D(hon)isappointed India, Australia share points

This was India’s first One-day International for 2008. They (Shar)made three changes to their playing eleven – Yuvraj Singh, Praveen Kumar and Murali Kartik made way for One-day International debutant Manoj Tiwary, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant.

Australia made a couple of changes to the (Micha)eleven that last played the Indians – the Brads (Hodge and Hogg) made way for Hussey and One-day International debutant Ashley Noffke.

On winning the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s skipper, chose to bat. Rain reduced the match to a 45-overs-a-side match. Virender Sehwag, whose eight-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. Twenty balls into the match, Nathan Bracken broke the 12-run stand.

Tendulkar, whose 17-ball (Sach)innings included a boundary, scored 10. Nineteen balls later, he was dismissed hit wicket off the bowling of Brett Lee, who broke the 14-run stand.

The second Powerplay of India’s innings was between the 11^th and the 15^th over. They scored 50 off 10.4 overs (65 balls). Australia had conceded three extras at that point.

The third Powerplay of India’s innings was between the 16^th and the 18^th over. Sixteen overs into the match, the first drinks break was taken. India had scored 73 for the loss of a couple of wickets at that point. While Gautam Gambhir was batting on 29, Rohit Sharma was batting on 22.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 62 balls. While Gambhir’s contribution to the partnership was 24, Rohit’s contribution to it was 23. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was three.

Gambhir, whose 51-ball innings included four boundaries, eventually scored 39. Seventy-seven balls after Tendulkar’s dismissal, he was trapped leg before wicket by Mitchell Johnson, who broke the 65-run partnership.

Rohit, whose 43-ball innings included five boundaries, eventually scored 29. Ten balls later, he was caught by Adam Gilchrist. Lee broke the two-run stand. Tiwary, who faced 16 balls, scored just a couple. Eight balls later, Lee broke the one-run stand.

India scored 100 off 24.1 overs (149 balls). Australia had conceded eight extras at that point. Robin Uthappa, who faced 13 balls, scored five. Twenty-three balls later, he was caught by Michael Clarke. Noffke broke the eight-run stand.

Thirty overs into the match, the second drinks break was taken. India had scored 111 for the loss of half-a-dozen wickets at that point. While Dhoni obviously wasn’t in seventh heaven, Irfan Pathan was batting on five.

Thirty-six overs into the match, there was a rain interruption. India had scored 128 for the loss of half-a-dozen wickets at that point. While Dhoni was batting on 14, Pathan was batting on 11. They put on 45. The latter, whose 40-ball innings included a six, eventually scored 21. Seventy-seven balls later, Ricky Ponting, Australia’s skipper, ran him out.

India scored 150 off 39.3 overs (242 balls). Australia had conceded a dozen extras at that point. Dhoni, whose 61-ball innings included a boundary, scored 37. Thirty-one balls later, he was caught by Ponting. Lee broke the 42-run stand.

Harbhajan, whose 19-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 27. A couple of balls later, he was caught by Clarke. Lee broke the one-run stand. The last-wicket pair put on four. Sreesanth, who faced three balls, scored those runs. Three balls later, Hussey, Lee and Brad Haddin ran him out. Ishant, who faced a ball, scored a run. He was unbeaten.

Australia eventually conceded 13 extras. India were dismissed for 194 off 45 overs. Andrew Symonds, who bowled a wicketless over, conceded four. Clarke, who bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceded five. James Hopes, who bowled half-a-dozen wicketless overs, conceded 17.

Bracken, Noffke and Johnson (whose spell included a couple of maidens) bowled nine overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. They conceded 55, 46 and 33, respectively. Lee bowled nine overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 27, picking up five scalps.

Australia’s target was revised to 141 off 26 overs. Gilchrist, whose 17-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 14. Four overs into the chase, he was caught by Dhoni. The Kerala pacer broke the (Sreesan)thirty-three-run stand.

At that point, there was another rain interruption. Hopes was batting on 17 – the number of runs he eventually scored. His 12-ball innings included four boundaries. Four balls later, Ishant broke the five-run stand. Ponting, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t get off the mark. Four balls later, he was caught by Sehwag. Sreesanth broke the one-run stand.

Clarke, who faced eight balls, scored a couple. He was unbeaten, as was Symonds, who scored five. His six-ball innings included a boundary. Australia scored 50 off 7.1 overs. India had conceded 13 extras at that point. This was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Forty-four balls into the chase, Australia had scored 51 for the loss of three wickets when rain interrupted the match again. It ended without a result, and both the teams shared a couple of points apiece.

Pathan, who bowled two wicketless overs, conceded 23. Ishant, who bowled two overs, had a reason to be in seventh heaven – he picked up a wicket. Sreesanth, who bowled 3.2 overs, conceded 17. He picked up two scalps.