, getting the flight when required. Ponting admits that the turning point of the match was Hayden and Symonds8217; dismissal. They failed to finish, and India plugged in there, walking home happy.