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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

India beat Aussies, clinch series

After settting the visitors a daunting target of 382 for victory, the Indians exploited a turning fifth day track to skittle out the Aussies for 209 just before the tea break to wrap up the four-match series with a 2-0 margin. It turned out to be a perfect farewell gift for Sourav Ganguly from his teammates...

Indians have Kangaros for lunch as India beat Australia by 172 runs (Australia : 209 all out in 2nd innings) in fourth & final test at Nagpur to clinch the series 2-0 and retain Border-Gavaskar series after five years. Chasing 382 to win in 92 overs aussies were 13 for bo loss at stumps on day four. Hayden was off to a big bang on day 5 as he kept hitting boundaries and kept Indians waiting but was out after lunch break of LBW to Harbhajan Singh Bhajji took 4 wickets while Amit Mishra took 3 .India won the second test at mohali by 320 runs.
Scores of 4th test India Vs Australia , Border-Gavaskar series
India 441 & 295
Australia 355 & 209
Man of the Match: Jason Krejza of Australia
Man of the Series : Ishant Sharma of India Ishant Sharma claimed two wickets but Australia's batsmen maintained a positive approach in pursuit of a series-levelling victory on the fifth day of the fourth and final Test in Nagpur on Monday.Australia, chasing a record 382 for victory, scored 111 for 3 in 23 overs at lunch on the final day. They need another 271 runs off a maximum of 69 overs more to win the match and level the series 1-1.Matthew Hayden , who was unbeaten on 46 from 67 balls, inclusive of four boundaries, looked to get going from the start, but India's defensive tactics meant he struggled to find boundaries regularly. Michael Hussey also tried to put on a fight and was unbeaten on 14 from 20 deliveries, inclusive of two boundaries, at the break.
Defending a target of 382, India's plan was clear: set a defensive field and bowl wide outside the off-stump. With a 1-0 lead one would not blame them for doing so. It forced the Australian batsmen to come up with something out of the ordinary, something they have not been accustomed to over the years.Simon Katich came out firing and swung at a delivery outside the off-stump to the leg side boundary in the fourth over of the innings. However, that was followed by a few moments of sheer madness as the two Aussie openers fished at everything wide and were lucky not to edge a few of those.Katich's agony ended on 16 when he tried another wild swipe across the line off Ishant but holed it on the off-side and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni neatly pouched it.Ricky Ponting survived a close chance when his edge off Zaheer fell short of Rahul Dravid at first slip. But five balls later the Aussie captain was run out for 8 at the non-striker's end by a direct hit from Amit Mishra at mid-off.Michael Clarke survived a confident leg before wicket appeal off the third ball he faced, from Ishant.
Closer looks at replays indicated that he was trapped in front and lucky to be given not out.Clarke, who came in with a runner, then survived two more chances when his edges flew just wide off slips in the boundary in the 11th over of the innings, bowled by Zaheer.Only 10.3 overs were bowled in the first hour of play, with Australia scoring 52 runs and losing two wickets. It was clear India were in no rush to bowl their overs just like Australia did the day before.Harbhajan Singh came into the attack in the 13th over and was smashed for a boundary by Hayden. The very next ball Hayden, on 30, tried another cut short but the straight forward edge was dropped by Dhoni. Australia were surely having a dash at the target with Hayden even attempting a reverse sweep off Harbhajan that fetched him a boundary. But their hopes suffered a setback when Ishant claimed the big wicket of Clarke for 22, caught behind by Dhoni, as Australia were reduced to 82 for three.Hayden, on 35, attempted another reverse sweep off Harbhajan but this time hit it straight to Dravid, at first slip, who failed to hold on to a sharp chance. At lunch on the final day, Australia were 111 for 3 in 23 overs. Hayden (46 not out) and Hussey (14 not out) are looking to attack at every opportunity, but the target seems a huge mountain to climb.India's over-rate, as expected, was pathetic at around 10 overs per hour, but, as Dhoni said on Sunday, their first aim is winning the series, and for that even a draw would do.

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