WEST INDIES WIN BY 3 WICKETS AGAINST AUSTRALIA
West Indies 273 for 7 (Lara 88, Gayle 79, Bravo 37*) beat Australia 272 for 6 (Hussey 109*, Haddin 70) by 3 wickets
Two contrasting half-centuries put Michael Hussey's maiden one-day century in the shade as West Indies scampered to a nervy three-wicket win in the fourth match of the DLF Cup, giving themselves a great chance to enter the final of the tournament.
Brian Lara's artistry was complemented by Chris Gayle's fury and their whirlwind partnership, rattling off 151 at a rate of close to 7.8 runs per over, set the stage for the chase, one which was eventually achieved after several heart-stopping moments.
25 overs West Indies 139 for 2 (Gayle 55*, Lara 42*) need 134 more runs to beat Australia 273 for 6 (Hussey 109*, Haddin 70, Hayden 49)
Like a giant awakening from a slumber, West Indies, having begun the chase in lethargic fashion, scorched their way to 139 for 2 at the halfway stage, giving themselves a great chance to upstage Australia in the fourth game of the DLF Cup. Having laboured to 30 for 1 after 10 overs, West Indies, led by Chris Gayle's brutal instincts, blasted 57 off the next five and set up an exciting contest.
A Gayle innings has no set pattern - absolutely anything is possible. At the end of the 12th over, he had 13 off 31 balls with just one four. A clattered six over midwicket, in the 13th over, whet the appetite before Stuart Clark began his third over, one that will probably remain his most forgettable. The first ball was swung over mid-on; ditto the second except it nearly decapitated Clark on the way to the fence; the third was steered for a double, almost a calm interlude; the fourth, a no-ball, was upper-cut for a fantastic six over third man; and the next screamed past mid-off, with the fielder having absolutely no chance. Clark's two overs had gone for 38 and Gayle had turned it all around in a trice.
Ramnaresh Sarwan and Brian Lara played useful cameos at the other end. Sarwan's boundary-laden 31, including five fours, helped West Indies wipe out some of the early inertia while Lara got into his stride with a trademark whiplash past point before unfurling a quite gorgeous straight-drive that was accompanied with a stamp of the emphatic. Dan Cullen, the offspinner playing just his fifth ODI, was at the receiving end in the 25th over, when Lara backed away and steered him to the third man fence on two consecutive occasions.
50 overs Australia 273 for 6 (Hussey 109*, Haddin 70, Hayden 49) v West Indies
Celebrating the honour of leading his country for the first time, Michael Hussey rattled up a superb maiden one-day hundred to lift Australia from the depths of 104 for 5 in the fourth game of the DLF Cup. Giving him company for most of his innings was Brad Haddin, who produced an invaluable 70 himself, and their record 166-run stand boosted Australia to a daunting total.
West Indies' bowlers, led by the economical Ian Bradshaw, were rewarded for their discipline in the first half of the innings. Cutting down on extras and erratic methods, they were far more accurate than they were in their previous two games. However, with the two Hs going after them in the latter stages, sharing Australia's record sixth-wicket stand, there was little any of them could really do.
Hussey went about rebuilding the innings in a manner that's made him an ODI master over the last year. While the rest of the top order had struggled to find the gaps, Hussey, almost immediately, settled into a free-flowing rhythm. He went about eliminating the dots, ran the fielders ragged, picked off the odd boundary and set Australia up for the slog. Amid all this were thrown in reverse-paddles, slog sweeps, short-arm jabs and crisp swats. To rip a controlled 109 in just 90 deliveries, with the team stuttering, was quite simply a magnificent effort.
At the other end, there was Haddin, continuing a long tradition of Australian wicketkeeper-batsmen who've more often than not thwarted the opposition's plans just when everything seems to be going their way. Merging some of Ian Healy's combativeness with a tinge of Adam Gilchrist's aggressiveness, Haddin drilled four fantastic sixes enroute to his highest ODI score. He complemented Hussey in the improvisation stakes, sweeping from wide outside off and using the angles to a tee.
The last 20 overs produced exactly 150. Haddin took the lead with some lofted swipes off Chris Gayle - no mean task considering the manner in which he was firing it down leg side - before Hussey scattered the field at the death. He brought up his century with two successive fours in the penultimate over - pulling Jerome Taylor through midwicket before turning the next fine. His elation on reaching the landmark wasn't much different from late last year, when he managed his maiden Test hundred at Hobart, also against West Indies. Just like then, he screamed in delight, revealing just how long he'd waited for this moment.
Before Hussey entered, Australia were doing all the catching up. Both Bradshaw and Taylor - West Indies' only two specialist fast bowlers - turned in fine spells and hardly offered the hitting length. Bradshaw made up for his lack of pace with a nagging length and made sure he bowled to the field set for him. Matthew Hayden, playing his first game in 14 months, never got into the sort of free-flowing rhythm that he is associated with but was forced to graft instead. He did muscle a few straight boundaries but his 77-ball stay was largely attritional.
The rest, though, hardly got started. Simon Katich reeled off a few boundaries to start with but his promising innings was cut short by a running mishap, when Hayden failed to respond to a regulation third run. Shane Watson, Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke fell victim to the airy flash and at 104 for 5, Australia's innings needed serious repair. An hour or so later, it was West Indies who needed to do all the running.
How they were out
Australia
Simon Katich run-out 22 (41 for 1)
Keen on a third after punching through extra-cover but stranded mid-pitch
Shane Watson c Lara b Taylor 0 (42 for 2)
Airy backfoot cut flies low to Lara at cover
Andrew Symonds c Smith b Bradshaw 8 (57 for 2)
Like Watson, mis-times a cut to cover
Michael Clarke c Gayle b Bradshaw 1 (64 for 4)
Tried to cut off the front foot but only managed to edge to first slip
Matthew Hayden c Taylor b Bravo 49 (104 for 5)
Lined up for a pull but patted it straight to short fine leg
Brad Haddin c Taylor b Bravo 70 (270 for 6)
Shuffled across the stumps and lapped it straight to short fine leg
West Indies
Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Haddin b Lee 0 (12 for 1)
Beaten by the away movement, adjudged out despite ball only clipping pad
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Haddin b Bracken 25 (44 for 2)
Misses trying to cut, ball grazes bottom of glove
Two contrasting half-centuries put Michael Hussey's maiden one-day century in the shade as West Indies scampered to a nervy three-wicket win in the fourth match of the DLF Cup, giving themselves a great chance to enter the final of the tournament.
Brian Lara's artistry was complemented by Chris Gayle's fury and their whirlwind partnership, rattling off 151 at a rate of close to 7.8 runs per over, set the stage for the chase, one which was eventually achieved after several heart-stopping moments.
25 overs West Indies 139 for 2 (Gayle 55*, Lara 42*) need 134 more runs to beat Australia 273 for 6 (Hussey 109*, Haddin 70, Hayden 49)
Like a giant awakening from a slumber, West Indies, having begun the chase in lethargic fashion, scorched their way to 139 for 2 at the halfway stage, giving themselves a great chance to upstage Australia in the fourth game of the DLF Cup. Having laboured to 30 for 1 after 10 overs, West Indies, led by Chris Gayle's brutal instincts, blasted 57 off the next five and set up an exciting contest.
A Gayle innings has no set pattern - absolutely anything is possible. At the end of the 12th over, he had 13 off 31 balls with just one four. A clattered six over midwicket, in the 13th over, whet the appetite before Stuart Clark began his third over, one that will probably remain his most forgettable. The first ball was swung over mid-on; ditto the second except it nearly decapitated Clark on the way to the fence; the third was steered for a double, almost a calm interlude; the fourth, a no-ball, was upper-cut for a fantastic six over third man; and the next screamed past mid-off, with the fielder having absolutely no chance. Clark's two overs had gone for 38 and Gayle had turned it all around in a trice.
Ramnaresh Sarwan and Brian Lara played useful cameos at the other end. Sarwan's boundary-laden 31, including five fours, helped West Indies wipe out some of the early inertia while Lara got into his stride with a trademark whiplash past point before unfurling a quite gorgeous straight-drive that was accompanied with a stamp of the emphatic. Dan Cullen, the offspinner playing just his fifth ODI, was at the receiving end in the 25th over, when Lara backed away and steered him to the third man fence on two consecutive occasions.
50 overs Australia 273 for 6 (Hussey 109*, Haddin 70, Hayden 49) v West Indies
Celebrating the honour of leading his country for the first time, Michael Hussey rattled up a superb maiden one-day hundred to lift Australia from the depths of 104 for 5 in the fourth game of the DLF Cup. Giving him company for most of his innings was Brad Haddin, who produced an invaluable 70 himself, and their record 166-run stand boosted Australia to a daunting total.
West Indies' bowlers, led by the economical Ian Bradshaw, were rewarded for their discipline in the first half of the innings. Cutting down on extras and erratic methods, they were far more accurate than they were in their previous two games. However, with the two Hs going after them in the latter stages, sharing Australia's record sixth-wicket stand, there was little any of them could really do.
Hussey went about rebuilding the innings in a manner that's made him an ODI master over the last year. While the rest of the top order had struggled to find the gaps, Hussey, almost immediately, settled into a free-flowing rhythm. He went about eliminating the dots, ran the fielders ragged, picked off the odd boundary and set Australia up for the slog. Amid all this were thrown in reverse-paddles, slog sweeps, short-arm jabs and crisp swats. To rip a controlled 109 in just 90 deliveries, with the team stuttering, was quite simply a magnificent effort.
At the other end, there was Haddin, continuing a long tradition of Australian wicketkeeper-batsmen who've more often than not thwarted the opposition's plans just when everything seems to be going their way. Merging some of Ian Healy's combativeness with a tinge of Adam Gilchrist's aggressiveness, Haddin drilled four fantastic sixes enroute to his highest ODI score. He complemented Hussey in the improvisation stakes, sweeping from wide outside off and using the angles to a tee.
The last 20 overs produced exactly 150. Haddin took the lead with some lofted swipes off Chris Gayle - no mean task considering the manner in which he was firing it down leg side - before Hussey scattered the field at the death. He brought up his century with two successive fours in the penultimate over - pulling Jerome Taylor through midwicket before turning the next fine. His elation on reaching the landmark wasn't much different from late last year, when he managed his maiden Test hundred at Hobart, also against West Indies. Just like then, he screamed in delight, revealing just how long he'd waited for this moment.
Before Hussey entered, Australia were doing all the catching up. Both Bradshaw and Taylor - West Indies' only two specialist fast bowlers - turned in fine spells and hardly offered the hitting length. Bradshaw made up for his lack of pace with a nagging length and made sure he bowled to the field set for him. Matthew Hayden, playing his first game in 14 months, never got into the sort of free-flowing rhythm that he is associated with but was forced to graft instead. He did muscle a few straight boundaries but his 77-ball stay was largely attritional.
The rest, though, hardly got started. Simon Katich reeled off a few boundaries to start with but his promising innings was cut short by a running mishap, when Hayden failed to respond to a regulation third run. Shane Watson, Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke fell victim to the airy flash and at 104 for 5, Australia's innings needed serious repair. An hour or so later, it was West Indies who needed to do all the running.
How they were out
Australia
Simon Katich run-out 22 (41 for 1)
Keen on a third after punching through extra-cover but stranded mid-pitch
Shane Watson c Lara b Taylor 0 (42 for 2)
Airy backfoot cut flies low to Lara at cover
Andrew Symonds c Smith b Bradshaw 8 (57 for 2)
Like Watson, mis-times a cut to cover
Michael Clarke c Gayle b Bradshaw 1 (64 for 4)
Tried to cut off the front foot but only managed to edge to first slip
Matthew Hayden c Taylor b Bravo 49 (104 for 5)
Lined up for a pull but patted it straight to short fine leg
Brad Haddin c Taylor b Bravo 70 (270 for 6)
Shuffled across the stumps and lapped it straight to short fine leg
West Indies
Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Haddin b Lee 0 (12 for 1)
Beaten by the away movement, adjudged out despite ball only clipping pad
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Haddin b Bracken 25 (44 for 2)
Misses trying to cut, ball grazes bottom of glove
posted by Andre @ 5:33 PM
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