Australia V India - SGC - The battle Continues....

[The Prototype]

Aussie win! A Big six by Lee and then a single off the last over, what a finish.

[JLC]

The "Liability" as he has been labelled in the past turned into an asset and won the game for the Aussies.

Its about time Brett Lee had some good fortune

Well Done Brett

jlc

[JLC]

However having said that i still think the middle order is a concern for the Aussies.

They struggle to take Indian wickets yet India dont seem to have too much trouble with the middle order.

jlc

[CQ]

woohoo wat a hit, lol lee is good for sumfin! nah it was good from him! fkn excellent win aussies!!

[Donny]

Gilly the match winner. Thanks, JLC, I'll collect later.

Wonderful win by the Aussies.

[The Prototype]

I think the Aussies need to tone it down a little with the smashing, and stop throwing their wickets away. Once Gilchrist went, the rest through their wickets away. Sure, towards the end it was needed, but at the start they need a longer partnership than they have been getting in the One Dayers so far.

[JLC]

Bevan and Martyn both failed........Nuff said They were the two players i offered.

jlc

[The Prototype]

Maybe now Lee can get himself out of the gutter and start to perform, not getting bashed around (that much) taking a wicket, and hitting the winning runs might snap him back into it, I hope.

[Collies4Eva]

Go Brett!!!! Goodonya. The Aussies showed some real fighting spirit to come through in the crunch, what a six!!!! Though we probly shldnt have been in the position we were after we were 1/150. I dont really rate this indian attack, they didnt have kumble and their pace bowlers though good are nothing special. why is it that we r struggling to score runs against them??? Could it be overconfidence?? and about our bowling the less said the better...when was the last time we were able to bowl india out for less than 250? every match be it test or ODI at least one indian batsman has made a big score while our batting hasnt really shone aside from gilly and hayden.

im happy for the win, but i just think that we r doing it a lot harder than we should be doing it

[The Prototype]

India really missed Sehwag and Tendulkar, Agarkar obviously wasn't really that fit to bowl at his dangerous best when they needed it. But they still had Australia on the ropes, it took a big hit to bring up the win. Should make for an interesting Finals series, now that it is doubtful that Zimbabwe have a hope in hell of making it to the finals.

I hope the finals are as good as the current games that has been played between Australia and India, they have really made the series a good one. It's a shame Zimbabwe haven't been able to get into form and make a contest of things.

[JLC]

The difference is that Laxman or Dravid can hold up one end while Tendulkar, Ganguly or Singh go crazy with the bat. Laxman and Dravid both score quickly themselves but India keep wickets in hand. India dont seem that bothered by the Australian bowling attack at present so the Aussies need to change their tactics especially to Laxman.

Whereas Australia is all out attack which is ok when your middle and lower orders are firing. Sadly for Australia they are playing one and maybe even two batsman short given the form of Martyn and Bevan. Maybe Ponting needs to play a captains innings and build a total around him.

jlc

[London Dave]

Oz were probably fortunate to win last nite, dunno if they'd got up if no rain fell. We are relying on too few batmen atm.

however, it proves that the D/L method does set up great games of cricket. I cant think of a recent game affected by rain that hasn't resulted in a tight result via D/L.

[Johnson#26]

Well done Aussies!!! Great win! It's also good to see Brett Lee have a big say in the finish. This could be a huge confience booster for him. Time to give D. Hussey in the middle order. How big was Andrew Symonds' six?!

[MargOZ]

What a nail-biter! I also think we were a bit lucky and maybe under different circumstances the result could have been different - but it was still a great win and a bonus to see Lee smash the winner just when we needed it. I have no doubt he'll be back better than ever in no time. And well done to Gilchrist - pity the other batsmen couldn't give him better support. I'm a fan of Bevan's so I'd really love to see him hit some form but I do think Martyn's had his chance, at least for the moment.

Gotta say that I didn't realise India were this good before they came out to OZ for the current tour!

Marg

[Donny]

Dave, "India really missed Tendulkar and Sehwag" ? Mate, they hit 296 not 196.
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Lee clinches SCG epic

By Jon Pierik - Fox


BRETT LEE spectacularly cast aside a week of intense scrutiny over his place in the Australian team by blasting the world champions to a stunning victory over India in last night's rain-marred match at the SCG.
e celebrates after the winning run.

Needing 11 runs from the final over to reach their revised total of 225 off 34 overs for victory, Lee hit 10 of the runs - including a thumping six over extra cover off fast bowler Laxmipathy Balaji - to get Australia home with one ball remaining under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Having earlier ensured he retained his spot in the squad with an encouraging 2-46 from nine overs, the fast bowler was jubilant as he revived a run-chase that had gone horribly wrong to deliver Australia a two-wicket win.

Australia looked to be coasting towards their revised victory target after rain delayed play for 96 minutes.

But the dismissals of Adam Gilchrist (95) and Ricky Ponting (42) proved catastrophic as the Aussies lost 3-4 in 12 balls from when their captain became Irfan Pathan's first victim of the night.

Andy Symonds (16 from 16) and Michael Bevan (12 from 20) looked to reassert Australia's dominance with a controlled 22-run stand before a moment of madness from Symonds proved fatal.

Having just planted the medium pace of Sourav Ganguly over extra cover for six, next ball he provided an easy catch at deep mid-wicket for Ajit Agarkar.

When Ganguly (3-41) exposed a gap in Bevan's defence soon after, the Indians were on the verge of what had seemed an improbable victory.

Ganguly's bold gamble to bowl himself at the death seemed to be a match-winning masterstroke but it wasn't quite to be.

Australia's original onerous task of overhauling India's 4-296 from 50 overs _ which would have required their third greatest run-chase of all time - was slashed because of heavy rain.

This delay served to blunt the masterful strokeplay of centurions VVS Laxman (106 not out off 130 balls) and Yuvraj Singh (139 off 122 balls).

Australia were 1-73 off 9.2 overs when the heavens opened up at 7.34pm, meaning the revised target was now effectively 152 runs from a comfortable 24 overs.

When the rain started to fall, vital time seemed to be lost when the groudsmen had to wait for the sightscreen at the Paddington St end – where Balaji was bowling – to be moved.

The sightscreen runs across the top of the gate which allows access on to the ground.

By the time the covers were put on, the pitch was damp while the centre wicket area was quite soggy.

When the covers were finally lifted, play was delayed even further as sawdust was applied to the wet spots.

When play finally recommenced at 9.10pm, Gilchrist, resuming on 48, maintained his uptempo attitude in racing to his half-century off only 31 balls.

He and Ponting scored at will and shared in a century-stand off just 82 balls before India stormed back into the contest.

Left-arm quick Pathan had Ponting (42 from 54) and Martyn (0) caught behind in consecutive deliveries and when spinner Murali Kartik held onto a tight caught and bowled chance from Gilchrist in the next over, the world champions had lost 3-4 in 10 minutes.

Earlier, VVS Laxman had again left Australia bewildered with his second straight unbeaten century against the hosts as he and Yuvraj shared in a punishing stand of 213 off 206 balls – a record fourth-wicket partnership between the two nations.

Following on from his undefeated 103 on Sunday, Laxman plundered an undefeated 106 from 130 balls.

Yuvraj smashed the highest score ever by an Indian in a one-day international on Australian soil in monstering 139 runs from just 122 balls.

His spanking knock came complete with 16 boundaries and a pair of sixes off Ian Harvey. If there is anyone out there who has any idea on how to stop Laxman, could they please drop a line today to Ponting, care of Cricket Australia.