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...