Kohli helps India win against Australia
India’s youngsters, especially their batsmen, look like they are in a hurry to become the next big things in the cricketing world. From where India manages to unearth such prodigious talents with such regularity is a mystery.
India’s batting talent is there for everyone to see, and was on display in the fantastic game of cricket that took place between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 and Australia.
The match was played at Vishakapatnam, and was dominated by both sides’ batsmen as is to be expected in any match being played on Indian soil. With the first match being abandoned without a ball being bowled, due to rain, there was everything to play for
in the second match of the very short 3-match series.
On the day then, India won the toss and decided to field, probably to avoid the dew factor in the second innings, which does usually make bowling difficult in a day-night game almost anywhere in the Subcontinent. Dhoni’s decision to bowl first appeared to
be a master stroke, when Nehra had both openers Shaun Marsh and wicketkeeper Tim Paine removed within 8 overs. They were 8 difficult overs that saw the usually free-scoring Australians struggle to 16-2.
With the two starting seamers Nehra and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Praveen-Kumar-c82600 keeping it tight from the word go. The two early wickets, brought together the experienced duo of Clarke and Hussey, with the innings in a very precarious position. The two went about doing some serious
rebuilding work which was the need of the hour, and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 slowly but surely started getting back into the match.
The partnership had taken Australia to 160, before Hussey was trapped in front by off-spinner Ashwin in the 37th over. The wicket brought Cameroon White to the crease, and he and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 continued the good work at a good rate, bringing up the partnership’s
fifty in 52 balls, before going truly berserk in the final overs.
The two scored an unbelievable 84 runs in the final 5 overs. White led the way hitting 6 sixes and six fours, treating every Indian bowler, especially Praveen and Vinay Kumar with disdain. He finished with a whirlwind 89 off 49 balls, Clarke ended up on
111 not out off 139 balls, a much calmer but as important or perhaps even more important an innings than White’s.
Australia then must have felt quite confident at the break about their chances, having posted a pretty stiff total of 290. That feeling of theirs would have heightened when India too struggled at the start, losing two wickets for 35 runs in 8.2 overs, with
Mckay bagging the scalps of both the openers Dhawan and Vijay.
The brace of wickets, left Kohli and Yuvraj India’s numbers 3 and 4 with similar kind of work to do as Clarke and Hussey had done for Australia earlier in the day. The pair did so in a remarkably calm manner given the ever-climbing asking rate, and the pressure
of a big chase.
They did start playing their shots, as was required later in the innings. The partnership had taken them to 172 when Yuvraj got out in the 34th over still leaving work to be done. Raina did his best to ease the pressure on Kohli taking James Hopes
for 17 runs in the 38th over. Kohli, who was suffering from severe cramps and batting with a runner, brought up his hundred in the 42nd over. He then had the audacity to hit Mckay for two fours and a six in the next over, which some might
call doing the needful. The match was all but won when he got out in the 44th over for a brilliant 118, with India requiring only 34 runs.
There might have been some nervous jitters going around in the Indian dressing room when captain Dhoni got out in the same over for a duck, but Raina’s fine knock of 71 not out saw to it that India did not falter at the last hurdle.
They eventually got home quite comfortably with 7 balls and 5 wickets to spare. Raina and man-of-the match Kohli, announced to the World in no uncertain terms that Indian cricket’s future was indeed in capable young hands.
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