I guess I will have to eat my own words, thanks to Sachin Tendulkar. When Ricky Ponting let loose a barrage of comments about the Big 3, I had mentioned that they will let their bats do the talking. Tendulkar seems to have forgotten to bring his bat with him. After rain played spoilsport, I have to admit that it is going to be a big time reality check for the Indians.

Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Adam Gilchrist started aggressively and quickly got the Aussies to a rollicking start. Had it not been for a stunner from Yuvraj Singh, Gilchrist could have completely shattered India’s confidence. But the Punjabi lad had other ideas as he plucked one from mid-air to give Zaheer and India their first wicket. Watch it below:

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Australia were 14-1 and India drew first blood. Sreesanth started his second over erratically. His first two balls were wide on either side of the wicket. The third one was an absolute beauty as it came back in enough to have Hodge falling over himself. He was adjudged LBW and Australia were in all sorts of trouble. Michael Clarke was the man in, and India had to get either Clarke or Hayden out to really put pressure on the Australians.

Sreesanth continued his erratic spell sending in wides every over. Whenever he did get it right, though, he caused plenty of trouble for the batsmen. Zaheer was also off line as continued to bowl down the leg side and Clark continued to pick up boundaries. RP Singh was the first change bowler and he was brought back to earth soon enough. Singh was unable to find any movement off the pitch and it seemed that he had also lost a bit of pace. Then came another gem from Sreesanth as he clean bowled Hayden. This is the second instance in as many matches and it could be the beginning of a Sreesanth vs Hayden contest for the rest of the series.

Australia were now 78-3 and in walks Andrew Symonds. After his stinging comments in the tabloids a couple of days ago he had to walk the talk. Unfortunately from him Sreesanth was in a dream zone. Symonds did not last long and was sent back to another LBW decision. Sreesanth now had 3 and Australia were 90-4 from 16.3 overs. Sure the run rate was very healthy but the big hitters were sitting back in the pavilion. And this is where I think India lost the initiative. Instead of being able to tighten the screw, the bowlers lost the plot. There just weren’t enough wicket taking deliveries to cause any trouble to Haddin or Clarke.

Clarke who has memorable moment of this ground made it another special day with a glorious century that not only got his team out of trouble but also ensured that India would have to chase around 75 runs more than what seemed when Symonds fell.

When India started their batting the target was 308. The first over from Brett Lee was a maiden to Gambhir. Mitchell Johnson got the prize wicket of Sachin in his very first over. Yet another duck for the “master” in a crucial situation. India were 1-1 and, with Ganguly spraining his hamstring, India were really in trouble. I guess there must be something in prayers as the clouds decided then and there to pour and match was abandoned due to a wet outfield. India had been lucky to escape with a draw. Where Australia were saved by Clarke, India were saved by rain. This is the difference between the two sides. For India to now come back would require a lot of self belief and more discipline in the bowling department.

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