Match report: India vs Australia
By Indian Cricket Fever
March 12 2003
Report and post-mortem of India's overwhelming loss to Australia in Pool A of the 2003 Cricket World Cup: as seen by 3 different India fans.
Let's face it, the Aussies are simply awesome in all three departments: bowling, batting and fielding.
The way McGrath came back to bowl two consecutive maidens after being smashed for 14 runs in an over by Sachin was amazing.
Same thing with Gillespie: he bowled Dravid off his first ball and then simply strangled the Indian batting with superb line and length at great pace. Admitedly he was lucky with the LBW against Yuvraj, but Tendu was pretty plumb. (Once again Tendu was playing across the line instead of straight in the V.)
Brett Lee who was somewhat expensive made the ball swing at high pace. In that sense he is unlike Thommo who never really swung the ball when bowling at that pace.
The Aussie fielding was magnificent, with dives and saves and hard flat throws the rule rather than the exception.
The Batting was simply dominating. The way Hayden and Gilchrist set about the Indian pacemen, one would have thought they were bowling medium pace, though Zaheer Khan touched 90 mph several times.
Hats off to them. Only they themselves can prevent them from winning the Cup.
I can now say that they are truly the best there has ever been. Even Clive Lloyd's Windians of the late 70s and 80s would be hard pressed to match these guys.
I shudder to think what they will do to Holland, Zimbabwe and Namibia, who are next on their radar screen.
As much as the Aussies deserve credit for their performance, India screwed up after winning the toss and electing to bat. It was the reckless dismissals of Ganguly and Sehwag that instigated the collapse that followed and the cause of an abject defeat.
India were going well with Tendu looking really impressive when Ganguly decided to go for that ‘wide’ ball; with Sehwag following very quickly in similar fashion, it exposed the frail (in confidence and form) Dravid and that was that effectively. Three quick dismissals put the brakes on India’s progress with the bat and Gillespie ensured that the brakes locked good and proper with some superb bowling.
India’s openers should have developed the innings and not gotten carried away with Tendu’s burst against McGrath, particularly as they were well aware of the team’s lack of batting form – you can take unnecessary risks against certain attacks and not get punished, but can you do it against arguably the best ever one-day team? You do not need to risk ‘blasting’ your way to a position of strength; it can be done gradually and carefully, milking the good bowlers thoughtfully, and punishing the weaker ones - just look at how WI developed their innings recently against SA after being in dire straits.
India also erred in not having an adequate rescue plan should things have gone haywire early on, in hindsight (or possibly a lack of foresight by the coach), it would have been better to promote the in-form Mongia in an attempt to stabilise the situation rather than send Dravid and Kaif in.
The Yuvraj dismissal decision was a tight one in my opinion with it favouring the ‘out’ verdict more than the ‘in’ as I saw it, so I can’t really be too critical of Ashocka. It has to be said though that had Yuvraj survived, a partnership between himself and Tendu might have transformed the game even though India were under a pretty heavy cosh at the time, and it looked unlikely.
The fact is that the contest to me looked very much like a mismatch between men and boys, with the Aussies looking like a very cohesive unit, well oiled, efficient and primed to destroy – while the Indians looked in a state of disarray. The Indians will have been stung pretty badly by this defeat and know they can perform much better, I believe they will do before the tournament is over, it’s just that they came up against a very formidable opponent just when their confidence and form as a team was at a low. There is only one way for them to go from here on, and I really feel that they can storm back – there is nothing like the possibility of revenge to cohere and focus the collective mind – but then again, we’re talking about the Indian team.
Australia turned in a typically professional performance but they merely had to help India along to self-destruction in each team's second fixture in Pool A.
The form of the Indian batsmen to date on the South African safari has been poor. Like artists who have lost their muse, the best batsmen in the world have looked completely out of it regardless of their opposition: whether it's KwaZulu Natal (a regional side in SA), Holland, or Australia. In India, media and fans savage their performance, not knowing that the jaded players feel far worse about the defeats than the they ever could. Now, the knives are out after a defeat in which there were almost no redeeming features.
The start was very good - as the original openers came back, both Sachin and Ganguly looked like they were determined to make steady, chanceless progress.
McGrath, looking patchy, was hit around the park for 14 runs in an over early on by Sachin. I thought that both McGrath and Lee got away with a few wides, particularly when Asoka de Silva was at the crease. McGrath bowled two bouncers an over on at least two occasions, and Ganguly looked at both umpires to hint at a no-ball on the second but it was not forthcoming. Tendulkar and later Sehwag also got a few bouncers that sailed above their heads, and those were not called either by umpires in an apparently forgiving mood.
Before anybody knew what was happening, wide balls accounted for Ganguly, Sehwag, and Dravid. The cream of the Indian lineup had sacrificed itself. Did they simply feel a need to accelerate to reach a pre-determined challenging total when they saw an inadequate run rate on the scoreboard, having chosen to bat first? We'll never know. However, when Brett Lee looks back at this performance, he will know that it was far from the best he has performed, and that he was not responsible for any of the wickets against his name, as much as the batsmen for throwing them away.
Yuvraj Singh, the third best ODI batsman for India after Tendulkar and Sehwag, lost his wicket to a typically sickening Asoka de Silva decision. An appeal which looked ridiculously optimistic for a ball going well above stumps and down leg, and Asoka had started nodding. Yuvraj's shocked look at the umpire on his way back said it all.
Sachin Tendulkar lost his momentum as the familiar procession started. Dravid in particular was responsible for hogging the strike and helping Sachin lose his touch. Lucky to be dropped on his second ball, he took forever to make a run, and after a scratchy 30 or so balls departed, dragging a wide ball on to his stumps.
Mongia was able to hang around for a bit, for a change, but Gillespie turned up first change and claimed Tendulkar's wicket with an LBW that looked 50-50, from David Shepherd. It was delivered from wide of the crease, a slower ball by Gillespie which looked to be a bit high and maybe hitting the outside of leg stump, a decision that Shepherd is normally reluctant to give. But he sent Tendulkar back on this occasion.
Thereafter, Harbhajan was the only bright light. He got a bouncer first ball from Brett Lee, and play was held up for a bit when it struck him on the grille. The tenacious tailender hit some lusty shots, prompting Lee to go after him with several more bouncers, even when he stepped away leaving all 3 stumps open. Lee needs to be banned for a game for intimidatory tactics against tailenders rather than aiming at their stumps, something he has done time and again, and is clearly against ICC rules on intimidation. But here, far from warning him for questionable tactics, the umpires were not even no-balling multiple bouncers an over. In fact, Asoka de Silva wasn't calling wide on balls well outside leg when Harbhajan stepped away from the stumps and Lee still went at him rather than bowl him. 2 more questionable LBWs and one correct LBW later, the Indian innings ended.
In short, an ordinary performance from Australian seamers, except for a very good 10-over spell from Gillespie, accounted for the Indian lineup, which had gone down for a little less against Holland in the previous game.
The Australian openers were typically aggressive and overhauled India's total in short order. Both Srinath and Zaheer looked innocuous. Harbhajan and Kumble tied them up for a bit before they cut loose against them as well. Kumble was denied a plumb LBW against Ponting after claiming Gilchrist stumped by Dravid.
Overall, a match of poor quality where one professional side with aggressive batsmen beat another side with poor batsmen and bowlers. A few iffy decisions by umpires Asoka de Silva and Shepherd, but India were well beaten in any case. A similar level of performance against Zimbabwe will seen see them beaten there as well, which would be fatal to their chances in this tournament. Time for them to up their tempo to something more closely resembling their normal level of play.