India vs. Australia – 2nd Innings – 20 to 40 overs Report
India were in control of the match at 102 runs for the loss of their two opening batsmen as they looked to send the defending world champions Australia crashing out of the competition.
The Indian batting pair of Virat Kohli and Gautham Gambir were at the crease as Shaun Tait and Jason Krejza looked to send them back to the pavilion. Their attempts in doing so however were not as fruitful as the bowlers hoped. Ricky Pointing brought in
another bowling change as David Hussey and Michael Clarke were given bowling duties, with the former making the breakthrough in the 29th over. Clarke took the catch at midwicket as a wild swing by Kohli ended up costing him his wicket.
The balance had swung in the Australian’s favor albeit only temporarily. Yuvraj Singh who can be a destructive force on his day made his way to face the rejuvenated Australian bowlers, and got straight to work sending a full toss to the boundary for four.
Gambir who was playing some solid cricket had his half century in the 33rd over. The crowd cheered just as hard as they did with Sachin Tendulkar’s half century and had their hearts in their throats when Gambir narrowly survived a run out.
His luck did run out in the next over when he was run out for 50 runs after confusion gripped him and his batting partner Yuvraj Singh. Mahindra Singh Dhoni the Indian captain now shared the responsibility with Yuvraj Singh as they continued to lead their
side closer towards beating the Australians.
Dhoni’s stay did not last as long as the captain would have hoped as Lee and Clarke combined to send him on the long walk back to the stands. Clarke took a brilliant catch as Lee’s pace caused all sorts of problems for the Indian batsmen. The Indians were
now at 187 runs at the loss of five wickets with the tail order exposed with Suresh Raina replacing Dhoni.
Yuvraj Singh however seemed to be in devastating form as he managed to score 14 runs off the in form Brett Lee in the 40th over.
The match was perfectly poised and could go either way with the Indian’s at 207 runs at the loss of 5 wickets. The required run rate was steadily climbing but even at 5.40 runs per over it was still within the Indian’s reach.