A tale of two teams - a great win for India, a sad ending for Australia
The Australian tour of India in September-October 2010 showed the world that when individuals work as a team, the results are always fruitful. India in the absence of its senior players had a successful One Day Internationals (ODI) series. Even though they
were lucky enough when God opened his heavenly gates of rain but if the second ODI is anything to show the world about the Indian preparation for the world cup, then it would not be unfair to state that the top teams of the World Cup would definitely include
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750.
After the first ODI being completely washed away without a bowl being bowled both the teams were looking for an early lead in the 2nd ODI. Even though Australian captain Michael Clarke’s brilliant century seemed to give Australia a lead but the 2nd ODI at
Visakhapatnam saw the young guns of the Indian Team take control of the game in the absence of senior players. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Virat-Kohli-c95424 and Suresh Raina drove India to an inspiring win taking the lead 1-0 in the three match series. Yuvraj Singh bounced back in his form
with a half century aptly supporting Kohli during the innings.
Rains lashing the Goan city of Margao late night on Saturday 23rd October 2010 saw a 50-50 chance for the third and last ODI to take place. The series finale was abandoned on Sunday morning 24th October 2010 even though the skies were
clear but the heavy rain had clogged the ground and the stadium had an unsubstantial drainage system. Umpires inspected the ground and the outfield was termed “not suitable” for play. The series came to a rather disappointing end for the people of Margao who
were looking forward to an exciting game. The Australians were disappointed as well, as their last chance for redemption was taken away from them.
India not only performed well in the only ODI played but they performed beyond expectations in the Test series against the Aussies. The first Test match at Mohali saw India win by 1 wicket. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/VVS-Laxman-c2772 came out as the hero of a thrilling contest. This was
the match which saw Sachin Tendulkar pass 1000 Test runs in a calendar year for the sixth time in his prolific career.
The second Test match at Bangalore saw India win by 7 wickets. The match proved the credentials of another http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahul-c83321 Dravid in the making. The debutante Cheteshwar Pujara who in a very confident manner smashed 72 is without a doubt the discovery of the season
for India.
Australians lost all the Tests in a series for the first time in nearly 30 years. Also, this was for the first time in 24 years that India has won a One-Day International series against Australia. Last time India beat http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 was at home in 1986-87.
The Kangaroos have a lot to worry about as they need to work extra hard with the Ashes right at the corner followed by World Cup. Practice comes in the form of their home series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758. The Aussies took some “positives from the tour of India in
the form of the 20 year old Mitchell Starc who made a promising debut. The other debutante 24 year old John Hastings also had a fairly decent run in the tour.
Australia needs to up their game. It is almost surprising as the Aussies were dropped to an all-time low fifth position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test teams ranking. The batting and bowling fell short coupled with some decisions gone wrong
in the Mohali and Bangalore Tests. But they still have exceptional players possessing a great fighting spirit.
India will now face New Zealand- a weaker side compared to India. However, India is resting their senior players but they are most certainly hungry for more success.
Australia has been a great cricketing nation but the Indians are known for being the most passionate about the game with great expectations from their side. India has always been a great cricketing nation but with the success against the Kangaroos, the confidence
of the players has certainly sky rocketed.
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