Dhoni and Yuvraj's batting policy helps India go two-up in the series
Dhoni and Yuvraj's batting policy helps India go two-up in the seriesClearly, the day belonged to the skippers and their deputies. While Australia captain Ricky Ponting and vice-captain Michael Hussey did a commendable job on the slow and low Feroze Shah Kotla track by scoring a 59 and an unbeaten 81 respectively, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his deputy Yuvraj Singh scripted a match-winning 148-run partnership to help India take a 2-1 lead in the seven-match ODI series here on Saturday.u00a0u00a0
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Steady, Steady: Man of the match Yuvraj Singh places one perfectly on the leg side against the Aussies. PIC/SURESH KK |
Though the script didn't particularly end as Ponting and Hussey would have wanted, there was one thing common in all four knocks. All the four batsmen Ponting (59), Hussey (81), Dhoni (71') and Yuvraj (78) have a reputation of being gifted strokemakers, but on a wicket that did not permit lusty hitting, all of them exercised incredible refrain and put their heads down to play orthodox cricketing shots. They waited patiently for the loose deliveries and punished those severely.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
Ponting, having won the toss and deciding to bat, was looking good for a big knock. But when he was on 59 and had settled down into good rhythm, he tried to nudge one from the middle stump to the on-side. That was the only mistake he made in his 92-ball innings and was trapped plumb in front of the wicket by spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
Hussey, meanwhile, did execute a couple of reverse sweeps, but on realising the risk involved, quickly reverted to his orthodox ways.
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Super Skip: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina (right) walk off after India conquer Australia in the Delhi ODI by six wickets on Saturday. PIC/AFP |
Hussey's knock was textbook cricket, an almost 100 per cent strike rate without any fireworks. In fact, Hussey's 132-minute knock was punctuated by only three fours and one six at the death of the innings.
Dhoni and Yuvraj simply mirrored the effort of Ponting and Hussey. Like their Australian counterparts, Dhoni and Yuvraj stuck to the basics and kept rotating strike intelligently.
So, just when the picture was looking bleak for Team India at 3-53 u2013 Virender Sehwag (11), Sachin Tendulkar (32) and Gautam Gambhir (6), already back in the pavilion in the middle of the 16th over these two steadied the ship and took advantage of the dew that made bowling under lights a nightmare.
Scoreboard
Australia S Watson st Dhoni b Yuvraj 41, R Ponting lbw b Jadeja 59, M Hussey not out 81,
C White c Dhoni b Raina 0,
A Voges c Kumar b Harbhajan 17, M Henriques b Jadeja 12, M Johnson
not out 9.
Extras: (b 4, lb 3, w 3) 10
Total: (five wickets in 50 overs) 229
Fall of wickets: 1-72, 2-128, 3-129, 4-172, 5-200
Bowling: Kumar 5-1-16-0, Nehra 9-0-51-0, Ishant 5-0-24-0, Jadeja 9-1-41-2, Harbhajan 10-0-37-1, Yuvraj 8-0-30-1,
Raina 4-0-23-1
India V Sehwag b Johnson 11,
S Tendulkar run out (Johnson) 32, G Gambhir b Hauritz 6, Y Singh lbw Henriques 78, MS Dhoni not out 71, S Raina no 9.
Extras: (b 4, lb 4, w 14, nb 1) 23. Total: (four wickets in 48.2 overs) 230.
Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-51, 3-53, 4-201
Bowling: Johnson 9.2-2-43-1, Siddle 10-0-41-0,u00a0
Bollinger 10-0-26-0,
Henriques 8-0-51-1,u00a0
Hauritz 10-0-48-1,
Voges 1-0-13-0
