In the end, the better team won. Australia had struggled on a sluggish Adelaide Oval surface in their last two matches, but on a Brisbane pitch with more pace and bounce they showed that they have the firepower to make the best-of-three-finals, owing to capable batsmen and very good pace bowlers. For India it was their worst batting effort of the CB Series as a troubling trend of troubles against pace was shown up.
The hallmark of the home team's 4-0 whitewash of India in the preceding Test series was the ability for members of the team to step up and lead. After two defeats, that trait was evident in the Australian batting effort and then in the field, which was of particular importance after an ordinary showing during the last two defeats. Australia had been off-colour against Sri Lanka in the last match, but came back strongly to beat India and take five points to move top of the table.
Following the exit of David Warner for a brisk 43 and Ricky Ponting's 26-ball 7, and later Matthew Wade's soft dismissal for 45, Australia could have easily slowed to crawl, but the assurance with which Michael Hussey and Peter Forrest fought back was stirring. The confidence their century partnership gave the innings allowed Daniel Christian to wallop the ball all over the Gabba, thereby lifting Australia to a match-winning total.
Michael Hussey's was a perfect lesson in grabbing the momentum from the opposition.
03:00 PM, Apr 25, 2008
Karachi: In a first, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday awarded contracts to three umpires in the country. According to the report, the scheme is limited and only three of the International Cricket Council (ICC) panel umpires from Pakistan - Zameer Haider, Ahsan Raza and Shozab Raza - were offered the contracts. Zakir Khan, PCB director for domestic cricket operation, was quoted as saying in the local media on...
01:35 PM, Apr 24, 2008
Mumbai: Pune Warriors captain Yuvraj Singh has blamed his team's poor bowling, especially in the death overs, for his side's three-wicket loss to Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League here on Sunday. IPL debutants Pune Warriors succumbed to their first defeat in the tournament after Virender Sehwag-led Daredevils chased down an imposing 187 for five with four balls to spare at the DY Patil Staduim. David Warner (46), Virender...
02:02 PM, Jan 16, 2008
