Watson, Warner wreck India

AFP

Shane Watson and David Warner made a mockery of India’s bowling, guiding Australia to a huge nine-wicket win over India.

Australia, chasing 140, finished off with 141 for one off 14.5 overs. Watson scored 72 off 42 balls while Warner remained not out on 63 off 41 balls.

Suffice it to say that the bowling plans went down the drain faster than the Indians could think. So much so that the five-bowler plan was in tatters and Dhoni had to fall back on Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma.

The W gang was in with a mission and plan. They would not let any of the bowlers settle. The three spinners Dhoni came in with were not really allowed any quarter as Watson and Warner took turns to go after them.

Watson blasted Piyush Chawla for two sixes in an over and Warner followed, clobbering Harbhajan Singh for a brace. Even the medium-pacers were in for it as Irfan Pathan to found himself at the wrong end of Watson’s flashing bat.

Six sixes were hit in three overs, one each from the three bowlers, and Australia were well and truly running away with the match. Watson, when he is in the mood, is as pugnacious as any batsman in the world. He even made Warner look sedate!

It wasn’t as if they were playing impossible shots. The Indians supplied them with enough long hops and length deliveries, wide enough to allow the full swing of the bat. What else can a batsman ask for?

Watson’s dismissal was almost an apology on this plot, since they were already 133 runs to the good by the time he departed. Just a blip on a smooth as silk effort. Watson’s 72 came with seven sixes and two fours.

There was never even a half-chance in the two batsmen’s knocks. Not one close call. Zaheer Khan had a slew of leg-before appeals against Watson but those were more in hope than with any conviction.

India were off the boil, there was no doubt about that. The batting began well enough, with stand-in opener Pathan, along with Gautam Gambhir, giving India a pretty decent start. The argument about dropping Virender Sehwag was pretty much decided in skipper Dhoni’s favour.

But that effort was cut short by Gambhir’s run-out and after that not much really came out from the batting cupboard. The tendency to hit in the air, combined with the slightly dodgy bounce on the track, put India on the rack.

Horizontal-bat shots, merited probably by the length of the deliveries, didn’t however cater for the hesitant momentum off the pitch. Kohli fell to one such shot and his dismissal was crucial, since he has been the man in form. Thereafter, the batting struggled.

Yuvraj and Pathan fell in the same over to Watson and the momentum was well and truly arrested. There was a hint of strangeness in the batting, since it wasn’t like the wickets fell in a heap. Most of the batsmen were there long enough to be able to carry on, but couldn’t.

Sharma’s ponderous progress continued, as he was blasted out by Mitchell Starc and thereafter 30 runs accrued for the sixth wicket, but never with any conviction.

Dhoni didn’t look his usual self, since the Australian bowlers stuck to their jobs well. Suresh Raina added 26 off 19 but Pathan ended up being the top-scorer with 31 off 30 balls – the one Dhoni decision that worked.

Teams:
India: G Gambhir, V Kohli, SK Raina, Yuvraj Singh, RG Sharma, MS Dhoni (Captain & WK), IK Pathan, R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, PP Chawla, Z Khan.
Australia: DA Warner, SR Watson, MEK Hussey, CL White, GJ Bailey (Captain), GJ Maxwell, MS Wade (WK), DT Christian, GB Hogg, PJ Cummins, MA Starc.