Australia thrash India to set up trans-Tasman clash

It was always going to be a phenomenally difficult task for the second Australia-India semi-final to live up to the expectations of the first semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa. The game, unfortunately, petered out into a non-contest almost midway of the drab Indian chase of 329 runs.

The talisman of Indian cricket MS Dhoni fought at his tenacious best but with the rapidly peaking run-rate the captain ran out of breath as Glenn Maxwell downed the stumps with a razor sharp throw from mid-wicket.

The opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma were involved in a scratchy 76-run partnership—both fortuitous as Shane Watson and Brad Haddin fluffed difficult chances behind the stumps.

Dhawan perished for 34 and soon after the pivot of the Indian batting order Virat Kohli — the master of the chase — fell to a sharp Mitchell Johnson bouncer, leaving the majority of SCG and one Anushka Sharma shell-shocked.

Rohit, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja left Dhoni stranded with the tail and the last rites were administered soon after. The defending champions who had arrived in Australia nearly five months ago are leaving the antipodean shores winless against their hosts across both Test and ODI formats.

The Australians were pumped up for this one from the outset. David Warner’s demise did little to deter the pair of Aaron Finch and Steven Smith whose feats this Australian summer must have made Sir Don Bradman proud.

Fresh from guiding a troublesome chase against Pakistan at Adelaide, Smith stamped his class at his Sydney home turf with an astonishingly assured 93 ball 105.


The otherwise swashbuckling Finch was restrained and allowed Smith to make full use of his top form which has seen him smash centuries as easily as shelling peas in both red and white ball cricket. Since his maiden ODI hundred at Sharjah last October, the 25-year old has taken his tally to four in a space of 19 matches.

After Smith was dismissed for 105 the Indian bowlers upped the ante towards the backend of the Australian innings.

Glenn Maxwell, Finch, Michael Clarke, James Faulkner and Shane Watson all made small but in the larger context meaningful contributions for the team yet Dhoni must have fancied hopes of restricting the hosts under 300 before Johnson — 27 off 9 balls — unleashed an uncultured assault on the bowlers.

Other than a majestic six, Johnson played a series of half-convincing and streaky shots that despite their ungainly nature took the four-time champions to a monumental total.

The semi-final was the stage the Indian bowlers crumbled after producing some wonderful performances in the group games.

Umesh Yadav remained penetrative with a four wicket haul but leaked 72 runs in 9 overs. Mohammed Shami who had collected no less than 17 scalps ahead of the clash remained wicket-less in his 10 overs, Mohit Sharma the able third wheel in the bowling alliance conceded 75 in his 10 over quota.

The spin twins Ashwin and Jadeja reeled in the prospects of a run glut in the middle overs but failed to provide Dhoni the strikes he desperately needed to peg back the hosts.

India’s exit means that a new ODI champion would be crowned at the Melbourne Cricket Ground this Sunday.

The two co-hosts (Australia and New Zealand) have clinically brushed aside the minnows, the challengers, the contenders and now the defending champions to set-up a mouth watering final at arguably the most intimidating cricket venue of all. After a spellbinding month and a half long spectacle we are in for a truly momentous game at Melbourne.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2015.