Poetic… and brutal!
Embattled captain Ricky Ponting the star of the show as India defeat Aust in the quarter finals of the ICC World Cup. RITAM MITRA reports
Cricket lovers all around the world were given a taste of cricketing magic on Thursday night as India pipped reigning world champions Australia for a spot in the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup. The match was as poetic as it was brutal, and featured everything you could ask for in a truly epic encounter between the world’s top two sides.
First, Australia’s embattled captain Ricky Ponting produced what some are already calling the innings of his career. Back to the wall, with his career and captaincy on the line, Ponting produced his first international century in any format for 13 months, and by doing so set alight Australia’s semi-final hopes, propelling them to a formidable 6/260. He was aided by strong contributions from David Hussey and Brad Haddin, and it was as much the nature of his innings as the timing that left cricket tragics around the worlds with nothing but utmost respect for one of the game’s undisputable greats. His determined and stubborn nature came through in a knock that was not typically flashy or dominating – Ponting worked hard, scoring only 3 boundaries in his first 50 runs. One shot typified his innings, though – a supremely-timed cover drive for six off Indian spinner Yuvraj Singh, taking him to 72 and resulting in an audible gasp around the rapturous Motera crowd.
Given a strong start by Haddin and Watson, Australia were pegged back to 4-140 as Mike Hussey and Michael Clarke fell cheaply. Cameron White helped consolidate the innings, and even with some fantastic death-over bowling by talented youngster Ravichandran Ashwin and seasoned maestro Zaheer Khan, David Hussey provided the finishing touches to leave Australia with a very defendable 260/6. Yuvraj was again the pick of India’s bowlers, taking 2/44 in his 10, while Zaheer and Ashwin also impressed, picking up two wickets each.
Then came India’s reply. Although Sehwag was unable to start the Indian innings with a boundary, as he has done on an unprecedented 5 occasions in this World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar hit his first two balls for four, showing his supreme touch as he and India raced away. Tendulkar picked the lengths as early as he has ever done, rocking back with what seemed like an age to spare before pulling bowlers to the boundary.
Sehwag perished attempting a pull shot, and when after a decent partnership with Gautam Gambhir, Tendulkar feathered one through to the keeper, India were looking shaky. Gambhir and Kohli picked off the spinners smartly without taking many risks, and were looking to take the game away from the Australians, until Kohli attempted an injudicious swipe to a full toss, hitting it straight into the waiting Michael Clarke at midwicket.
Enter Yuvraj Singh.
The all-rounder has been India’s talisman throughout this World Cup. He struck his first ball for a powerful four and it was clear from the outset that he had absolutely nothing but victory on his mind. Gambhir was playing the spinners beautifully, with his twinkle-toes and inside out drives providing the perfect foil for Yuvraj’s wristy flicks through the on side. Then, in the space of 5 balls, the tension of the situation was thrust forward for all to see – three times in 5 balls Gambhir found himself in massive trouble making his ground. On the third occasion, he was dismissed attempting a single that was never there, and when MS Dhoni hit one straight to Clarke at backward point soon after, India looked done and dusted.
However, from 5/187, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh combined for the highest partnership of the match, taking India past the Australian total with almost 3 overs to spare. Yuvraj was again man of the match, making it four for this tournament. There are no superlatives to describe his innings – it was done in the most pressure-cooked of environments, in a cauldron of screaming fans, against the undeniable champions of backs-to-the-wall cricket. Years later, this knock will be seen as the defining point of Yuvraj’s career, whether or not India progress further in the tournament.
It was a match of the highest calibre, and will undoubtedly also be a pivotal moment in India’s cricketing history. Here was a wounded champion in Australia, fighting to the death to further set in stone her place in the history books. This was no better personified than by Brett Lee, who battled a bleeding temple to send down toe-crushing Yorkers even when all seemed lost. And on the other side stood a buoyant and immovable new force, not weighed down by expectations but carried by them. India showed, for perhaps the first time this tournament, that they really are ready to bring the World Cup home. And what better team to continue that fight against than Pakistan. A truly tantalising encounter awaits…
