Key events
1st over India 7-0 (Rohit 7, Gill 0) Target 265 Immediately, Dwarshuis is on the money, but his second delivery seams on to the pads and Rohit doesn’t need asking twice, flicking four through fine leg. Then, again offered a ball that floats towards the pads, he lofts over midwicket for three, and that’s a decent start from India.
And play…
And here come the batters. A fast start from them and it’ll be hard to see India losing.
Australia huddle. They know the left 20 or 30 runs out there, but they’ll expect to win because that’s what they do.
“Nothing speaks to the state of India’s influence on cricket today more than me, as a Kiwi, crying out the words C’MON STRAYA!”
I have a rule in situations such as this: no first names, no nicknames, yes insults after the exhortations, i.e. “C’MON STRAYA YOU [REDACTED]!”
I put my Friday night chicken soup on this morning, so my entire gaff now hums of something delicious that I can’t touch. This chase had better be diverting.
“SA prospects for tomorrow,” begins John Starbuck. “On TMS they are talking about tomorrow’s game and are, very deliberately, avoiding ‘the C word’. Sensitivity, eh?”
I’m looking forward to that one. My guess is SA lose, but in acceptable circumstances.
A question: is it just me, or has Steve Smith got hench? Watch out Chris Tremlett.
Thanks Daniel and good morrow everyone. You’d take 265 to win a semi, but you’d not mind 264 runs on the board in a semi either. The problem Australia have is that, Zampa aside, they’re struggling for wicket-takers, and in India they’re facing the one-day experts on a decent track that suits them, on a ground they’re well used to.
Australia all-out for 264
Pandya cleans up Zampa to bring the innings to a close. The Aussie spinner was just beaten for pace as he makes way for 7, leaving Sangha not-out on 1.
Is that enough? I don’t think so, not without Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood. The Indians are upbeat. Their bowlers have done the job. Can their batters respond?
Dan Harris will be with you shortly to find out.
49th over: Australia 262-9 (Zampa 6, Sangha 0) Shami ends with 3-48 from his 10. He bowled brilliantly throughout the innings. Ellis spanked him for six, but like most Indian bowlers who have hit for a maximum, he got his man in the end.
WICKET! Ellis c Kohli b Shami 10 (Australia 262-9)
Holed out! After spanking Shami for six over cow corner, Ellis tries again. Clears the front leg but doesn’t get enough of it as the bat twists in his hand. Kohli completes the simple catch.
48th over: Australia 252-8 (Zampa 4, Ellis 2) Without Carey, anything from here will be a bonus. Pandya did well to only concede four runs from that over. Some cute slower balls, including the short ball that had Carey pulling before he was run-out.
WICKET! Carey run-out (Iyer) 60 (Australia 248-8)
Direct hit! Carey’s brilliant knock comes to an end thanks to superb fielding from Iyer. Pandya, back in the attack, dragged down and Carey pulled round the corner. Iyer was on it in a flash from long on and Carey, coming back for the second, was a long way short. Outstanding fielding.
47th over:Zampa manages to get off strike from the second ball, a leading edge past mid-off and a quick scamper brings Carey back on strike. Carey then plays a perfect premeditated scoop that comfortably clears the fielder at short fine leg for a one-bounce four. A well-directed yorker keeps Carey honest before a single keeps him on strike for the next over. Zampa has one ball to survive but is given out lbw! He reviews and is saved by a thick inside edge. He knew straight away. Would have been plumb without it.
46th over: Australia 242-7 (Carey 55, Zampa 2) Varun signs off with 2-49 from his 10. Brilliant bowling from the mystery spinner. Zampa the new man has one job: feed Carey the strike!
“Hello Daniel”
Hi Krishna Moorthy, what’s up?
“I have nothing against the Indian team in general. They are, at best, as toxic as the Australians. I would still want the latter to win, as the highhanded attitude of ICC led by Jay Shah must end. I want the final in Pakistan.”
Unless the Australians can do something special with the ball, it’ll be India in the final.
WICKET! Dwarshuis c Iyer b Varun 19 (Australia 239-7)
Taken in the deep! He had to go for it, but just couldn’t get enough of it. Full ball swatted away into the leg side. Iyer runs in off the boundary and takes a comfortable catch.
45th over: Australia 239-6 (Carey 54, Dwarshuis 19) Excellent from Shami. Returns with a yorker from round the wicket that Dwarshuis does well to keep out. An inside edge almost finds the stumps and ends with a single. A couple of slower balls and it’s just five singles from the over. Just what India need. They’ve done brilliant to take back control of this innings.
44th over: Australia 234-6 (Carey 52, Dwarshuis 16) They start this Varun over with a boundary as Dwarshuis runs one fine down to deep third. A catcher in place might have gobbled it, but of course there isn’t one there at this stage. He gets a single before Carey crouches low to scoop a couple over the ‘keeper’s head.
43rd over: Australia 227-6 (Carey 50, Dwarshuis 11) POWER from Dwarshuis as he hammers a sweep over midwicket. Yadav oushed it wider but the big lad managed to get a big chunk of it. Carey brings up his 50 from 48 balls with a clip off his pads after collecting two past midwicket.
42nd over: Australia 217-6 (Carey 47, Dwarshuis 4) Varun has been excellent all day. Another over with a range of tricks costs just three singles. Carey is trying to manipulate the angles needed to the field is set perfectly and Varun is bowling accordingly.
41st over: Australia 214-6 (Carey 45, Dwarshuis 3) Time for one last mini rebuild here. Yadav returns and sends down a miserly set that costs just one run. No major harm as far as the Aussies are concerned. They’ll need Carey in for the final over so chance for a deep breath before the final plunge.
40th over: Australia 213-6 (Carey 44, Dwarshuis 3) Carey brings out the reverse sweep and nails it. Axar can only stand and admire as it races to the boundary. Tight lines otherwise and the Aussies settle for a pair of singles.
39th over: Australia 207-6 (Carey 39, Dwarshuis 2) Tight from Shami as he concedes just one single to the new man Dwarshuis. A neat tuck off his pads. He has to stick around with Carey for as long as he can.
38th over: Australia 206-6 (Carey 39, Dwarshuis 1) Big job now for Carey. He’s watched two of his mates get bowled. Maxwell launched a big six over square leg but played all around a skidder from Axar and got bowled. Not the best shot from the big hitter.
WICKET! Maxwell b Axar 7 (Australia 206-6)
Bowled ‘em! After spanking Axar for six with a mighty sweep, Maxwell goes back to one that didn’t get up as high as he thought it would and gets cleaned up. India are on a roll.
37th over: Australia 199-5 (Carey 29, Maxwell 1) The big wicket of Smith. India have their opening and it’s Shami, who saves his best for these ICC events, with the breakthrough. Can Carey now play the role of anchor with the ‘Showman’ Maxwell at the other end?
WICKET! Smith b Shami 73 (Australia 198-5)
What a moment! Smith charges Shami, eyeing the big gap around extra cover, and misses the full toss. It felt so unnecessary given Carey’s work at the other end. But there you go, not Shami’s best ball but one of his most important wickets for sure.
36th over: Australia 195-4 (Smith 71, Carey 38) Carey is putting on a show. Pandya gets the ball straight after drinks and is forcefully pulled in front of square for four. A little while later Carey skips down the track and plays an on-drive on the move, that is some cricket shot! He’ll keep the single with a tickle on the leg side. 38 off 32, he’s injected impetus into this innings and taken all the pressure off Smith.
Arul Kanhere has some nice words for the 50-over format:
I loved the article in the Guardian about how to keep the format and make it worthwhile. Going back to 4 Year T20 WCs and the rest….
It’s like that 12 min run that tests both your stamina and ability to explode. A worthy middle child. And although it does not feature in one of the greatest games played, my personal favourite (apart from the obvious classics — 2019 Lords, 1999 Edgbaston and 2015 SF between NZ and SA) was the one where Tendulkar nearly chased 351 all on is own in Hyderabad.
35th over: Australia 186-4 (Smith 71, Carey 29) Shami returns and digs one in that compels Smith into a pull shot that just clears a jumping Sharma at short midwicket. They get two for that. A slower bouncer is angled by Smith down to deep third for a single and Carey collects a single of his own with a nice touch from a pull. That’ll be drinks. 15 to go. 330 I reckon will be par from here.
34th over: Australia 182-4 (Smith 68, Carey 28) Exquisite batting from Carey. Boundaries to bookend the over. First a slog sweep that was well in front of square, over a wide-mid with the man up in the circle. Then an inside-out cover drive into acres of space on the off side. He’s playing the field perfectly.
33rd over: Australia 173-4 (Smith 68, Carey 20) Some aggression from Carey, but he’s fully in control. Spots a flighted one from Varun and he stoops down to bring out the slog sweep. Absolutely smokes it over midwicket for six. Two singles elsewhere.
32nd over: Australia 165-4 (Smith 67, Carey 13) Smith plays a pretty lofted drive down the ground, all full-face and flourish, but it plugs in the grass so they settle for two. Kohli fields at deep square and throws to the non-striker’s end. Varun allows it to go towards the stumps and Sharma has to back up. Both Sharma and Kohli berate poor Varun who didn’t do anything wrong as far as I can tell. Three singles and that couple for Smith adds up to five.
31st over: Australia 160-4 (Smith 63, Carey 12) Good from Varun. A flatter googly here, a dippy leggie there, he’s a handful. Just two singles from this over. The Aussies can’t find the gaps. Lovely tight stuff from the Indians.
30th over: Australia 158-4 (Smith 62, Carey 11) Carey gets the broom out and sweeps Yadav. One is fine and finds the boundary, another is stiff and gets a single to the man at deep backward square. Smith is content to keep ticking along as he holds this innings together.
29th over: Australia 152-4 (Smith 61, Carey 6) Carey spots that mid-off is inside the circle so he throws his hands through the line and against the turn to collect a boundary down the ground. He wasn’t in complete control, nor did he time the leather off it, but got enough on it to find the rope.
28th over: Australia 146-4 (Smith 60, Carey 1) Yadav again. Just the two singles. Carey is off the mark with a single down to extra cover. Yadav then beats Smith with a quicker leg-break, almost a leg-cutter, that almost catches the outside edge.
Gervase Greene with some thoughts on those players that send tingles down the spine:
Evening Daniel/all,
Gervase Greene here, in The People’s Republic of Clovelly (Sydney’s east).
Isn’t it odd how the (for want of a better term) X-factor Player determines the drama and pulse of a game? Even Indian supporters, I’m sure, and certainly non-aligned fans would have sighed when a flying Travis Head went relatively early this evening, against the flow of the game.
Equally, I was by no means the only Australian to see Mitchell Starc bowl Brendan McCullum in the first over of that 2015 ODI World Cup.
Hardly a profound thought, I guess, but there was never a fan with more than a faint cricketing pulse who ever wanted to see Baz, Virenda Sehwag, Glenn Maxwell or Rishabh Pant go early. And imo Trav is very much in that company.
Cheers,
27th over: Australia 144-4 (Smith 59, Carey 0) Jadeja was gifted the wicket of Inglis after Smith punched him down the ground for six. That was some cricket and made possible by disrupting Jadeja’s length with some nifty footwork earlier in the piece. But, just like the Labuschagne wicket, Jadeja bags a breakthrough as a partnership started gathering pace.
WICKET! Inglis c Kohli b Jadeja 11 (Australia 144-4)
Soft! Just as the partnership was gathering pace, Inglis spoons a tame shot straight to Kohli at short extra cover. Perhaps it held up in the pitch, but that was a weak attempt at the back foot drive. Neither forceful nor watchful and he pays the price.
26th over: Australia 133-3 (Smith 51, Inglis 8) Lovely batting from Smith who brings up his fifty. First a crunching pull off a rare drag down from Varun brings him four, then a flowing cover drive adds two more to reach the milestone.
25th over: Australia 125-3 (Smith 44, Inglis 7) Jadeja hurtles through his work. No risk of a slow over rate fine when he’s operating. Four singles means his figures after six overs are 1-23. Smith is looking for gaps but the field is perfectly set so there’s no danger of coughing up a boundary.
24th over: Australia 120-3 (Smith 42, Inglis 4) Shot Smudge! Varun gets it too full and the skipper unfurls a gorgeous cover drive that skips along merrily to the rope. Three singles elsewhere. I won’t win any cricket analysis awards for pointing out that Smith is the key man here for Australia.
23rd over: Australia 113-3 (Smith 37, Inglis 2) Labuschagne whacked Jadeja for four off the first ball with a lovely sweep in front of square, but the bowler would have the last laugh. Flatter, skiddier and angled with the arm, he trapped him plump in front. A review wouldn’t have saved him either. Inglis collected two singles off his first two balls. Big job here for the ‘keeper.
WICKET! Labuschagne lbw Jadeja 29 (Australia 110-3)
Trapped in front and Marnus goes without a review! Jadeja, who else, gets the breakthrough. Wicket to wicket, this one skids on with the arm and beats the attempt to flick it towards midwicket. Marnus asks Smudge if it’s worth a review. The senior man doesn’t think so and that’s the third wicket.
22nd over: Australia 106-2 (Smith 26, Labuschagne 25) Shami returns and beats Labuschagne with hist first ball off a good length. A single brings Smith on strike and he charges Shami in an attempt to knock him off his length. Shami drops a sharp return catch, but that was hardly a chance. It was hit so firm that I’d say he had a 5% chance of holding that with his left hand. Smith then falls to his bum as he attempts to paddle one over the fine leg who had come up, but there was no contact. A great return from Shami. Just one run as the rune-rate dips to 4.4 an over.
21st over: Australia 105-2 (Smith 36, Labuschagne 24) A maiden from Jadeja who beats Smith with a beauty outside the off-stump.
20th over: Australia 105-2 (Smith 36, Labuschagne 24) Labuschagne gets lucky as a top edge off a slog sweep lands between two fielders in the deep and he comes back for a second. No luck from the second slog sweep. That screamed off the middle of the bat and cleared the rope for six. Fifty partnership up alongside the team 100.
19th over: Australia 96-2 (Smith 35, Labuschagne 16) Jadeja is just such a quality cricket. Bats, fields, and here is bowling some beautiful miserly spin. Smith chips a couple over midwicket and runs hard for two. Then he squirts a couple more off his pads. A crisp drive keeps him on strike with a single off the final ball.
18th over: Australia 91-2 (Smith 30, Labuschagne 16) Labuschagne shows his class with a deft late cut that took the ball from Rahul’s gloves and found the boundary towards deep third. Axar has his head in his hands as it was off the outside half of the bat, but Marnus was in full control.
17th over: Australia 84-2 (Smith 28, Labuschagne 11) Jadeja into the attack and in a flash he’s through his over. Two singles as he’s darting wicket to wicket testers. Brilliant bowling from the Indians.
Gary Naylor agrees:
This is very high class bowling indeed. In a T20I, I suspect you would barely notice it as the slogs would get the score to 130-4 or 120-7 off 15 overs almost regardless. But 50 overs means that each ball must be played on its merits and we see not just the skills in each delivery, but also in how overs are constructed. Worth keeping this format.
16th over: Australia 82-2 (Smith 27, Labuschagne 10) Axar needs to take a break after this and is headed up the tunnel. He hurt himself fielding off his own bowling. Six singles off that over means it’s an improvement for the Aussies, but India have them right where they want them.
There’s a break in play as Axar receives some treatment after landing awkwardly on his neck while fielding.
They were going to take drinks anyway after this 16th over.
Time for some emails:
Ramprasad Sridhar:
Morning Dan,
Trust you are well.
I agree with Colin. You would be surprised to see India being asked to back out of the tournament or forfeit their points vs matches in Pakistan. This is not the first instance that ICC hasn’t taken any stance against India but this has gotta stop.
Hope you have a nice day
Deepak Puri:
Rather this than India travelling to Pakistan and something bad happening which would lead to a wave of violence across S Asia. And I’m not sure the tourney would have gone ahead without India’s presence.
Btw, it feels horrible, doesn’t it, when a nation leverages its power to the disadvantage of other nations. Many of us know that feeling.
Vasu Chaurey:
Thing is though, this mess is self inflicted. The ICC has done absolutely nothing to for cricket in associate nations, or to diversify the avenues of income. It was happy to let the big boys call the shots and pocket the revenue from showcasing the same big ticket series and tournaments – this is never a good idea as it leave the door open for one/a few to get more influential than the organising body.
Sadly there’s so many similarities with FIFA/UEFA allowing government intervention (in a roundabout way, but still). No one did anything when state ownership started, or when it breached regulations. And now we have Qatar threatening to pull projects from France if PSG is punished, the Spanish Supercopa being held in the Middle East, world cups in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and a team under investigation for financial foul play winning 6 out of the previous 7 Premiership titles. The Super League isn’t far off from being real.
Food for thought…
