By Abhishek Roy, IANS
Vadodara : Australia defeated India by nine wickets in the fifth one-day international here Thursday to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the seven match Future Cup series.
Australia achieved the paltry target of 149 in just 25.5 overs with nine wickets in hand at the Reliance Stadium here. Opener Adam Gilchrist found form with a blistering 79 (77 balls, 7x4s, 4x6s) and captain Ricky Ponting was unbeaten on 39.
It was supposed to be a red-letter day for Indian cricket as master blaster Sachin Tendulkar was playing his 400th ODI. But it turned out to be a match that the batting maestro would perhaps like to soon forget.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had little hesitation in batting after winning the toss because the average total in this ground was 280.
But the famed Indian batting order collapsed like a pack of cards in front of a fully packed stadium for a mere 148 in 39.4 overs. This was the lowest total ever at this ground and erased the past low of 181 by the West Indies earlier this year.
In the end, a patient knock of 47 off 73 deliveries from Tendulkar, who was also the top scorer, and Zaheer Khan’s 28 as he and R.P. Singh put on 41 for the last wicket helped India cross the three-figure mark.
Australian tearaway Mitchell Johnson ripped the Indian batting apart with his five for 26 while Brett Lee claimed two wickets. Johnson’s figures of 10-0-26-5 were the best ever by an Australian in India and he was also adjudged the Man of the Match.
The only highlight of the Indian innings was Tendulkar’s innings. It was a great delight for the some 15,000 spectators as they watched the batting maestro time the ball sweetly. Tendulkar’s innings lasted 73 deliveries and was decorated with nine boundaries. He played a few sublime strokes and caressed a few boundaries through the covers.
Tendulkar was also involved in the highest partnership of the Indian innings as he and local hero Irfan Pathan (26) added 49 runs for the sixth wicket. Pathan joined Tendulkar in the middle when half the side was back in the pavilion for just 43 runs in the 10th over.
The last wicket partnership between Rudra Pratap Singh (12) and Zaheer added 41 runs to see India put 148 runs on board.
The Indian collapse started from the first over itself after Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid failed to open their accounts and returned to the pavilion after the fourth and fifth balls respectively.
Ganguly was run out after Tendulkar failed to respond to a risky single and in the very next delivery, Dravid departed after he was trapped leg before by Lee.
Yvraj Singh (1), Robin Uthappa (5), Pathan, Murali Kartik (0), Dhoni (4) all failed to negotiate Johnson’s swing and went down tamely.
SCOREBOARD:
Fifth One-day International, India vs. Australia, Future Cup, Reliance Stadium, Vadodara, Oct 11
India:
Sourav Ganguly run out (Hodge/Gilchrist)
Sachin Tendulkar c Gilchrist b Lee 47
Rahul Dravid lbw b Lee 0
Yuvraj Singh c Gilchrist b Johnson 1
Robin Uthappa lbw b Johnson 5
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Gilchrist b Johnson 4
Irfan Pathan c Gilchrist b Johnson 26
Harbhajan Singh c Bracken b Hogg 5
Murali Kartik c Gilchrist b Johnson 0
Zaheer Khan c Gilchrist b Bracken 28
Rudra Pratap Singh not out 12
Extras (b 4, lb 6, w 9, nb 1) 20
Total (all out in 39.4 overs) 148
Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Ganguly, 0.4 overs), 2-5 (Dravid, 0.5), 3-12 (Yuvraj, 3.5), 4-33 (Uthappa, 7.1), 5-43 (Dhoni, 9.2), 6-92 (Tendulkar, 25.3), 7-105 (Harbhajan, 26.6), 8-106 (Pathan, 27.4), 9-107 (Kartik, 29.1)
Bowling:
Brett Lee 9-0-42-2 (1nb, 4w)
Mitchell Johnson 10-0-26-5 (3w)
Brad Hogg 9-1-28-1
James Hopes 3-0-13-0
Nathan Bracken 8.4-0-29-1 (2w)
Australia:
Adam Gilchrist not out 79
Matthew Hayden b Singh 29
Ricky Ponting not out 39
Extras (lb 1, w 1) 2
Total (for one wicket in 25.5 overs) 149
Fall of wicket: 1-54 (Hayden, 12.5 overs)
Bowling:
Harbhajan Singh 9-0-36-0
Zaheer Khan 3-0-23-0
Murali Kartik 7.5-1-52-0
Rudra Pratap Singh 2-0-15-1 (1w)
Irfan Pathan 2-0-11-0
Sachin Tendulkar 2-0-11-0
Result: Australia won by nine wickets, take 3-1 lead
Man of the Match: Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and Ameesh Saheba (India)
TV umpire: Suresh Shastri (India)
Match referee: Chris Broad (England)