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| Australia beat India by 18 runs to reach Tri-series final | | |
Kuala Lumpur, Sept 22: Australia beat India by 18 runs to reach the final of the on-going tri-series at Kinrara Oval today. A gritty half-century by India’s come back man Dinesh Mongia went in vain as wickets kept tumbling at the other hand. Indian chase was cut short due to some poor umpiring in the match as Dhoni was given out on a no-ball and Harbhajan Singh was also declared out in a doubtful manner.
For Australia, Brett Lee was the star as he scalped five wickets for 38 runs. Lee was declared Man of the Match.
We did not play upto our potential: Dravid
Indian captain Rahul Dravid attributed the defeat to some very poor batting performance by the team. “We did not play anywhere near to our potential. There are problems at the top of the order”, said Dravid.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting said that chasing was always going to be difficult on this wicket and added that his bowlers certainly did well today.
Man of the Match Brett Lee expressed happiness over getting the big wickets of Sachin and Sehwag in the match.
Earlier, India boosted their chance of securing a berth in the final by restricting Australia to a modest 213 in the last league match of the cricket tri-series here today.
Electing to bat, the three-time world champions failed to break the shackles thrown around them by the tidy Indian bowlers and were eventually all out in 48.1 overs at the Kinrara Oval.
The day-night clash is a must-win game for both the teams with the winners qualifying for the final on Sunday against the West Indies.
The Aussies owed their total to a 77-run partnership between Brad Haddin and Brad Hogg who came together after the team had slipped to 117 for six in 32nd over.
Haddin was judged run out on one by umpire Asad Rauf but was recalled after television replays showed Harbhajan Singh, the bowler, had disturbed the stumps with his hands while collecting the throw.
The wicketkeeper-batsman went on to make 46 from 63 balls, studded with four sixes and a four.
Hogg made 38 to give the Australian innings some late thrust.
The top scorer for the Aussies was opener Matthew Hayden who made a fluent 54.
The Aussie innings, however, was marred by three run outs, and could have been more if Harbhajan had not missed Haddin.
Ajit Agarkar (2-44) and Rudra Pratap Singh (2-43) were the best bowlers for India while Munaf Patel, Dinesh Mongia and Harbhajan fetched one wicket each.
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