By IANS
Brisbane : Just when India looked like taking control over Australia, rains came down for the third time forcing abandonment of the opening match of the Commonwealth Bank Triangular One-Day Series here Sunday. Each team got two points.
Chasing India’s 194 all out in 45 overs, Australia were struggling at 51 for three wickets in 7.2 overs when rains forced the players inside the dressing rooms. Minutes later the umpires declared the match abandoned.
Pacers Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth, bowling with renewed vigour and enthusiasm, dismissed James Hopes (17) and captain Ricky Ponting (0) in five balls after the second rain break, to reduce Australia to 39 for three.
With Ponting’s dismissal, Australia had lost three wickets in nine balls and India were on top. Sreesanth earlier forced Adam Gilchrist (14, 17 balls, 2x4s) to edge a ball to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to deal the first blow.
Michael Clarke (2 not out) and Andrew Symonds (5 not out) added just 12 more for the fourth wicket when rains again lashed the Gabba and the umpires called the match off.
Sreesanth was highly impressive and took two for 17 while Ishant extended his fine form.
India will next play Sri Lanka here Tuesday.
Earlier, fast bowler Brett Lee took his career’s seventh five-wicket haul to hasten India’s demise. Indian batsmen failed for the second time in three days, having lost the one-off Twenty20 International to Australia in Melbourne without a fight.
Gautam Gambhir (39, 51 balls, 4x4s) and captain Dhoni (37, 61 balls, 1×4) came to the team’s rescue when it had lost four wickets for 11 runs after winning the toss.
A 65-run third-wicket partnership between Gambhir and Rohit Sharma (29, 43 balls, 5x4s) helped India recover after they had lost the first two wickets quickly in the day-night match.
Down the order, Dhoni was involved in two crucial 40-plus partnerships with Irfan Pathan (21, 40 balls, 1×6) and Harbhajan Singh (27, 19 balls, 3x4s), for the seventh and eighth wickets to take India to a decent enough total.
Lee was lethal as he captured five for 27 in nine overs to cripple the Indian batting line-up.
There was a long rain-enforced break due to which the game was reduced to 45 overs per side. Even as the Indian innings was coming to an end, drizzle had started again, due to which Australia’s target was reduced to 196 from 45 overs, courtesy the Duckworth-Lewis method for truncated matches.
The Australian innings was further reduced to 43 overs and their target to 192. Then, after the first rain disruption, immediately after Gilchrist’s fall, the Australia’s target was readjusted to 141 from 132 balls. And, finally, the match was called off after another round of rains.
Earlier, Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat. But India had a disastrous start with Virender Sehwag (6, 7 balls, 1×4) chopping a delivery from left-arm speedster Nathan Bracken on to his stumps.
Sachin Tendulkar hit Bracken for a boundary in the same over, but in the next, bowled by Brett Lee, he too departed. As he tried to play on the square leg he dislodged the bails.
Gambhir and Rohit Sharma, playing some confident strokes, then forged a good partnership of 65 off 12.5 overs at a brisk pace of 5.06 runs per over.
Left-handed Gambhir slammed two boundaries in one over of debutant fast bowler Ashely Noffke to take charge. Mumbai’s Sharma handed the same treatment to the 30-year-old bowler, but the difference was that he hit those fours off successive balls.
At 24, Gambhir got two reprieves. First Michael Hussey dropped him at second slip and one ball later Ponting couldn’t hold on to his catch at first slip, frustrating fast bowler Mitchell Johnson.
Johnson finally had Gambhir’s measure when the left-hander missed the line of a ball that came in a bit and he was adjudged leg before the wicket.
In the next over, bowled by Lee, Sharma also departed as the ball climbed a bit and the right-hander only managed to snick it to wicketkeeper Gilchrist.
Lee also cleaned up debutant Manoj Tiwary (2) with a beautiful express delivery that pitched almost on the crease and gave no time to the Bengal batsman to use his feet.
Robin Uthappa (5) also disappointed as he tried to play the ball on the leg side but an edge took it straight to Michael Clarke at point to give pacer Ashley Noffke his first ODI wicket.
India had, at this stage, lost four wickets for 11 runs in seven overs. From 91 for two they plummeted to 102 six.
Dhoni and Pathan then played cautiously and were content in taking singles. They took India into the rain break at 128 for six (Dhoni on 14 and Pathan on 11) in 36 overs. When the players returned after the long break, the umpires reduced the game to 45 overs per side, which made the Indian batsmen’s task more difficult.
After the break, Pathan slammed Noffke for a superb six over extra cover. But he was out on the next ball when Dhoni declined a tight single and Ponting from mid-on broke the stumps. Dhoni and Pathan raised 45 for the seventh wicket off 12.5 overs, at 3.50 per over.
Dhoni and Harbhajan, who played some unorthodox but hugely effective shots, then scored 42 at an excellent rate of 8.12 runs in just 5.1 overs. This eighth-wicket stand took India to a respectable total.