Australia avenge losses; India D(hon)isappointed

The match was attended by 84,041 people.

India (Shar)made three changes to their playing eleven – Yuvraj Singh, Murali Kartik and Rudra Pratap Singh made way for Dinesh Karthik and a couple of T20 International debutants – Praveen Kumar and Ishant.

Australia made five changes to the (Micha)eleven that last played the Indians – Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Brad Haddin, Ben Hilfenhaus and Stuart Clark made way for Hussey, his brother and T20 International debutant David, James Hopes, Ashley Noffke and Adam Voges.

On winning the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s skipper, chose to bat.

India’s openers put on five. Virender Sehwag, who faced three balls, didn’t get off the mark. Five balls into the match, Michael Clarke, Australia’s skipper and the player of the match, ran him out.

Gautam Gambhir, whose six-ball innings included a boundary, scored nine. Five balls later, he was caught by Hopes. Needless to say, Nathan Bracken was in seventh heaven.

Karthik, whose run-a-ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. Eight balls later, Brett Lee broke the run-a-ball stand.

The fourth-wicket pair D(av)idn’t get off the mark. Robin Uthappa, who faced three balls, scored a run. A couple of dot balls later, he was caught by the younger of the Hussey brothers off the bowling of Bracken.

Rohit Sharma, whose run-a-ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. Twenty balls later, Hopes broke the 12-run stand.

The man from Ranchi, who faced 27 balls, scoreD(ho)nine. Thirty balls later, he was caught by Lee. David Hussey broke the 17-run stand.

India scored 50 off 12.1 overs (76 balls). Australia had conceded three extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Kumar, who faced 10 balls, scored half-a-dozen. Fifteen balls later, he was caught by Voges. Noffke broke the 11-run stand.

Harbhajan Singh, who faced three balls, scored a run. Seven balls later, he was caught by Clarke. Voges broke the three-run stand.

The ninth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Sreesanth, who faced a ball, didn’t open his account. The next ball, he was caught by Brad Hodge off the bowling of Voges.

Irfan Pathan, who faced 30 balls, scored 26. A dozen balls later, he was caught by Adam Gilchrist. Bracken broke the 11-run stand.

Ishant, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored three. He was unbeaten.

India were bundled out for 74 off 17.3 overs. Lee, David Hussey and Hopes bowled three overs each, picking up a scalp apiece. They conceded 13, 12 and 10, respectively. Noffke, who bowled four overs, conceded 23. He picked up a wicket.

Voges, who bowled a couple of overs, conceded five. He picked up a couple of wickets. Bracken bowled 2.3 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 11, picking up three scalps.

Australia’s openers put on 50 off 6.5 overs (41 balls). India had conceded a couple of extras at that point. While Gilchrist was batting on 19, Clarke was batting on 19.

Gilchrist, whose 22-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, eventually scored 25. Forty-five balls into the chase, he was caught by Gambhir. Kumar broke the 57-run partnership.

Clarke, whose 36-ball innings included a boundary and a six, eventually scored 37. He was unbeaten, as was Hodge, who faced 10 balls, scoring as many.

India eventually conceded three extras. Australia, who scored 75 for the loss of a wicket off 11.2 overs, won by nine wickets with 52 balls to spare.

Ishant, who bowled eight wicketless balls, conceded as many. Harbhajan, who bowled two wicketless overs, had no reason to be in seventh heaven. Sreesanth and Pathan bowled three wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 25, the latter conceded 18. Kumar, who bowled two overs, conceded 15. He picked up the only wicket to fall.

Australia won the one-off match.