India put their heart and soul into snatching a most (in)famous defeat from deep within the jaws of victory, handing Australia a 25-run win on a gift-wrapped platter. Given the start India got off to and the platform laid by their top order, anything short of an easy win was highly unlikely. That they not only lost, but did so in such spectacular fashion was testament to the gross ineptitude India displayed on the day. Rohit Sharma laid the platform with a brief but vital 25-ball 41 to get India off to a solid start. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli took over after that, and all but ensured India romped home to an effortless win by putting on 212 for the second wicket. Or so they thought. In a twist that would have made James Hadley Chase proud, India lost 5 for 17 and then 9 for 46, going from 277 for 1 to 323 all out. Full Cricket Scorecard: India vs Australia 2015-16, 4th ODI at Canberra
India’s start could not have been any different from their ending. Rohit gave India the start they needed, hitting two fours and three sixes en route to his thrilling 41. He looked set for plenty more before gloving a nothing delivery from Kane Richardson down the leg side. Rohit and Dhawan put on 65 in just eight overs to lay the platform for the chase. Kohli then came in and played the kind of innings that he is renowned for. Kohli ensured that the runs kept coming at a decent clip, but Dhawan was excellent at the other end as well. The duo played well off each, pushing each other to take quick ones and twos, and also finding the boundaries at regular intervals. For as long as they were in the middle it was almost a no-contest. Full Cricket Blog: India vs Australia 2015-16, 4th ODI at Canberra
Then Dhawan cut John Hastings to George Bailey. India were now 277 for 2. MS Dhoni walked in at No. 4 for India. He walked off three balls later, having edged Hastings to Matthew Wade for a duck. India 277 for 3. In walked Gurkeerat Singh. One run later, Kohli hit Kane Richardson to Steven Smith for 106. India 278 for 4. Ravindra Jadeja now walked out to bat. Gurkeerat hit a boundary and was out slogging Nathan Lyon off the next ball. 286 for 5. The injured Ajinkya Rahane made his way in at No. 7. He could only edge to Smith off Richardson for 2. 294 for 6. Rishi Dhawan hit a boundary and was out slogging, much like Gurkeerat. Now 308 for 7. Bhuvneshwar Kumar offered catching practice to slip off Richardson, giving him his fifth wicket. India 311 for 8. Umesh Yadav slogged for 11 balls, connecting three times; he was dropped off one ball and holed out off the other. India 315 for 9. Ishant Sharma edged Mitchell Marsh to Wade for a duck. India 323 all out, lost by 25 runs. READ: India vs Australia 2015-16, 4th ODI at Canberra: One umpire walks off, the other wears a helmet!
Earlier, Aaron Finch and David Warner’s 187-run opening partnership and Steven Smith’s late blitz helped Australia pile on an imposing 348 for 8 against India in the fourth One-Day International (ODI) at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Wednesday. Finch scored his seventh ODI ton to make 107, while Warner hammered a 92-ball 93 and Smith scored a 29-ball 51 as India’s bowlers continued to take a pounding at the hands of Australia’s batsmen in what has almost become a default template in the series. Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were ineffective with the new ball and conceded 40 in the first five overs before Ishant Sharma pegged things back with a few tight overs. However, Ishant and Umesh then came back brilliantly at the death to limit Australia to a chaseable total. READ: Virat Kohli smashes 84-ball century during India vs Australia 4th ODI at Canberra; becomes fastest and youngest to 25 ODI tons
Rishi Dhawan and Gurkeerat Singh too kept things quiet for a while, but one decent over was usually followed by an expensive one which negated any pressure on the batsmen whatsoever. It was a trend that continued throughout the 50 overs. Both Finch and Warner were able to find the big hits almost at will, so much so that Warner actually played an unbelievable reverse-late-cut at one point. Finch faced a few dot balls but also managed to hit as many as nine fours and two sixes, while Warner hit 12 fours and one six.
Australia might actually have got even more than the 348 they finally scored, but for the decision to send in Mitchell Marsh at No. 3 ahead of Smith. Marsh, who did not get to bat much in the series before this match, took his time to get going. At one stage he was on 4 off 19 balls before picking up his scoring rate. Even so, he eventually ended up with a sub-par (given the platform) 33 off 42 balls with three boundaries. However, Smith made up for lack of quick runs by coming in and smacking the ball around right from the start of his innings. He got to his 50 off 27 balls, but was out two balls later for 51.
In the midst of all the mayhem, there were a few injuries as well. Bhuvneshwar Kumar got hit on his hand while trying to take a return catch, but he managed to continue bowling after that. Ajinkya Rahane hurt his hand while fielding and had to walk off as well. But the most unfortunate injury was not to a player at all; umpire Richard Kettleborough got hit flush on his shin off a Finch straight drive and walked off the field after bravely continuing for a few overs. He was replaced as on-field umpire by former Australian cricketer-turned-umpire Paul Wilson. Meanwhile, the other umpire John Ward per-empted any injury and took field wearing a helmet.
Ishant and Umesh managed to pull things back toward the end and managed to finally sneak in the yorkers, a facet that was grossly missing in the first three matches. Ishant was especially impressive, bowling well despite conceding one 15-run over. Umesh too came back well after a wayward start to finish with 3 for 67. Glenn Maxwell continued from where he left off at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), and ended up playing some fantastic shots in the face of good bowling from Ishant and Umesh. For once the bowlers were not at fault, but Maxwell’s de Villiers-esque brilliance was too good to resist. He was dismissed off the final ball of the innings thanks to a phenomenal catch by Manish Pandey at square leg.
Brief scores:
Australia 348 for 8 in 50 overs (David Warner 93, Aaron Finch 107, Steven Smith 51, Glenn Maxwell 41; Ishant Sharma 4 for 77, Umesh Yadav 3 for 67) beat India 323 in 49.2 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 126, Virat Kohli 106; Kane Richardson 5 for 68) by 25 runs.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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