Australians get their act together to keep series alive

The Australians got their act together at the right time in Vizag to keep the one-day series alive with a solid batting performance. Matthew Hayden is having a run that batsmen mostly dream about and he notched up another century in a methodical fashion. Hayden was made to stay back for the one-dayers after a superb display in the Test series and the move has paid off handsomely. He was reputed to be a hungry player with a penchant for big scores but what he has done in India is phenomenal. He has hardly failed on this tour and has led the charge for the visitors in both versions of the game. Hayden came to India a few seasons ago to gain some experience to play on turning tracks against spinners and that has definitely helped him immensely. He has not only countered the spinners well with his stoic defence but has used his feet well to play attacking shots.

Hayden once again gave the visitors the start they were looking for but this time around he kept the out of form Ponting going during their huge partnership. Ponting who is dubbed as the `poor man's Tendulkar' has had a horrid time in India and the century must have provided great relief to the talented batsman. Steve Waugh showed enormous faith in Ponting by playing him in the side and Ponting justified his skipper's faith by playing a major role for his team.

Ponting and Hayden were aggressive in their approach and with the flat pitch hardly providing any encouragement for the bowlers, the Indians were left chasing the leather hopelessly. The right-left combination made the bowlers' task that extra difficult and none of the Indian bowlers were spared. Harbhajan Singh was comparatively economical among the regulars and the Aussies once again gave Zaheer Khan some rough treatment. The launching pad provided by Hayden and Ponting allowed the Aussies to attack right through the innings and they eventually set an insurmountable target.

The Indian batting line up did have the potency to make a match out of it but the way the batsmen went about the chase suggested a distinct lack of planning. Ganguly's lean run with the bat continued and it is disappointing to see an elegant batsman struggling. It has to be said in Ganguly's defence that any batsman goes through a lean trot and one can only hope that he gets into his groove sooner rather than later. Ganguly would do well to realise that there is nothing wrong with his basic technique as such but of late he has probably got distracted in trying to match his opponents in sledging and aggression.

Tendulkar's mauling of McGrath continued and he provided the impetus the Indians required considering the huge target they were chasing. There is always an element of risk involved when someone keeps attacking as Tendulkar did yesterday. In the end he perished in trying to keep up the tempo he built up. The lack of meaningful contributions from the middle order and the fall of wickets at regular intervals put paid to whatever hopes the Indians may have entertained. Laxman failed for the first time since he got going in Kolkata as he became a victim to Warne's guile. Warne appeared to be more of his old self and his spell at Vizag must have infused some confidence into him. The flexibility of the Australian team was evident as Steve Waugh decided to fill in for Shane Lee and picked up three wickets. Robin Singh looked a shadow of himself and the fact that his head is on the chopping block made matters worse. The young duo of Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan enjoyed themselves with some lusty blows even though the result was a foregone conclusion.

In the end analysis, the Australians turned the heat on at just about the right time and the convincing victory has tied the series. Both the sides have played enthralling cricket in the entire series and it is only fitting that the last one-dayer at Goa will decide the winner of the one-day contest. The public can't ask for anything more but of course an Indian victory would be the icing on the cake.