Cricket - DLF Cup Tri-Series 2006 - Final ODI (Australia Vs. West Indies)

The final match of the DLF Cup between Australia and West Indies was held on Sunday September 24, 2006 at the Kinkara Oval Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Both teams fielded their best 11 for the match. Michael Clarke and Shane Watson were included in the Australian side. The West Indians made no changes. The toss was won by Ricky Ponting who opted to bat. Out came the opening pair, Watson and Katich to get the days play underway.

The start was tentative, as there was some lateral movement off the wicket early on. Katich was extremely slow to get off while Watson made a steady start. Using the field restrictions to his advantage, Watson effectively used the lofted drive over extra cover to score some much needed runs. However his heroics were short lived as he edged a Bradshaw delivery straight into the hands of 1st slip Chris Gayle. Katich was joined by skipper, Ponting. His stay at the crease for limited to a short period having been judged L.B.W. off a Jerome Taylor delivery that kept low. By the 14th over the score was 37-2.

Martyn joined Katich at the crease and they managed to put on 43 runs. Katich was the next to fall. He found the going tough during his 66 ball vigil at the crease, in which he managed only 25 runs. He did however, hit one glorious six out of the park over extra cover. Martyn in the process was knocking the ball around trying to up the tempo. He played the bowling based on its merit, giving short pitched bowling outside off stump the rightful treatment.

With the score on 80-3, Symonds joined Martyn in the middle. He was sent ahead of Clarke with the intention of upping the run rate. Symonds however found the slow nature of the wicket rather tough to deal with and bided his time. In the process meanwhile, Martyn marched on to his half century before mistiming a lofted off drive into the hands of Morton. By that time, Symonds had found his feet and marked his arrival with 2 huge sixes and 2 boundaries. Upon reaching his 50, he too fell, mistiming a quicker delivery by Sarwan into the hands of the fielder at the square leg fence Runako Morton.

With the score on 173-5, Hussey joined Michael Clarke and they continued to pinch the singles and doubles. Within 5 overs, 200 was on the board. Clarke, however, was foxed by Sarwan and caught by Gayle for 23. Haddin joined Hussey as they prepared to mount one final assault. And, assault they did with 2 sixes and 2 boundaries damaging the bowling figures of Dwayne Bravo in particular. The final score was 240-6. Credit must be given to Ian Bradshaw for an impressive 2-30 in his allocated 10 overs. Also noteworthy is the West Indian fielding, putting in their best effort to save as many runs as possible.

Much was expected of the West Indian run chase, with Gayle, Lara and Chanderpaul in good touch. However, it was not to be as Brett Lee struck 1st ball, a vicious in-swinging yorker that smashed into Gayle’s toe. It didn’t take the umpire too long to judge him LBW on this occasion. Chanderpaul looked good for his 12 caressing 2 fours before mistiming an incoming delivery of Nathan Bracken into the hands of Katich. Bracken struck again, trapping Morton LBW for naught. Skipper Lara fell not long after caught behind off the bowling a fired up Nathan Bracken. By the 16th over the Windies were in disarray at 32-4.

Ramnaresh Sarwan was the only the only man who held up to the onslaught. Before long Bravo and Hinds also fell and the men from the Caribbean were in dire states at 56-6. Dwayne Smith joined Sarwan and put on 50 runs for the 7th wicket. However, it was just too little too late. Sarwan fell for 36 with the score on 106 and not long after the team crumbled to 113 all out, a rather dismal display. The Aussies won by 127 runs dominating in all fields.

The man of the match award went to Brett Lee who put up another scintillating display of fast bowling finishing with 4 wickets in the match and 12 for the series. He was rightfully given the man of the series trophy and cheque for his consistency over the 3 matches he was involved in.

The Australians ended their visit to Malaysia with yet another trophy in their bag, reaffirming their position as world champions.

Rahul Deepak Waikar
25th Sept., 2006

Crickt DLF-Cup Tri-Series 2006 (6th ODI India Vs. Australia))

Cricket: DLF Cup Triangular Series 2006: Summary of 6th ODI (India vs Australia) played on 22nd Sept. 2006 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Top guns who have jointly scored over 75 ODI centuries under their names and world’s supposed to be most experienced Indian batsmen likes of Sachin, Sehwag, Dravid, Kaif and Dhoni once again could not hold nerves to surpass moderate total of 213 runs against Australia in the 6th ODI held on 22nd Sept., 2006 and lost by 18 runs. It is a shear lack of mental strength, stamina and planning, in critical matches like this one, has deprived Indian team from winning major international tournaments.

Indian bowlers succeeded the third time in this triangular series to restrict opponents to a reasonable score. The Aussies were all out for 213 in 49th over by combined efforts of bowling and fielding by Indians. Haddin and Hogg contributed to very crucial 77 runs partnership for the 7th wicket otherwise the Aussies could have been bowled out for less than 200 runs. Anyway, the bowlers had done their job and now it was over to the batsmen.

Sehwag and Sachin had cautiously taken India in double figures and Sachin got out for mistimed shot to a rising delivery from Brett Lee (earlier in a dramatic fashion Sachin was given out caught behind on the bowling of aging McGrath and was recalled by umpire probably after seeing reaction from Sachin and action reply on big screen which clearly showed that there was no contact of ball with bat or gloves. As per cricket rules umpire promptly corrected his mistake and Indian fans were delighted. The Australian captain Ricky Ponting was seen to be visibly upset and arguing with umpire. In the spirit of the game of cricket, he should have set a better example by recalling Sachin rather than arguing with the umpire) and the Aussies were jubiliant. Sehwag became the next victim of the spirited Brett Lee, when a fast in swinging delivery ripped through the gap of bat and pad. He was out almost in a similar way against WI in the previous match. The score was 20 for 2 for India, what a poor start again, 2 top guns failed to fire.

With Kaif and Dravid on the crease, a recovery looked to be in the process. Kaif scored 2 boundaries. Dravid seemed to be biding his time in an attempt to get back the magical touch that he has been well known for over these years. Alas, the partnership was short-lived with Kaif falling for 21, thanks to superb reflex catch by Stuart Clark of his own bowling. India in a spot of bother with the score 47-3. To make matters worse, Dravid fell in few minutes after Kaif, judged LBW off Clark’s bowling and put India in deep trouble at 50-4, as the renowned players of the formidable Indian batting lineup once again shattered hopes of crores of Indian fans. Credit must be given to the Australian bowlers, namely Clark, Lee and McGrath for applying the pressure on the Indians and making the runs hard to come by, and sure enough, they were more than rewarded with four prize wickets.

In came Mongia and Raina. The situation called for calm and controlled approach to batting. The required rate was approximately 4.5 an over and all that was required to stroke the ball around for singles and belt the odd bad ball to the boundary. Initially, Mongia and Raina were approaching their innings in exactly that manner. Raina played some classy strokes, including a cover drive that pierced the extra cover gap and raced away to the fence and a six over mid wicket that was effortlessly executed through timing alone. Mongia meanwhile was biding his time picking up the singles and rotating strike. Ponting recognized the danger that this pair posed and made a masterful change by introducing Brad Hogg into the attack. On a slow low turning track, Hogg’s subtle variations such as chinaman, the flipper as well the conventional leg break proved to be quite a handful for Raina. Before long, his frustration at not being able to put Hogg away became evident and he was bowled attempting a cut shot to the incoming chinaman. This was the last thing India needed as this pair was cruising along rather aptly. It was an immature way of getting out, as Raina failed to alter his temperament to suit the situation. He has been getting out in 20s and 30s quite often and not showing patience and caliber to convert some of them into big score especially in such circumstances. In came, to the joy of the Kuala Lumpur crowd as well Indian fans back home, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

With the score on 96-5, Mongia started to assume more responsibility and in turn wielded some magnificent shots. Some of the shots included a punch through cover of the back foot, a Brad Hogg delivery swept from outside off stump to the fine leg boundary and a straight drive that beat the despairing dive of McGrath at mid off. And to the crowd’s joy, it was not long before Dhoni joined the fun smashing a huge six straight down the ground. At 150-5, it looked like India would march on to victory with ease, especially with Dhoni and Mongia getting into the act. Then yet another timely change by the skipper Ponting, and on came a prolific wicket taking bowler, Brett Lee. Instantaneously, he struck, luring Dhoni to play a cut shot to an incoming rising delivery straight into the hands of the man at the sweeper boundary. Controversially, a look at the action replay showed that Lee had over stepped. Whatever the case, Dhoni failed to, like Raina, curb his instincts for the cause of the team.

The Indian tail was exposed once again as they still needed another 55 runs to win the match. It was time for Mongia to take charge of the situation by taking as much strike as possible. Sachin also made similar error of judgment against the Windies on 20th Sept., 2006. As and when Mongia was the facing batsman, the Australians opened up the field and gifted Mongia an easy single, a bait which the Indians gleefully accepted. The tail end batsmen were exposed and one by one they fell striking bowlers Hogg and Lee. Agarkar was plumb L.B.W. to a Brad Hogg flipper that was directed to the middle of stumps. Not long after, Harbhajan Singh fell, judged caught behind off the bowling of Andrew Symonds. Television replays with the aid of the snicko-meter revealed that there was no contact between bat and ball. However, this would not have come about if Mongia had opted to turn down the easy single. Before long, the tide turned against the Indians as the score was slumped to186-8. Mongia seemed clueless to the Aussies plan and looked indifferent to the collapse that was ongoing in front of him, for he continued to give the strike to R.P. Singh and Munaf Patel. And if the stars of the Indian lineup were no match for the pace and swing of Brett Lee, then need we say anything about tail end batsmen? To the huge disappointment of millions of Indian cricket fans, the Indian team was all out for 195 in 43.5 overs and fell short by 18 runs.

The Indian run chase was a rather disappointing display, for it showed a lack of determination from the top order (perhaps Mongia excluded) as well as a lack of intelligence from Raina, Dhoni, Mongia and the rest of the tail for being outsmarted by the Aussies. And due credit must be given to the Australians, for the captain who made the right bowling changes, for the bowlers, who stuck to the task and executed the plan and for the team as a whole for not giving up even when defeat looked ominous. As expected, the man of the match was deservedly conferred upon Brett Lee for a superb display of fast bowling. His figures were an awesome 8.5 overs, 5 wickets for 38 runs. The Indians have been sent packing and rightly so, for their performance has been lackluster and feeble in front of a consistent West Indian side and a determined Australian team.

Final match for the DLF cup will be played on 24th Sept., 2006 between West Indies and Australia in Kuala Lumpur. Let us hope for an interesting and entertaining match, obviously the team that plays better be crowned with DLF cup.

With the champion’s trophy around the corner, Indians need to review their performance and quickly learn from their blunders and errors.

Rahul Deepak Waikar
Deepak Laxmanrao Waikar
Sept. 23, 2006

DLF Cup Tri-Series Sept. 2006 (5th ODI - India Vs. WI)

DLF-Cup Cricket Tri-series Sept. 2006 (summary of 5th ODI India Vs. WI held on 20th Sept. in Kaula Lumpur, Malaysia):

The West Indians (WI), already assured seat in finals, decided to play 5th ODI against India as a pratice match. WI would have preferred winning toss and have a batting practice for their lower order batsmen. Dravid won the toss and elected to bat as chase against the Aussies proved to be nightmerish. It is understandable that when world’s one of the most dangerous opening batting pairs, Sachin and Sahwag, are not available, Dravid could replace one of them. Many cricket commentators and experts from India & abroad have repeatedly expressed grave concern over almost unending rotational experiments by Indian Coach Greg Chappel with tacit support from management. However, he seems to be unyielding and sticking to his guns. So the trend that started against the Aussies in 3rd ODI continued and medium fast bowler Smith ripped through defences of Dravid, Sehwag (coming at no. 3), Raina and clueless Yuvaraj Singh putting India once again into pathetic and humiliating 69 for 4. Dhoni joined Sachin and initially it seemed that partnership is taking shape. Reckless and unnecessary driving instict by Dhoni against Colleymore saw him clean bowled and put India in deep trouble – 86 for 5. He surely needs hair cut to learn about patience.

After the fall of Agarkar’s wicket, Bhajji gave reasonable support to Sachin and we were hoping that India will reach over 200 runs to salvage the situation as well as give some chance for our bolwers to fight back. Sachin played his patient inning to score 65 runs. He should have taken more strike to score runs as well as shield tail enders. He was too obliging to the plan of WI to take a single of first delivery of almost every new over and giving them chance to bowl upto 5 deliveries an over to his partners. Little master should learn from the Aussies (especially Hussey, Michahel Clarke) on this aspect. So as planned by Lara, wickets were falling at the other end regularly and India was all out for 162 in just 39.3 overs.

WI changed batting order for giving batting practice for some of their out of form batsmen as they have nothing to loose from this match (even loss does not affect their entry into final). Chris Gayle came to bat at no. 5 and Lara at No. 8. After the fall of Chanderpaul and Sarwan, Indian bolwers bowled with high spirit and won the match by 16 runs. That will help boost their confidence for the next match against the Assusies on 22nd Sept.

The prayers of the Indian players and supporters have been answered for ODI against WI and India has pulled victory in hindi filmy style.

Can the Indian’s do it one more time against well rested, tested mighty Australians on 22nd Sept. 2006?

For that to happen, whether they like it or not, Indian cricket team, coach and manager will have to take some tough decisions. Playing smart as per the condition of the pitch, environment and situation would be one of them.

Well, that is what the Indian players and supporters are once again hoping and praying for.

If you have more ideas/suggestions, please put them in comment section of this blog or e-mail to me.

Deepak Waikar (dlwaikar@yahoo.com)
21st Sept. 2006

Cricket Tri-series Sept. 2006 (4th ODI)

Cricket Tri-series Sept. 2006 (4th ODI summary held on 18th Sept. in Kaula Lumpur, Malaysia):

West Indians held their nerves to win the 4th ODI against the Aussies by 3 wickets and almost 3 overs to spare. The Aussies were confident after their earlier win againsts Windies made as many as 4 changes and even rested Skipper Ricky Ponting. Disciplined bowling by Bradshaw and support from the fielders holding crucial catches reduced the Aussies to 104 for 5 by the 26th Over. Haddin joined Hussey and both of them decided to settle down first. As it has happened over & over again in many matches to many teams, the batting team goes onto the defensive due to fall of quick wickets. The fielding team captain, Lara, was busy in getting over the part-time bowlers instead of taking the risk to try for one or two more wickets using main bowlers. It is not an easy choice for a fielding captain as if it fails, the part-time bowlers will be exposed in death overs. So next 15 overs went through with both sides playing a safe game. That allowed Hussey and Haddin to settle down and later mount an attack for a record 6th wicket partnership of over 150 runs, and to put what Aussies thought to be a comfortable & defendable total of 272 in 50 overs. Haddin hit mighty sixes, and before the Windies could realise what was happening, he completed his half century in style. Hussey played wonderfully and was rewarded with a first ODI century. He played captain’s knock in the absence of regular skipper Ponting.

The Aussies were lucky to get Chanderpaul for naught. As Tony Graig has rightly mentioned in commentary, benefit of doubt should have gone in batsman's favour. When Sarwan was out, the Windies were 44 for 2, and it looked like the Aussies would, once again, manage to defend total. However Gayle, Lara and Bravo had different plans in their minds and exceuted it in their own way. Gayle destroyed the confidence of disciplined bowler Stuart Clarke and really went after him. On the other side, the elegant Lara was timing the ball fluently. Before the Aussies could come to the terms, West Indians were cruising smoothly and won by 3 wickets. Spectators had a feast to watch the fanstatic performances of batting (Hussey, Haddin, Gayle and Lara), bowling (Bradshaw, Bravo, Brett Lee and Andrew Symonds) and fielders (M. Clarke).

The West Indians are through to the finals. Indian Captain Rahul Dravid, players and coach Greg Chappel will have to do their home work. It is very likely that the West Indians could be giving a rest to some of their key players for the next ODI against the Indians which is on 20th Sept. That could open up an oportunity for India. If India wins the next ODI against the Windies, then the acid test will be against Australia on 22nd Sept.

The Aussies are in position and the favourite to go to finals, and the Indians are now the underdogs.

Can the Indian’s pull out last minute surprise victories in a Bollywood style? Well, that is what the Indian players and supporters are again hoping and praying for.

Will the prayers of the Indian supporters be answered? We have to wait for the next ODIs on 20th and 22nd Sept. 2006.

Deepak Waikar (dlwaikar@yahoo.com)

Cricket Tri-series Sept. 2006 (3 ODI summary)

Mighty Aussies won handsomely their first ODI match against Windies. Tri-series (Australia, West Indies and India) is in progress in Kaula Lumpur, Malaysia during the month of Sept. 2006. At around 20th Over when Shivanarayan Chaderpaul and Chris Gayle were batting, it looked as if Windies will sail through easily. It was delightful sight to watch Chaderpaul batting in very aggressive style. He missed well deserved century by rising delivery. Chris Gayle threw wicket at a crucial time and after that it was all the way Aussies inspite of the absence of Brett Lee, Symonds and Mike Hussey.

It was also a wonderful sight to watch come back of Little Master Sachin Tendulkar in 2nd ODI against Windies. Pitch was supporting bowlers with uneven bounce and hurt little finger of little master. Well, there was one dropped catch when he was on 5. There after that it was all way to his fantastic 40th ODI century. What a come back !!!! All cricketers should learn from his indefatigible spirit and that too in adverse conditions. India's 309 in 50 overs were insufficient in rain stopped game as match had to be curtailed to 20 overs and West Indians pulverised weak and swaying bowling of India to won on D-L rule. Well it was hoped that if match could have proceeded to 50 overs, India could have a chance to fight back like Aussies. Rain was forecasted by weather report and Indian inning was interrupted due to passing showers/rain. So on hindsight, Indian Captain Rahul Dravid and coach Greg Chappel could have planned differently. As rain was forecast and West Indian batsmen were hammering our bowlers, common sense could dictate postponement of 2nd and 3rd power plays or at least one of them to check runs. Indian Captain mechanically and to some extent robot like, went on taking both the power plays and paid heavy price.

In 3rd ODI, Aussies had a fantastic start against Indians, however, due to tight bolwing by spinners (Bhajji and Sehwag) and wickets falling at regualr interval, India managed to restrict Aussies to 244 all outs. Indians were on the verge of humilating defeat at 34 for 5 when rain came to their rescue to share points with Aussies. Probably due to the size of the ground, there was hardly any room for the 3rd run. However, talented, seasoned, experienced and one of the most devestating batting pairs, Sachin and Sahwag thought otherwise, and became victim of excellent combination of pick-up & relay throw from the deep.

Now eyes are on next ODIs. Indian players and coach will have to not only work hard but also think laterally depending on situations if they are interested to reach finals.

Let us hope they will rise to the challenge.

with best wishes
Deepak Waikar (dlwaikar@yahoo.com)