India Vs Australia Twenty20 Video Highlights

Australia Innings


India Innings Short Highlights


India Innings Extended Highlights Part 1


India Innings Extended Highlights Part 2


India Innings Extended Highlights Part 3

India Vs Australia Twenty20 Match Report

Result: India won by 7 wickets
Toss: Australia
Man of The Match: Gautam Gambhir

Australia 166 for 5 ( 20 Overs)

Ricky Ponting 76 (53) Irfan Pathan 4-0-34-2
Michael Clarke 25 (15) Harbhajan Singh 4-0-17-1
Andrew Symonds 20 (18) RP Singh 4-0-39-1

India 167 for 3 ( 18.1 Overs)

Gautam Gambhir 63 (52) BW Hilfenhaus 4-0-28-1
Robin Uthappa 35 (26) Michale Clarke 2-0-14-1
Yuvraj Singh 31 (25) Bret Lee 3.1-0-35-1

The World Championship was no flash in the pan is what the Indians proved on Saturday with a comprehensive victory over Australia. And as the Australia captain admitted later they still had many a things to learn about this version of the game. A clinical performance by the Indians winning by 7 wickets with 11 balls to spare. Thats a lot in Twenty20

Australia won the toss and elected to bat and lost Gilchrist in the first over after he had stuck 3 fours . Ricky Ponting played a sensible innings as the other Aussie batsmen batted around him and Australia reached a respectable score of 166

Respectable it seemed until the Indians came out to bat.. Indians never looked in trouble as gautam Gambhir took off from where he had left in the Twenty20 final. Robin Uthappa hit some delightful strokes and Yuvraj Singh hit some empty blows as India strolled to the target

A nice way for India to end the series.

India Vs Australia 7th One Day International Video Highlights

Australia Innings


Murali Kartik Special


India Innings

India Vs Australia 7th One Day International - Match Report

Result: India won by 2 wickets
Toss Won By: Australia
Man Of The Match: Murali Kartik

Australia 193 all out (41.3 overs)

Ricky Ponting 57 (78) Murali Kartik 10-3-27-6
Mitchell Johnson 24 (31) RP Singh 8.3-1-59-2
James Hopes 22 (23) Zaheer Khan 9-1-23-2

India 195 for 8 (46 overs)

Robin Uthappa 47 (59) Mitchell Johnson 10-0-46-3
Zaheer Khan 31 (43) Nathan Brackan 10-3-30-2
Murali Kartik 21 (34) James Hopes 5-0-13-1

So finally its over. But what an exciting finish it was. A dead rubber it certainly didn't prove to be. Tensions, uncertainties were evident till the last run was scored. But the match belonged to one man. One man only and that was Murali Kartik.

He was stamped all over the match. An encore of the performance at the same ground against the same opposition 2 years ago. That was a test match and this a ODI. But the result the same. kartik running through the Aussie batting. The seamers didn't start of too well and it looked as if Australi woyul coast to a 275 score when suddenly Murali struck and the Aussies were blown away in no time at all. Wickets fell in succession and the Aussies had no time to recover and were bowled out for 193 in the 42nd over

193 - A target that looks easy. But like most small targets they look easy but are the most difficult ones to chase. Ganguly and Karthik fell for ducks and India were off to the worst of starts. Wickets kept on tumbling as the Aussie pacers bowled well and India were down to 64 for 6 with only Robin Uthappa left among the specialized batsmen. India were down and out and Aussies looked like coasting towards a easy victory. But Robin showed some common sense and stuck around with harbhajan singh to give a glimmer of hope to India. But Uthappa fell and it felt like all was lost.

But Zaheer Khan and Murali Kartik kept on ticking the runs not in a very convincing manner - but that did not matter. Zahher grew in confidence and then hut Bret Lee for a straight six. Some more anxious moments followed and India managed to sneak a victory- a consolation win to end a series whose result was decided long ago

India Vs Australia Sixth ODI Video Highlights

Australia Innings Part 1


Australia Innings Part 2



India Innings Part 1



India Innings Part 2


India Innings Part 3

India Vs Australia Sixth ODI - Match Report

Result: Australia won by 18 runs
Toss Won by: Australia
Man of The match: Andrew Symonds

Australia 317 for 8 (50 Overs)

Andrew Symonds 107 (88) Zaheer Khan 10-0-62-2
Adam Gilchrist 51 (47) Murali Karthik 9-1-37-1
Ricky Ponting 49 (44) Irfan Pathan 9-0-60-1

India 299 for 7 (50 Overs)

Saurav Ganguly 86 (111) Brad Hogg 10-0-49-4
Sachin Tendulkar 72 (72) Mitchell Johnson 9-1-39-2
Robin Uthappa 44 (28) James Hopes 4-0-30-1

So the Aussies win yet another series. I don't think the result would have surprised many people. The margin maybe yes. Maybe they expected India to put up a better fight in the series. Maybe they did not expect India to be all out for 148. Maybe they thought Twenty20 Was just a form of Cricket similar to One-day cricket with less overs. Maybe they thought India could use some of the recent success as a catapult to bigger things. But maybe they just forgot one tiny little thing - who the opposition was! The current World Champions, the current Champions trophy holders, the team which leads the One-Day and Test Rankings by a distance. And teh Aussies showed exactly why they hold all the titles they do. A 4-1 score with just one match to go in the series!

But Its not like India didn't have their chances. A couple of crucial chances were allowed to let go today and India payed for it. And paid for it very heavily. Symonds was put down by Sreesanth very very early and he was the difference between the two teams in the match. After Gilchrist who had found his touch back in the previous match along with Ponting had given a solid start to the innings, it was the one-man show of Symonds that just blew India away. Australia posting 317 and putting India right under pressure. Chasing 318 to stay in the series is no mean task. If at all India were going to get close, they would need a good start.

A good start was what they got with Sachin and Saurav playing steadily scoring 140 in 25 overs and India looked strong with a required run-rate of just above 7 with 10 wickets in hand. But just then Sachin fell as he could not drag his feet back into the crease as Gilchrist quickly removed the bails standing up to James Hopes. Even after that Pathan who came one-down took full use of the delayed power play taken by the Australian skipper and his run-a-ball 29 ensured that India were the favourites to win even as he got out with India requiring 129 off 17 overs. But after that India suddenly lost their way

Rahul Dravid's woeful form continued as he looked absolutely bewildered on the pitch. Yuvraj Singh didn't do too better either and that added to the pressure on the other vbatsmen as the required run-rate started zooming up. Uthappa tried with all his might and his 28 ball 44 just kept the Indian hopes alive. But in the end the score proved to be too much for them and India fell short by 18 runs. The match was effectively lost in the middle overs somewhere when Dravid and Yuvraj were batting.

The action shifts to Mumbai now for the final match of the series and also the lone Twenty20 match. All the talk of Indian team using the rotation policy has gone out of the window. Indian must be looking for a consolation win in the series. And the Aussies being the team they are will not be satisfied by just a series win but will work extra hard that they achieve a 5-1 result. So should be a hard-fought battle.. provided India show the fight for it...

India Vs Australia Fifth ODI - Video Highlights

India Innings:



Australia Innings:

India Vs Australia Fifth ODI - Match Report

Result: Australia won by 9 wickets
Toss Won By: India
Man of The Match: Mitchell Johnson

India 148 all out (39.4 Overs)

Sachin Tendulkar 47 (73) Mitchell Johnson 10-0-26-5
Zaheer Khan 28 (44) Bret Lee 9-0-42-2
Irfan Pathan 26 (63) Brad Hogg 9-1-28-1

Australia 149/1 (25.5 Overs)

Adam Gilchrist 79 (77) RP Singh 2-0-15-1
Ricky Ponting 39 (39) Harbhajan Singh 9-0-36-0
Mathew Hayden 29 (39) Irfan Pathan 2-0-11-0

Nothing much to write about... Australia won and very very comprehensively at that..

Nothing went right for India right from the start. Losing 2 wickets in the first over and never really recovering from that.. A target of 148 was never going to trouble the Aussies. It helped Adam Gilchrist get back in form. More ominous signs for India as they try to win the next two matches to level the series.

Its off to Nagpur now as India face a must-win situation yet again..

India Vs Australia Fourth ODI - Video Highlights

India innings Part 1


India Innings Part 2


Australia Innings



Australia Wickets

India Vs Australia Fourth ODI - Match Report

Result: India won by 8 runs
Toss won by: India
Man of the Match: Mahendra Singh Dhoni


India 291 for 4 (50 Overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 79 (119) James Hopes 9-0-43-2
MS Dhoni 50 (35) Nathan Bracken 10-0-78-1
Saurav Ganguly 41 (59) Bret Lee 7-1-26-0


Australia 283 for 7 (50 Overs)
Mathew Hayden 92 (92) Harbhajan Singh 10-0-43-2
Andrew Symonds 75 (84) RP Singh 10-1-66-2
Ricky ponting 29 (33) Irfan Pathan 10-0-46-1

Its been a late I know.. But as it happens.. Murphy seems to be trying too hard to prove his laws to me.. Workload had to increase precisely at this moment.. Hence the delay... This report will nence be a bit short. please bear with me..

But boy, What a match! India were completely out of it until the last few overs when Symonds was going strong. About 8-10 overs to go and it looked like a lost cause for India with Australia needing just over run a ball with plenty of wickets in hand. But as they say cricket is a funny game and it again demonstrated why it isn't really over till the last bowl is bowled..

Almost all of my predictions in the match preview came true.. India won the toss.. put on a decent score and the Indian spinners played a vital role in the victory. Murali Karthik justified his selection by bowling some excellent overs right when it was needed... India got a slow but much needed steady start and later Dhoni, Uthappa and others built on on to tale India to a fighting score.

Australia started well and started off in a attacking fashion. Hayden once gain coming good. Symonds played a crucial knock and held his nerves even as the Indian spinners bowled wonderfully giving little away. He batted beautifully and led Australia to a position where they needed 24 off 20 balls with 5 wickets in hand. Then the tide turned for India. RP Singh bowled Symonds with a straight delivery as Symonds tried to make room for himself. Then Brad Hodge was run out of the next delivery and the pressure was back on the Aussies. Murali Karthik bowled a excellent over to follow RP Singh and India finished off well to win by 8 runs

India should be delighted because there is a huge difference between a 2-1 score and 3-0 score. Its off to Vadodra now, where the Indians would be looking forward to leveling the series. And what a series we could have if India manage to pull the next one off.. An important match its going to be one way or the other..

India Vs Australia Fourth ODI - Match Preview

Indians find themselves in a position they are quite accustomed to as they take on Australia in the fourth ODI at Sector 16 Ground, Chandigarh. A position of being down early in the series and then having to play catch-up is something that even Indian fans are pretty used to now. Sometimes India do manage to pull it off like the recent England Series or even the Twenty20 World Cup. Sometimes they don't - like the World Cup held earlier this year. So what will it be this time around! To expect India winning all 4 remaining games to win the series would be something which would not cross the mind of the most optimist Indian fan right now. But as they say one-game-at-the-time.

The crucial factor should be the toss tomorrow. Batting first should help India in breaking the pattern that has formed in the series. All the matches in the series have been similar so far - Australia batting first and scoring 300 and putting India under pressure. The best chance India currently has is definitely batting first without any pressure and scoring a reasonable score and hoping that the spinners come good in the afternoon. Murali Karthik is certain to play tomorrow. So he along with Harbhajan Singh should be crucial in India putting the brakes on the Aussies. Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Sreesanth have been left out of the Indian team for tomorrow's match. That means Ganguly is certain to open the Innings with Tendulkar which should help India get over the poor starts they have had in the series so far. RP Singh should also get a game and India must be hoping he continues his amazing form shown in The Twenty20 Cup.

Indian batsmen have to put up a better show if they are to give Aussies a fight. Another trouble for India has been the bowling in the slog overs. Hopefully they can sort that out too. As far as Australia goes, there is a possibility that Nathan Bracken may come-back into the team. That should add some variety to the bowling, not that they are struggling without him. The pitch at Chandigarh is supposed to be a batsman's paradise. A international match is being played here nearly after 15 years and Sachin Tendulkar is the only player from the current squad to have played a game on this ground! That comes as no surprise obviously..

As you would expect when the Aussies are in town, there has been a lot of talk going off the field with each team taking pot-shots at each other. Lets hope the cricket lives up to all the talk and we have a exciting contest. Its time India stood up and gave Aussies a taste of their own medicine - in terms of the brand of cricket played, not in terms of the sledging. So lets hope that day is tomorrow.

India Vs Australia Third ODI Video Highlights

Indian Innings Highlights - Watch out for Yuvraj Singh




Indian Wickets tumble




Australian Wickets:

India Vs Australia Third ODI - Match Report

Result: Australia won by 47 runs
Toss Won By: Australia
Man of The Match: Andrew Symonds

Australia 290/7 (50 Overs)

Andrew Symonds 89 (83) Irfan Pathan 10-0-57-2
Mathew Hayden 60 (70) Zaheer Khan 10-1-61-2
Michael Clarke 59 (71) Sreesanth 9-0-58-2

India 243 all out (47.3 overs)

Yuvraj Singh 121 (115) Bret Lee 8-1-37-3
Sachin Tendulkar 43 (71) Brad Hogg 9-0-46-3
MS Dhoni 33 (37) Michel Johnson 10-0-51-2

The Aussies are 2-0 up with 4 matches to go in the series. So is a backlash really on the cards! A complete sweep similar to what the West Indies did to India after the 83 World Cup Win. If you ask me - no, not really! Don't write off Team India yet. More on that later. Coming back to the match once again a convincing win by the Australian team. This one was not as drab as the second match at Kochi, although many would have guessed what the result was going to be when India slumped to 13 for 3 chasing 290 to win. One man stopped it from being a dull encounter - Yuvraj Singh.

Yuvraj Singh was a lone warrior from India and one couldn't help but wonder with a little more support from a few batsman India could have actually pulled it off. They were not that far away. India started of poorly with their run chase losing Gambhir, Uthappa and Dravid for absolutely nothing. Bret Lee and Michel Johnson were once again highly impressive with their opening spells bowling straight not giving any freebies for the batsman. Sachin Tendulkar hung around for a while and the 95 run partnership between him and Yuvraj ensured that there was still some hope. Sachin Tendulkar got out trying to make room for himself against slow left-arm of Brad Hogg only to see the ball hit the stumps. Dhoni entered with a very positive frame of mind and Yuvraj also slowly started getting in his elements. The duo put on 65 runs in 11 overs and just India looked poised to go for the final kill. 118 runs to get in 14 overs with Dhoni and Yuvraj on the field looked very much possible.

Dhoni got out at this key moment of the match and things started looking difficult for India. Ponting's captaincy working as Bret Lee got rid off the danger man. After that it was left to Rohit Sharma - India's Twenty20 find and the bowlers to support Yuvraj. But they were not up to it and wickets started falling at regular intervals. Yuvraj Singh though played a lone hand continuing his amazing Twenty20 form. But i was not enough..

Earlier winning the toss Ponting decided to bat first and Australians were off to a flier. but Gilchrist once again failed to capitalize on the start and fell to Pathan. Ponting back after a break looked a bit rusty and India actually pulled back the run-rate through Harbhajan Singh. But a late surge by Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke took the match away from India in the last 15-20 overs. Australia posted a daunting 290 a above par score for the ground. Indians were always going to need a good start to make a fight out of it and a good start what was exactly they did not get.. A comprehensive victory by the rolling Aussie juggernaut.

The series now moves on to the northern part of the country. The next match at Chandigarh - Sector 16 Stadium, which will be hosting its first ODI in 14 years. Indians just would have to win that one to make something out of this series...

Key Video Highlights of the match would be posted soon...

India Vs Australia Third ODI - Preview

Just a couple of days for recuperating and the teams will be out again on the ground tomorrow for another intense battle. Thankfully the scheduling of matches in India has improved from what it was a few years ago, and the teams will now be completing all their matches scheduled for southern India before moving upwards. I remember a few years ago when the teams would be criss-crossing entire India in a random fashion and still had only two days in between matches. Anyway back to the current series and the final match in southern India will be played at Hyderabad - my favourite city down under.

This stadium in Hyderabad - Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium will be hosting only its second One Day International. And this one is not known to be as high-scoring as its predecessor in Hyderabad. The earlier ground in Hyderabad was a typical belter. Who can ever forget the Sachin Tendulkar special - 186*- his highest score in ODIs and the record 331 run partnership with Dravid. But things are a bit different at the current ground in Hyderabad. The only ODI played here almost two years ago saw India struggling to reach 250. Also domestically it is known for high-scoring games. So we should see some good contest between the bat and ball tomorrow..

The battle of words between the two teams has been intense in the last two matches. Hope the Indians can tomorrow let the ball and bat do most of the talking.. Aussies have already made their statement in the first two matches. Its time for India to stand up and show that they are here not just to compete but to win. Aussies will be strengthened by the return of their skipper Ponting who has passed a fitness test and should be back to his No. 3 spot tomorrow. As for India Saurav Ganguly is set to return tomorrow and probably Gambhir - the top score for India in the Twenty20 world cup final will have to sit out to make way for him. Hopefully one of the big three will fire tomorrow and show that they still belong to the team. Also a much improved performance from the Indian spinners will be needed if they are to trouble Australia. There is some talk of Sreesanth being made to sit out in tomorrow's match because of his behaviour in the last two matches, which would be utterly moronic. Hope some common sense prevails and he does play tomorrow.

So hopefully it will be a close contest and not a match where the result is known mid-way of second Innings. Win the toss and bat first like any other Indian ground at this time of the year should be the mantra here as well. So lets hope that Dhoni wins the toss and India bat first. That should be their best chance of winning and equaling the series. Indians have it in them to come back in the series. No doubt about it.. Lets hope some key players do fire tomorrow and ensure that the series is a exciting one...

India Vs Australia 2nd One Day International Video Highlights

Match Synopsis:



Australia Wickets:


Indian Wickets:

India Vs Australia Second ODI 2nd October 2007 Report

Toss Won By: India
Result: Australia Won by 84 runs
Man of The Match: Brad Haddin

Australia 306/6 (50 Overs)

Brad Haddin 87(69) Sreesanth 9-0-67-3
Andrew Symonds 87(83) Irfan Pathan 10-0-47-2
Mathew Hayden 75(89) Zaheer Khan 10-0-55-1

India 222 allout (47.3 overs)

MS Dhoni 58(88) Brad Hogg 9.3-0-40-3
Robin Uthappa 41(30) Stuart Clark 6-0-14-2
Rahul Dravid 31(48) Michael Clarke 9-0-35-2

The champions are back.. And back they are with a bang.. If anyone still had some doubts about who had the better team in this series, this game must have well answered that question. An emphatic almost flawless win.

Rain 0r no rain or maybe some rain - All this seemed to confuse Dhoni as he won the toss and sent Australia in on a perfect batting strip. Something you don't see happening too often in Kochi. But the rain stayed away and a delayed start was the only effect the rain in the past week could have on the game.. Australia went in with a unchanged side from the first match while Indians had a couple of changes as Robin Uthappa and Harbhajan Singh replaced Saurav Ganguly and RP Singh.

Dhoni seemed to have made a right choice when Australia lost two quick wickets with less than 10 runs on the board. Gilchrist and Hodge both failing once again.. Then walked in Clarke and steadied the innings along with Mathew Hayden who seemed to be playing conscious of his two previous dismissals - avoiding outrageous shots and sticking to the basics. Just when it seemed that Clarke would goo n to repeat his performance in the first game, Dhoni pulled out a brilliant stumping to get rid of him. Michael Clarke losing balance and falling over giving just enough time to Dhoni to get rid of the stumps after a brilliant take down the leg side. Symonds then joined Hayden and both big-hitters held their cool - running quick singles and attacking the spinners. Indian spinners were disaapointing today and that allowed Australia to build a solid partnership. Hayden fell to a inswinging Pathan yorker and just when you thought that India could claw back into the match, the Aussies one again displayed a key quality that true champions possess - bench-strength.

In walks a man - Brad Haddin who does not get too many matches to play for his side just because they have a certain Mr Gilchrist - the best wicket-keeper batsman ever donning the gloves. He got to play in this series only because of a few injuries and pull-outs. After a good show in the first match as well, he was in his elements today stroking a wonderful 87 off 69 balls.. He was the difference between a score of 275-280 and 300+ He just took over after Symonds fell after a good knock of 87 and surely would have demoralized the Indians a bit with that end to the innings

India needed a good start, but Gautam Gambhir fell early to a wonderful incoming delivery by Johnson clipping the top of off-stump. Robin Uthappa played a courageous knock and pushed the run-rate a bit but wickets kept on falling as Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh flattered to deceive. Both getting starts, hitting a six and then getting out. After Uthappa fell lbw to Clark it was always going to be a uphil ltask from there-on.. Dravid and Dhoni hung around for a while and with everyone knowing what Dhoni si capable of towards the end of a innings, there was always a chance.. Rahul Dravid got out to a peach of a catch just centimeters from the boundary line as he tried to hoist Hogg for a six. It got more height than distance and Mitchel Johnson kept his nerves and pulled it out just a hair's breadth from the boundary. After that it was a laborious task as India were never in the hunt and kept on losing more wickets. Even the crowd started leaving the stadiums - so obvious was the result. India crawled along to 222 before being all out in the 48th over. Some incidents at the end - Harbhajan Singh having a good chat with Michael Clarke after being dismissed and Sreesanth being hit straight in the head by a Dhoni powerstroke must have kept the umpires awake. Anyone could have easily slept, such was the state of the game at the end.

Many supposedly qualified people read "experts" are saying that this is the real cricket and Aussies are showing who the champions are in the real cricket... Aren't these the same people who ridiculed ODI till few years ago and said Test Match Cricket was the "real" cricket. I don't get this deal about "real" cricket. Agreed that a test match may demand more skills per se than a one-day cricket or twenty20 cricket. But twenty20 demands some other skills that a test match may not demand. So why don't we just stop comparing different forms of cricket and force our opinion on other people. Sit Relax and enjoy the game - be it twenty20 or a test match. Just ask yourself a question - Do I enjoy what I am watching? If yes than I will watch it and enjoy it to the fullest. There are many more aspects to it.. Will write a exclusive post on that sometime..

So Aussies are 1-0 up in the series with 5 more matches to go... I still expect the Indian team to come back and do well in the series. probably batting first would help their cause a little.. Its over to Hyderabad now.. 5th October

India Vs Australia Second ODI - Preview

After a wash-out at Bangalore which resulted in only 2.4 overs being bowled in the Indian Innings, things don't seem to be getting much better for the second match at Kochi. Kochi has been receiving some rain for the past few days and the prediction for tomorrow isn't much better. Lets keep our fingers crossed that we at least get a result tomorrow if not a complete 50 over game.

Kochi traditionally has been a batsman's paradise. A vivid memory I have when it comes to Kochi is Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten tearing apart the Indian bowlers, literally ending young Thiru Kumaran's career. The average first innings score on the ground is 264 runs and even targets in excess of 300 have been chased down. So it should be win the toss and bat first normally. But seeing the threat of rains it would be interesting to see what the captains do.. Most captains like to chase down targets in rain-affected matches.. Also this ground holds a special memory for Sachin Tendulkar as both of his five-wicket hauls in ODIs have been at this ground -once against Australia in 98, the year in which he could literally do nothing wrong and one more time against Pakistan in 2005.

I am sure India must have forgotten the Twenty20 success by now and be right back to ground after the scare they got in the last match. They must be eager to prove that the success they had last week was not a flash in the pan. Aussies meanwhile I am sure must be eager to get one back after the semi-final defeat at Twenty20 World Cup and their confidence must be high after the last match. As far as team news goes, Ganguly will sit out tomorrow after the hamstring injury he sustained in the first ODI. That should provide either Dinesh Karthik or Rohit Sharma a chance to play.. Ponting is almost certain to play tomorrow's match.

All in all should be a fast-scoring exciting match. Lets hope the rain-gods decide to stay away tommorow...

India Innings Highlights

Sachin Tendulkar gets out amongst light drizzles

Australia Innings Highlights



Yuvraj Singh pulls out a stunner to send Gilchrist back to the pavillion


Sreesanth rocks the Aussies with three wickets:




Then the partnership that changed the match:

India Vs Australia First ODI 29th September 2007 Report

And so it rained... Surely a tame end to what promised to be a cracker of a contest.

The atmosphere at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore was electric. It just had to be seen to be believed. The fans were out there in numbers as always but the noise, the jumping, the cheering at the start of the match had that something extra in it. And why not.. India were playing their first match after being crowned the Twenty20 Champions. There were a few boos when Gilchrist won the toss and decided to bat. The crowd wanted to see their heroes bat. They just couldn't wait..

And so Gilchrist and Hayden came out to bat and were their usual aggressive selves. Gilchrist hit a couple of boundaries and and was appearing to be in menacing form. But then Yuvraj pulled out a stunning catch to send Gilly back to the pavilion. Diving full length to the right it was a sight to behold. Then Hodge arrived and didn't last long.. Sreesanth getting one to come back in after bowling two wide deliveries. Hayden and Clarke put up some sort of partnership before Hayden attempted a outrageous slog only to see his stumps being carted away. Not very different from the Twenty20 Semi-final dismissal. Symonds didn't last long and at 90 for 4 it seemed like India were in total control.

But the Aussies then stepped up and showed why they were the champions. A harsh lesson to India how ODIs were different from Twenty20. Here teams have a chance to come back into the match even after a bad start and good teams usually do. It was time for Michael Clarke to put his hand up and play one of his best ODI innings if not the best. No bowler was spared once Clarke had got his eye in and reached his half-century. The same ground where he had scored a test century on debut was witness again to a very special knock. The 144 run partership between him and Haddin just changed the tide of the match for Australia. Some streaky shots by Hopes in the end ensured that Aussies breached the 300 run mark.

308 - A difficult target, but by no means impossible. Indians came out to bat in the light drizzle that had started in Bangalore. The umpires probabaly expected it to go away and hence allowed play to start even as it rained. 2.4 overs is all that India could get before the rain-gods decided to take over completely. India managed to lose Sachin Tendulkar in that period, who was clearly not looking happy playing in the conditions that prevailed in the Chinnaswamy stadium.

All in all a good reality check for the Indians that Twenty20 is history, its time to prove the mettle in the ODI format now. India has a good team and I expect them to do well in the remaining 6 matches. The action now moves on to Kochi where the next match will be played on 2nd October

Video Highlights of key moments of the match are available

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