Australia recovered from a wobbly start and smashed 110 runs in the final 10 overs to post a competitive 288 for 5 in their tri-series cricket one-dayer against India here today.
Half centuries by Peter Forrest (52) and Mike Hussey (59) and their century stand for the fourth wicket help set the base before impressive cameos by Daniel Christian and David Hussey lifted Australia to 288 for 5.
Christian (32 off 18 balls) and Hussey (24 off 20 balls) plundered 58 runs from the final five overs, the penultimate over by Vinay Kumar yielding 18 runs.
Irfan Pathan claimed 3 for 61 and the Indian effort was generally good in the field but for sloppy work in the final overs.
Australia made a fine start before they fell into a quagmire in the first half of the innings.
David Warner and Matthew Wade had put on 70 runs for the first wicket by the 13th over before the innings almost came to a standstill.
Warner was set for a long innings with 43 from 46 balls (five fours and a six) before he tamely pushed a leg-stump half volley from Irfan Pathan to the lone fielder on the onside inside the ring.
Stand-in captain Ricky Ponting, with just 11 runs from four previous innings, looked completely out of sorts, getting off the mark of only his 13th delivery before falling on 7, caught in the deep off the probing line of Zaheer Khan.
India wrested control with only 12 runs from five overs of bowling powerplay for the wicket of Ponting, the hundred only coming up in the 25th over, the last 50 having consumed 91 deliveries.
Wade, with apparent intent to anchor the innings, had hit only one four in the first 25 overs and had 33 from 58 balls before he freed his arms and swung Suresh Raina high into the stands for six.
Fall of wickets:
1.DA Warner c Tendulkar b Pathan 43
2.RT Ponting c Pathan b Khan 7
3. MS Wade†c & b Rohit Sharma 45
4.MEK Hussey c Raina b Pathan 59
5.PJ Forrest c Kohli b Pathan 52
Fall of wicket: 70/1 (12.6 ov),83/2 (Ponting, 19.2 ov),117/3 (Matthew Wade, 27.4 ov)217/4 (MEK Hussey, 43.1 ov),223/5 (Forrest, 43.6 ov)
Ashwin out,Zaheer in:
India have replaced Ravichandran Ashwin with Zaheer Khan and Australia have brought in Ben Hilfenhaus in place of Clint McKay, who is ill.
After an insipid start to their campaign, the Indians have done well to bounce back. They beat both Australia and Sri Lanka and head into this match after having secured a tie in the last game against Sri Lanka.
At the halfway mark India are topping the table, even it is by the slender margin of just a solitary point. Gabba has been a lucky venue for India too: they have beaten Australia here in their previous two clashes.
The good news for India is that in-form opener Gautam Gambhir is not be a victim of India's mysterious rotation policy, since the out-of-form Virender Sehwag is still bothered by a back spasm, which is a blessing in disguise.
Australia come to the Gabba having lost two games on the trot, one each to India and Sri Lanka. In their previous match on Friday, they struggled to put up a 150-plus score. Even the fielding has been below par.
Regular captain Michael Clarke has been sidelined due to a hamstring injury while stand-in Ricky Ponting, who scored heavily in the Tests against India, is now facing a run-drought.
The day after putting in their worst batting performance, the Australians had to travel from Sydney to Brisbane, while India have been resting and relaxing here for the last four days.
The heat is well and truly on, both for Ponting and Australia.
India have bowled and fielded exceptionally in their last few games. However, apart from Gambhir and Dhoni, the rest of the batsmen have been found wanting. The batsmen now need to fire collectively.
