Friday 25 March 2011

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Yuvraj sets up Pakistan showdown

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera
March 24, 2011
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India 261 for 5 (Yuvraj 57*, Tendulkar 53, Gambhir 50) beat Australia 260 (Ponting 104, Haddin 53, Ashwin 2-52, Yuvraj 2-44) by 5 wickets 
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ricky Ponting got to his first fifty of this World Cup in 67 balls, India v Australia, 2nd quarter-final, Ahmedabad, World Cup 2011, March 24, 2011
Rick Ponting's terrific century went in vain as Australia could not defend 260 © Associated Press
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An awe-inspiring Ricky Ponting dazzled and Sachin Tendulkar hit a delightful fifty but it was the imperious Yuvraj Singh who stole the show to lead India to an exciting semi-final encounter against Pakistan. On a dry pitch, aiding turn, India couldn't remove a wonderfully solid Ponting, but found a way around him to hold Australia to a competitive 260. Tendulkar set the base and the middle order threatened to choke, but Yuvraj played a blinder to charge India to a famous win.
Sometimes, they say, one four can change things around. That cliché came alive today, in the final ball of the 39th over, with India needing 72 from 67 deliveries, when Yuvraj spanked Shaun Tait for a stunning four over backward point. It oozed of skill, impishness and dare under fire. Until then, in the preceding few overs, India choked and spluttered badly to almost hand the game to Australia. That Yuvraj hit over point sensationally turned the game on its head.
The next over proved to be the game-breaker as Brett Lee was looted for 14 runs: Suresh Raina played the most assured pull of his life to crash the first delivery to the boundary and Yuvraj carved the final delivery over point, but it was a shot in between that really reflected the enthralling contest. It was a screaming yorker from Lee, from around the stumps, and Yuvraj crouched, opened the bat-face and stabbed it through to the third man boundary. Lee looked stunned, and you felt that was the moment when India affected the jail break.
Until Yuvraj took ownership of the chase, the pressure-cooker situation had got to India and they were beginning to choke. In five mad overs between the 32nd and 37th, just after Virat Kohli had swiped a full toss from David Hussey straight to midwicket in the 29th over, it was absolute pandemonium as India looked hell bent on self-destruction. Gautam Gambhir tried to run himself out three times and was successful on the final attempt. In the 33rd over, he ran for a non-existent run after Yuvraj had played the ball towards midwicket but Ponting missed the sticks. In the next over, he got into a yes-and-no situation with Yuvraj and would have been run out had Brad Haddin, who dashed to the short mid-on region, thrown it at the non-striker's end. Gambhir was run out next ball, again running mindlessly after Yuvraj stabbed David Hussey wide of the first slip.
India required 93 runs from 101 balls at that stage, but they slipped further into the abyss as MS Dhoni got out after looking edgy. He nearly got involved in a run out, had a big swing and a miss against Lee and perished next delivery, cutting to point to leave India needing 74 from 75 balls. It was then that Yuvraj decided to play the World Cup innings of his life.
The batting Powerplay was the final hurdle, but Raina, who gave admirable support to Yuvraj after Dhoni's exit, walloped the first ball from Lee over long-on and Australia's fight evaporated with that shot.
Before Yuvraj, India's chase revolved almost entirely around Sachin Tendulkar. It was a slow pitch, but Tendulkar played some shots that defied the nature of the track. Tait v Tendulkar in particular lived up to the billing. Tendulkar punched the first delivery he faced, and the first from Tait, through cover point and, upper cut the next legal delivery to the third man boundary. Tait sledged, Tendulkar stared, and the chase was soaked with intensity from then on. Tait was soon out off the attack but returned to silence the crowd. He gave away six runs in his first over on return, which included two wides and also saw Tendulkar getting to his fifty. He struck with the first delivery of his next over, the 19th of the innings, with a delivery released from a slightly round-armish action that held its line outside off stump. Tendulkar tried to steer it to point but edged it to Brad Haddin.
Spare a thought for the Australian captain, probably playing his last World Cup match and to Australia, who were last eliminated before the finals of a World Cup way back in 1992. Whenever Zaheer Khan threatened to push India in front, Ponting shoved Australia ahead. The knock was a microcosm of Ponting the man. It had skill, grit, bloody-mindedness, and dare; it was Ponting. It will probably be the only knock from him that won't be remembered for many scintillating shots and it will be cherished for how responsibly he curbed his natural strokeplay.
There was tremendous poise in how he dealt with the slow nature of the pitch and a great amount of skill in the way he handled spin. Ponting showed sheer grit in the way he held the Australian innings together, and admirable character to do it when he wasn't in great form, on such a big stage. When he was fresh, he had to face Harbhajan Singh, his nemesis, bowling from around the stumps.
Ponting countered him by shuffling to his right and working the ball with the turn. When he was tired, he had to face the reverse-swing from Zaheer. In the middle, he picked Ashwin's carom ball, and mixed caution and aggression against Yuvraj Singh.
Australia's slide and India's resurgence in the middle overs began with an awful shot from Michael Clarke, who top-edged a slog-sweep against Yuvraj to long-on in the 31st over. Zaheer dismissed Michael Hussey with that knuckled slower one to leave Australia wobbling at 140 for 4 in the 34th over. Ponting and David Hussey took the batting Powerplay in the 44th over and added 44 vital runs without losing a wicket. Ponting must have thought he had done all he could to ensure Australia remained in the competition but he was outdone by Yuvraj.

Match Timeline

  •  Powerplay
  • <b>9.6: SR Watson, OUT</b><br/>the man from Chennai has struck, Watson went for the slog sweep, this one was slower through the air, tossed up, and turned in to strike the off stump, even as Watson missed it completely, did not get too far across to pick it from outside off, played a bit early too<br/><b> b Ashwin 25 (39m 38b 5x4 0x6) SR: 65.78</b><br/>Fall of wicket: 40/1
  •  Powerplay
  • <b>22.5: BJ Haddin, OUT</b><br/>Yuvraj's golden arm strikes again. Raina takes a smart low catch tumbling forward. Haddin was clearly looking to make things happen against Munaf and Yuvraj, and he may have chanced his arm once too often. Yuvraj slows this one up in the air, tosses it up on off and gets it to break away. Haddin looks to power the cover drive with the spin, but once again goes in the air. It is dying on Raina, but he's alert enough to tumble forward and pouch it.<br/><b>c Raina b Yuvraj Singh 53 (95m 62b 6x4 1x6) SR: 85.48</b><br/>Fall of wicket: 110/2
  • <b>30.4: MJ Clarke, OUT</b><br/>uhoh, Clarke has played the worst shot of the day. India's best spinner in this World Cup has taken another wicket. Flighted ball on leg stump, Clarke looks to play an ugly slog-swipe, across the line and completely out of character, against the spin, and indeed the run of play. He got the front foot across, was inside the line and then top-edged the shot since it was very full. He was probably looking for the gap between long on and midwicket. Zaheer takes it in the outfield at midwicket. Nicely judged running take.<br/><b>c Khan b Yuvraj Singh 8 (30m 19b 0x4 0x6) SR: 42.10</b><br/>Fall of wicket: 140/3
  • <b>33.3: MEK Hussey, OUT</b><br/>Zaheer does it again. It's again that mystery bare-knuckle slower ball. It's the latest invention from the Zaheer labs. Instead of getting fore-finger and middle-finger behind the seam, he gets the middle finger alone behind the ball and pushes it through with the knuckle of the fore-finger, which is to the left of the ball. Hence, there is a subtle change in pace, that the batsman can't read out of the hand unless he has binoculars. Hussey doesn't. The knuckle ends up pushing the ball in and also helps it move in after landing on the turf. Devon Smith got it the other day, and played all over it. Exactly how Mr. Cricket just did. 118 kph, flummoxes the batsman all ends up and castles him as he heaves the flick and misses. Zaheer spreads his arms on either side, breaks into a smile and trots along as his team-mates converge. Motera loves it.<br/><b> b Khan 3 (15m 9b 0x4 0x6) SR: 33.33</b><br/>Fall of wicket: 150/4
  • <b>41.2: CL White, OUT</b><br/>and the man has struck again, 127.6 kph length delivery that seemed to stop on him from round the stumps, he had a feeble push at it for Zaheer to take the dolly as it looped back to him, he throws it in the air and takes off on a run, White's horror run continues<br/><b>c & b Khan 12 (36m 22b 0x4 0x6) SR: 54.54</b><br/>Fall of wicket: 190/5
  •  Powerplay
  • <b>46.5: RT Ponting - 100</b><br/>100 from 113 balls (7 fours,1 six)
  • <b>48.3: RT Ponting, OUT</b><br/>Ponting lines up for the reverse hit, a rarity, but ends up hitting it straight to Zaheer at short third man, end of a magnificent innings from the Australia captain, raises his bat as he walks back<br/><b>c Khan b Ashwin 104 (172m 118b 7x4 1x6) SR: 88.13</b><br/>Fall of wicket: 245/6
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  •  Powerplay
  • <b>8.1: V Sehwag, OUT</b><br/>Sehwag is gone. He hasn't looked his best through this innings. Watson has got him with a bouncer that wasn't very high on pace, but was spot on with its direction. It angled in from outside off, cramping Sehwag for room as it came in, but he still looked to pull. The top edge ballooned up and landed in Hussey's hands at square leg, running back inside the circle. Huge wicket for Australia. I reckon, the huger one is at the other end though.<br/><b>c MEK Hussey b Watson 15 (m 22b 2x4 0x6) SR: 68.18</b><br/>Fall of wicket: 44/1
  •  Powerplay
  • <b>16.1: SR Tendulkar - 50</b><br/>50 from 61 balls, 7 fours
  • <b>18.1: SR Tendulkar, OUT</b><br/>Sachin is gone, or is he, is that a back foot no-ball, it was a length ball outside off stump, and he nibbled it on its way to Haddin, it was very close to being a no-ball, but Tait got away with it, he hadn't grounded the back heel on the line, Sachin has to walk back<br/><b>c †Haddin b Tait 53 (m 68b 7x4 0x6) SR: 77.94</b><br/>Fall of wicket: 94/2
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