Taylor cuts Oz down to size

Australia and West Indies fought against each other in the one of the most tense encounters of the Champions Trophy ever, which the Windies eventually won by 10 runs. Ricky Ponting8217;s team that came marching into India and got immediately labelled as the front-runner for the trophy, were in for a rude shock, giving way to the biggest upset in the series so far.

The Brabourne seemed to have sprung back to life. After it was quickly tagged as a 8220;sub-standard wicket8217;8217; for being slow and uneven during the first two matches, it showed signs of recovering back to 8216;normal8217; on Wednesday. The ball came on to the bat much better than what had been the case earlier. The bounce remained a bit uneven and, at times, slow, but not to the extent that had left the Proteas and the Kiwis fuming on Monday evening.

The fact that the West Indies8217; 234 remained the highest total ever scored at this venue and the 137-run stand between Brian Lara and Runako Morton, the highest partnership for any wicket, it could be safely said that a 8220;good one-day wicket8221; had been rolled on for these teams. If there was any doubt left, Adam Gilchrist and Michael Clarke8217;s 101-run partnership for the fifth wicket cleared it.

Morton 90 and Lara8217;s 71 batting ignited the day8217;s proceedings after the West Indies were down to 63/4. The duo took almost six runs an over off Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee in their stipulated overs, making the Aussie attack look almost ordinary towards the end.

Morton, who remained a dead duck for the West Indies in the last four one-dayers, batted excellently, given his recent form, record and attitude. He remained a never-ending headache for the Australians, smashing seven fours and a six to help his side reach 234.

Morton8217;s inspiration seemed to have come from his skipper Lara, at the other end, who looked in sublime touch. The trademark drives and the pulls were back in place to the horror of the Australians, against whom he has collected more runs than any other team in international cricket.

In reply, the Aussies rode on Gilchrist8217;s assault. Coming back after a well-deserved break, the wicket-keeper-batsman kept Australia8217;s hopes alive after Bradshaw and Taylor had done the initial damage. Gilchrist missed his century by eight runs but until then 8212;with Clarke playing the supporting role 8212; kept pursuing the asking run-rate of almost six per over. Ramnaresh Sarwan, the West Indies vice-captain, marshalled his attack as Lara stayed in the pavilion, nursing a back trouble that occurred while batting.

In the end, Bravo and Taylor, who claimed the first hat-trick for the West Indies, clinched it for their team, with the wickets of Clarke and Hussey in consecutive overs. Taylor also trapped Lee in that over before completing the hat-trick with the wicket of Brad Hogg on the first ball of his next over to join an elite band of ODI bowlers. Incidentally, this was the 27th hat-trick in one-dayers.

Coming back to what lies ahead for India, the last eight matches that have been played between between the West Indies and Australia, both won four each. This could be a trivial detail in the ongoing tournament, given the fact that both teams are still left with two more matches in the main round. But these simple statistics also suggest that India will now have to face8212;and win against8212;two equally strong opponents in their remaining matches, if they hope to make it to the semis.

Australia will be keen to bounce back after the shock and the West Indies, now on a high, will try to continue in the same vein.