India will begin their 2011 tour to West Indies with one-off Twenty 20, a 5-match ODI series and a 3-match Test series from June 4, 2011 to July 10, 2011.

West Indies vs India One-Off Twenty 20

Only T20

Saturday, June 04, 2011

Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Time: 23:30 (IST) 14:00 (Local)

India vs West Indies ODI Series Schedule

1st ODI

Monday, June 6, 2011

Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Time: 19:00 (IST) 09:30 (Local)

2nd ODI

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Time: 19:00 (IST) 09:30 (Local)

3rd ODI

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua

Time: 19:00 (IST) 09:30 (Local)

4th ODI

Monday, June 13, 2011

Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua

Time: 19:00 (IST) 09:30 (Local)

5th ODI

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Sabina Park, Kingston – Jamaica

Time: 20:00 (IST) 09:30 (Local)

India vs West Indies Test Series Schedule

1st Test Match

Monday, June 20, 2011 to Friday, June 24, 2011

Sabina Park, Kingston – Jamaica

Time: 20:30 (IST) 10:00 (Local)

2nd Test Match

Tuesday, June 28, 2011 to Saturday, July 2, 2011

Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

Time: 19:30 (IST) 10:00 (Local)

3rd Test Match

Wednesday, July 6, 2011 to Sunday, July 10, 2011

Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica

Time: 19:30 (IST) 10:00 (Local)

The Proteas were up for the challenge this time though, with an in-form 15-member squad to choose from. Both the teams were under tremendous pressure, as on the one hand, it was an opportunity to get a spot in the semi-finals, while, on the other, a door to exit from the tournament.

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat. They did not have the start they might have envisaged, with the openers falling within the first ten overs. Ryder and Ross Taylor took control of the situation thereafter. The two played a watchful inningsand managed to keep the South African spin attack at bay. After the batsmen had settled in, runs began to come more freely. Ross Taylor, who had hit the most number of sixes in the tournament so far, was on show today as well. He played some excellent shots. Taylor is also New Zealand’s highest run-scorer for the tournament.

South Africa began to feel the pressure as the 3rd wicket partnership crossed 100 runs. Imran Tahir, who has been a kind of revelation for South Africa this world cup, backed his reputation. He bagged the wicket of Taylor and later Ryder. New Zealand lost wickets in quick succession post that. Willamson tried to build on what the partnership had achieved but he soon found himself running out of partners. Morkel swiped the tailender wickets, bringing the Kiwis total to a barely competitive 221 from 50 overs.

A one-sided affair was expected from the game with the turn of events so far. But New Zealand went in for spin in their innings. Nathan McCullum bowled the first over. Results were seen immediately, with Amla, who had looked dangerous against India, falling in the first over itself. He got out in a freakish manner – the ball under-edged the bat, ricocheted off of the keeper’s foot and went on to hands of Vettori, who was standing at first slip.

Next man in was Jacques Kallis. Smith and Kallis stayed steady as houseboats, scoring runs freely undeterred by anything the Kiwi bowling attack had to offer. Kiwi shoulders began to drop as the Proteas cruised to 50 runs in 10 overs. However, Smith departed shortly after, giving away his wicket to a wide ball. De Villiers continued the momentum with Kallis and together they added another 50 to the team’s tally. Southee provided the turning point of the game. Kallis, looking to finish things of early, pulled a short ball of Southee’s bowling. The ball looked like it would go for a six but Oram was waiting there at deep midwicket. He grabbed on to the ball, giving the Kiwis the crucial breakthrough.

What followed was the fall of South African dreams and the rise of Kiwi aspirations. The newly returned captain Vettori brought in a sense of self belief in the players. They set an attacking field and did not let the opening batsmen settle down. South Africa went from 3-108 to 7-132 in a period of ten overs. History seemed to have taught nothing to the Proteas who seemed within reach of another defeat against the Kiwis. Du Plessis tried organising a fight back but it was a case of much too little and much too late for the task at hand. Another 70 runs were needed to cross the line.

South African supporters who were hanging on to the glimmer of hope Du Plessis was providing them were cheering every run. This too vanished with his fall. Among the New Zeland bowlers, Oram took 4 wickets and Nathan McCullum took a career best of 3-24.

Proteas were bowled out at 172 and with that ended their journey in the world cup. Many players of the team were disappointed, as this was possibly their last world cup. Kiwis were kicked about the comeback they had made.

Now it is going to be interesting to see who joins them in the semi-finals, Srilanka or England. Any guesses?

Match Summary:

New Zealand 221 (Ryder 83,Taylor 43,Morkel 3-43) beat South Africa 172 (Kallis 47,du Plessis 36, Oram 4-39) by 49 runs.

Man of the Match: Jacob Oram.

It was a Thursday afternoon and the crowd was packed at Sardar Patel Stadium, backing their team in the numbers. Australian Captain Ricky Ponting won the match and elected to bat, probably due to the dry pitch and India’s history of chasing targets. India had brought Raina into the side to strengthen their middle order in place of Yusuf Pathan.

Australian batsmen Haddin and Watson began the proceedings. It was a watchful start. Each team seemed to have done their homework. Ashwin, who had played well in the previous game, was brought in early into the attack. The faith of the captain on him paid off when he took the first wicket, of Watson. Watson attempted to play an offensive stroke, misjudged the ball, which went on to hit his off stump.

Ponting, who had scored only 100 runs in his past 5 innings, walked in next. Haddin, Ponting having spent time on the pitch, was looking quite comfortable and provided Ponting time to settle in. They built a moderate partnership and were starting to look dangerous at 100/1 by the end of the 20th over, when Yuvraj Singh got back in action once again, this time with the ball. He took Haddin’s wicket and the runs dried up post that.

Indian spinners then made the Australian batsmen toil for their runs. Also, the fall of wicket at regular intervals kept breaking any momentum being built.

The highlight of the match was Ricky Ponting, who looked like a man on a mission. He silenced his critics with his gameplay, finely crafting 104 of 113 balls. This helped Australia get to a reasonable total of 260. Among the Indian bowlers Singh, Ashwin and Khan took two wickets each. Zaheer Khan became second leading wicket taker in the tournament with this game.

It was a fifty-fifty situation when the next innings began, with Tendulkar and Sehwag walking in to the crease. The atmosphere was electrifying, with the crowds roaring to the shots played by the batsmen. Australia was up to its old tricks again, using the short ball against the Indian batsmen. And the tricks paid dividends too, with Sehwag getting caught while trying to pull a bouncer. The little master took responsibility on his shoulders to ride his team through built a partnership with Gambhir. Gambhir looked shaky initially but soon gained confidence.

The match seemed to be tilting in India’s favour, when Tait bowled a smooth delivery tricking Tendulkar, who nicked it on its way to the keeper. Tendulkar, however, had done some damage till thenand also reached 18,000 runs and 94th ODI half-century in the process. Post Tendulkar’s dismissal, Kohli and Gambhir continued the momentum, with Kohli playing a cameo innings of 24 runs.

A number of partnerships in the middle order helped India take control of the game And it was not until the freak run-out of Gambhir that the match turned back in favour of the Aussies. Ricky Ponting used all the tricks in his bag to build pressure on the Indians and Lee dismissed MS Dhoni next, bringing the Indians down to 5. Was this the beginning of another collapse?

With still 70 runs left to get and 12 overs in hand for India, it could have been anyone’s game at that point of time And it was uptoYuvraj Singh and Raina to set things straight for their team. Yuvraj was back for his side as he had been in earlier matches in the tournament. He went on to score his 3rd half-century of the tournament. Raina too showed that the selectors had made the right choice by selecting him. Both the batsmen played a number of splendid shots without taking many risks. No Australian bowler was able to pose a serious challenge to the the two beyond a period of time. Australia seemed gravely in need of another Shane Warne.

Yuvraj finally wrapped things up for India, booking a place for his team in the semi-finals against Pakistan on Wednesday, March 30 2011. The Men in blue were jubilant about defeating Australia- a kind of retribution against the defeats they have suffered at the hands of Australia prior.

Match Summary:

India 261(Y.Singh 57, Tendulkar 53, D Hussey 1-19) by 5wickets beat Australia 260 (Ponting 104, Haddin 53, Y.Singh 2-44) .

Man of the Match: Yuvraj Singh

Ireland won the toss and elected to field, probably because they had performed much better when it came to chasing targets. West Indies got off to a stable but slow start. This was probably part of their gameplan, considering they had a knack of losing early wickets. The strategy did help them later in getting them to the total of 275.

It took Kevin O’Brien, the man of the match in the game against England, to get the breakthrough. Chanderpaul chipped one in the air to a slower delivery by Kevin O’Brien to be caught by the captain Porterfield just inches off the ground. Post this wicket, O’Brien was on a roll, taking two more wickets in quick succession. West Indies were 130/3 in the 30th over, when Pollard walked into the crease. Pollard, who is known for his hard hitting exploits in the Windies as well as in the Indian Premier league, put quite a performance for the crowd at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium. He knocked 94 runs off 55 balls, scoring 8 boundaries and 5 massive sixes. This helped the Windies improve their run rate. But while Pollard was creating a storm at one end of the crease, wickets were tumbling at the other end. West Indies lost 6 wickets in the last eight overs. Just goes to show how important retaining wickets is for them in the start.

The Irish were put up against a total of 275. This seemed a tough task, especially against the mighty West Indies pace attack, but the Irish had chased an even higher total a few days back and were onto the challenge. Ireland got to a good start, with Ed Joyce and wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien in fine form. Not only were they scoring runs freely, but also had the required the run-rate under control.

Spin proved to be the enemy for Ireland this time as well. Just how Swann from England and Yuvraj Singh from India had made it hard for the Irish to catch their movement! Suleiman Benn too confused the Irish batsmen with his offbreak. Both the teams were equally stacked to win until the 35th over. The turning point came when debutant A Russel got his first wicket in One Day International Cricket, that of Ed Joyce who was playing an anchoring role in the Irish side. Joyce was bowled by a yorker by Russel that went on to hit the middle and leg stump. Ireland was not able to cope with the pressure after the fall of Joyce’s wicket. They lost wickets at regular intervals and finally got all bowled out for 231, 44 runs short of their target.

Ireland’s performance has been admirable, to say the least, this world cup. Considering the performance of other associate member teams who have had much more international exposure than them, Ireland have done exceptionally well.

Match Summary:

West Indies 275 (Smith 107, Pollard 94, K O’Brien 71-4) beat Ireland 231 (Joyce 84, Wilson 6, Benn 53-4) by 44 runs.

Man of Match: Kieron Pollard.

India took on West Indies at the MA Chidambaram stadium before a packed capacity crowd. The colour of Holi was in the air, a perfect occasion for the Blues to take on the Reds, as it went along with the festive spirit. It was also a big day for Ashwin who was playing his first World Cup game at his home stadium.

Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat. Dhoni and co. had been working hard in the nets to pull this one through. India had not won against a major team in the tournament so far. And it was a good opportunity for the country too, as it was playing a team with some of its key players such as Chris Gaye and Kemar Roach out with injuries.

Ravi Rampaul gave the Indians something to think about, by taking the openers out cheaply. It seemed the beginning of another collapse, when the in-form batsman Yuvraj Singh walked in. He, along with Virat Kohli, brought some stability to the situation. The two added more than 100 runs together.

The stage was being set for India to post a massive total to the Windies. Rampaul provided the breakthrough once again. This time he took the wicket of Virat Kohli who had been looking impressive at the pitch so far. India still was at a comfortable position till then, with almost 20 overs to play and well set in batsmen on the crease.

The ‘collapsing batting order’ syndrome which India had caught over the tournament continued, with no one being able to form a partnership with Yuvraj for a long period of time. Rampaul terrorised the batsmen throughout the evening. He had scalped half the side by the end of it, also his career best.

India’s tumble continued till the end. The last batting powerplay was  proving to be a curse for Dhoni and his men. The last 4 overs of the innings added just 30 runs at the total at the loss of 4 wickets. Finally, thanks to a yet another match winning innings from the Indian Vice Captain Yuvraj Singh (113), West Indies was set a target of 268 to chase — a fairly achievable target, compared to the games so far in the tournament.

West Indies started off well, with a quick partnership between Devon Smith and Kirk Edwards, and Devon Smith and Darren Bravo. The Indian pace attack seemed to lack the extra punch that would bring wickets. Ravichandran Ashwin who had to dig his way into team did show that he was cut out for the main stage. Not only did he take up the challenge given by the captain to bowl the new ball but he also picked the wicket of Edwards, conceding only 18 runs.

West Indies, though losing wickets at regular intervals, was going along at a moderate pace, causing much anxiety in the Indian dressing room. Devon Smith had scored a half century with Sarwan on the other side, also looking good. The wicket of Devon Smith proved to be the turning point of the game. Zaheer Khan was brought in for his 2nd spell. He produced a slow full-length delivery, making the ball swing reverse, which beat Smith and knocked his stumps over.

Devon had been looking dangerous at that point of time having already scored 81 runs. Post this wicket, the dynamics of the game changed completely. Wickets kept on falling. The other set batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan also fell shortly, putting more pressure on the tourists.

Yuvraj’s great form continued, with him picking 2 wickets as well. Zaheer was the pick of the bowlers for the Indians. He picked 3 wickets at the cost of only 23 runs. West Indies was not able to get back in the game post that. They was all bowled out for 188 runs in the 43rd over.

With the quarterfinals next, both the teams have one last break to get things right. India has been experimenting with its team combinations. Hope it gets things right next time. India is slated to play Australia in their quarterfinal encounter while West Indies would be taking on neighbours Pakistan.

Match Summary:

India 268 (Singh 111,Kohli 59, Rampaul 5-53) beat West Indies 188 (Smith 81, Sarwan 39, Zaheer 3-23) by 80 runs

Man of Match: Yuvraj Singh

Nagpur: The stage was set in Nagpur for one of the most competitive ties in the world cup so far. Host India (ICC ODI ranking 2) took on South Africa (ICC ODI ranking 3) as part of the group B fixture. Till now the two teams have played against each other in the world cup twice and both the times the result had been in favour of the Proteas.

Up until the match, India had been sitting pretty at the top of the table, though all its wins had come against associate member teams. South Africa, on the other hand, were fourth on the table and were under intense competition from Bangladesh who were behind only because of the net run rate.India won the toss and elected to bat. The Indian spectators walked in to a packed crowd anticipating an entertainment-filled thriller for the weekend. And that is exactly what Sehwag and Tendulkar gave them. They dismantled and almost ridiculed each bowler of the Proteas bowling attack, leaving the South African captain Graeme Smith bemused and confused.

Smith tried every bowler he had to stop this Indian tornado. India had already notched 142 runs when F du Plessis finally gave the Proteas some relief by dismissing Sehwag (73, 66b, 4×12, 6×0). After Sehwag, who had played a supremely classy and attacking innings, Sachin Tendulkar kept the momentum going, and soon Gambhir joined the party. The master blaster reached yet another ton, his second of the world cup.

India looked at posting a mammoth total, and virtually finishing the game by the innings play. They were 260 runs at the loss of one wicket, with 10 overs in hand. A team couldn’t have asked a better start from its openers. But what followed was chaos! Dale Steyn, who had been bruised in his first spell, went like a battering ram and took out half of the Indian batting side in a matter of few overs. The Indian team crashed faster than any company on a Dalal street trading day. Captain MS Dhoni tried to bring order into things but his efforts could not stop his team from getting bowled at 296, just 28 runs ahead of what had presented a completely different picture. The initially discouraged Proteas went into the dressing room with a match on their hands.

At the end of the innings, Pat Sympcox was asked what the chances of his team winning this one were. He merely grinned and said the average score on the ground was 319 and 296 still was a competitive total,  and that it would require sincere batting from the Proteas to bag the two points.

South African batsmen gave exactly what the doctor ordered. Hashim Amla seemed in a fine nick, and his record against the Indians so far compliments this one. He was looking dangerous even before Dhoni latched on to a top edge off of Amla’s bat. The middle order of South Africa delivered; this is probably what differentiated the two sides at the end of the day. Kallis had built a partnership with Amla and post his wicket continued playing well. Though the Proteas were losing wickets at regular intervals, they did not lose their cool and had the run-rate in control throughout the game.

Turbanator Harbajan Singh revived Indian hopes in the 40th over, taking out two of the set-in batsmen, AB de Villiers and Duminy, with the help of Captain Dhoni, giving the visitors a target of 58 more to get from 42 deliveries. The match got incredibly close as overs of dot balls and run scoring passed by. The last over went on to decide the fate of the match. South Africa were required to score 13 runs of the last over. There was much debate over who should bowl the last over. Nonetheless, it was Ashish Nehra. A four! and a six! off Nehra’s first few balls by Peterson sealed the game for South Africa.

South Africa strengthened its group position with this game. With minnows to play in the rest of its games, it might even go on to top the table by the end of the group matches. India has lost another close one. Though still on top of the table, much improvement is required from the team. India will need to fire as one cohesive unit if it wants to make it to the final 4.

Match Summary:

South Africa 300 (Kallis 69, Amla 61, Singh 3-53) beat India 296 (Tendulkar 111, Sehwag 73, Steyn 5-50) by 3 wickets.

Man of the Match: Dale Steyn

Chittagong: Bangladesh beat England by 2 wickets in this tenth ODI held at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong . It was yet another defeat for the English side that had lost to associate members Ireland just a few weeks prior. Bangladesh inch closer with this victory to the quarterfinals, making group B the group to watch out for this world cup, while England will require quite a recovery to have any chance of taking the cup this time around.

England went into this game weak, with three changes to its side. Stuart Broad was ruled out of the side for the world cup with a side strain. Left-hander Eion Morgan replaced Kevin Pietersen who also suffered an injury. Paul Collingwood was back in the side for the first time in the tournament. As for Bangladesh, Mahmudallah was brought into the side in place of Mohammed Ashraful, and what an important decision that was to be! Bangladesh soon found out.

The Banglas got things right from the start, with captain Shakib Al Hasan winning the toss and putting the opposition on to bat. This was a good decision, considering the dew factor that came into play later. A new opening pair, Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior, started the proceedings for England. The side got to a fairly reasonable start with the opening pair but was abruptly pruned due to the silly dismissal of Prior. He was stumped after the ball went down the leg side for a wide and seemed stupefied, as he walked back to the pavilion. Strauss too followed shortly, edging the ball to a slip fielder.

Trott and Morgon then brought some stability into the England innings, with both scoring fifty each. The recovery seemed almost complete until Morgan got out caught due to a blinder taken by opening batsmen Kayes. Trott continued the momentum for a bit after the fall of Morgan till he too perished. England, though had a couple of small partnerships, were low in terms of run-rate. The side was around 170/4 at the end of the 40 overs, going at just above 4 runs an over.

To recover, the English batsmen began to play attacking shots to gather as many as they could. This, however, did not turn out planned, as the side kept losing wickets without scoring much runs. Collingwood, back into the side after a long break, tried his best to help but found it difficult to adjust to the conditions so late in the game. England finally was wrapped up for 225 runs, giving Bangladesh a real chance to win this game.

The Bangladesh side got a cracker of a start, with Tamim Iqbal stroking the English bowlers all across the park. It was not until the 8th over that England got some  relief from this onslaught. Iqbal was dismissed by Bresnan, which left a pin drop silence in the stands. By then, however,the damage had been done, with the team posting a 50-run mark in the 8th over itself.

Bangladesh too lost wickets in quick succession like the English. Captain Shakib Al Hasan brought some stability, with opener Kayes at the other end who was playing an anchoring role for the side. And the matched seemed almost over, until the partnership was broken by a runout causing the fall of Kayes who had looked in fine form so far in the innings. Ajmal Shahzad got then got England back in the game with some fine bowling, taking a couple of quick wickets. Bangladeshis were left speechless, as they went from 155/3 to 170/8.

It seemed all but over for the Bangladesh team at this point. The supporters too had lost heart and many began to make their way to the exit. And then, in a surprise move, Shaiful Islam hit a six off Swann straight into the stands. Bangladesh now needed 37 runs off 42 balls. Islam and replacement Mahmdullah, though under tremendous pressure, kept their cool. Post settling into the crease, the duo went on fire, putting the pressure back on the English. The crowds started roaring again and in the end,with a fine four, Islam wrapped it up for the team. Quite a win, this one!

Summary:

Bangladesh 227 (Kayes 60, Hasan 32, Shahzad 3-43) beat England 225 (Trott 67,Morgan 63,Islam 2-29 ) by 2 wickets.

Man of the Match: Imrun Kayes

Delhi: It was a cool afternoon at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium with temperatures at around 21 degrees Celsius. Netherlands took on hosts India in the fourth game of their ICC World Cup journey. The men in orange seemed energetic before taking on India, who were yet unbeaten in the tournament. Though the Dutch had lost all of their previous games, a lot of positives too had been seen, reflecting an improvement in the quality of cricket being played in Netherlands. For the Indians, it was their last chance to get the lineup right, as the matches post this would be much more competitive. India brought in Ashish Nehra into the team to shuffle the bowling attack, replacing Munaf Patel.

Netherlands captain won the toss and elected to bat first, as the pitch conditions showed that the surface would dry up during the course of the match and would make it difficult for the side batting second. They got to the start they were looking for, with openers being able to survive the new ball well. In fact, it was the best opening partnership Netherlands had had in the world cup so far.

The first to fall was Szwarczynski, the Australian under-19 player who now plays for the Dutch. He was bowled by a delivery that keeps straight by youngster Piyush Chawla. This was good for the Chawla, who had not been having such a great tournament until then, being scored for a lot of runs. The other opener, Barresit, too, fell shortly. Netherlands were then doing fine with a score of 80/2 at the end of 20 overs. The momentum built by the openers, however, was not continued by the middle order. Some runouts and good bowling got the Dutch struggling at 127/7 by the end of the 35th over. Wicket takers among the bowlers were Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Yuvraj Singh.

Dutch captain PW Borren took the responsibility of steering his side to a respectable total and tried to build a partnership with pacer Mudassar Bukhari. They hit 4 sixes and 4 fours, creating quite a hiccup in what seemed to be a perfect day for the Indian bowlers. The spinners, especially, got a hammering in the end. This didn’t last long, however, with Zaheer scalping the two. The Dutch were bowled out in the 46th over, posting a target of 190.

In the second innings, the Indian openers gave the crowd a run fiesta in the start. One of the Dutch bowlers, Doeschate went for as many as 23 runs in his first two overs. It looked like a one-sided game, with India reaching 50 runs by the 6th over itself. That wasn’t to stay the case though, with wickets falling in quick succession thereafter. Yusuf Pathan was sent in early after his performance against Ireland the other day but failed, getting out to the same bowler who took out the openers – Seelaar. India was 100/4, with Dutch having a real chance to bring about another upset in this tournament.

The middle order saved the day yet again for India. Yuvraj Singh who had scored two 50s in the world cup so far looked far more watchful in his approach. This was unlike the attacking Yuvraj we are used to. Captain MS Dhoni partnered him and they steered the side to victory by the 36th over.

With this match, India strengthened its position at the top of the table. It will be interesting to see if they are able to maintain this position in the future. Yuvraj Singh was awarded the Man of the Match award for his 50 runs and 2-43 bowing spell. Borren, the Dutch captain, commented post the match that he was happy with how the boys played today. This would give them confidence to play better in the remaining matches.

Match Summary:

India 191/5 (Yuvraj Singh 51, Virender Sehwag 39, Pieter Seelaar 3-53) beat (Netherlands 189/10 ( Peter Borren 38, Tom Cooper 29, Zaheer Khan 3-20, Yuraj Singh 2-43 ) by 5 wickets

Man of the Match: Yuvraj Singh

With the abandonment of Sunday’s ODI, the second in the three-match series, Australia returned home without winning a single game in their tour of India. They had lost the two-match Test series 0-2 before the ODI series. The last time they experienced something similar in India was on their tour in 2008-09 where they drew the tour game and lost the Tests 0-2.

The first ODI in Kochi was also washed out in similar circumstances. It was an unfortunate result for the locals who had turned up at the stadium. The series was effectively reduced to a solitary game in Visakhapatnam on October 20, where India beat Australia by five wickets.

Umpires Billy Bowden and Amish Saheba made two inspections of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium ground at 11 am and 12:15 pm before deciding to abandon the match because of the wet conditions in the outfield that persisted despite the sun shining brightly. In between these two inspections rival skippers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Michael Clarke also came out to go around the outfield and were seen having a long discussion with the umpires.

The wicket looked in perfect condition but the seepage of rain water through the covers left the outfield damp and slippery.

The match was later called off without a ball being bowled, thus making it the second time it has happened at this venue.

Chasing a steep target of 290, India got off to a disastrous start by losing debutant Shikhar Dhawan in the very first over for a second ball duck when he was clean bowled by Australian pace bowler Clint McKay.

Fellow opener Murali Vijay soon followed him back to the pavilion when he edged a McKay delivery to wicket-keeper Tim Paine. Vijay was looking solid, but poor shot selection led to his downfall for 15 from 18 balls.

However, Virat Kohli (118 runs off 121 balls) altered the entire complexion of the match with a flawless century as he shared two crucial partnerships with Yuvraj Singh (58 runs off 87 balls) and Suresh Raina (71 runs off 47 balls) to put India on course for a magnificent win.

After missing the Test series against Australia, Yuvraj answered his critics in style by hitting a classy 58 off 87 balls which included five boundaries.

Young Suresh Raina again proved his mettle by finishing things off with a brilliant knock of 71 for just 47 balls. He thrashed the bowlers all over the ground and hit nine boundaries and one huge six in his innings.

Loss of Kohli and skipper MS Dhoni in quick succession created some panic for a while, however Raina steadied the nerves. Raina, along with Saurabh Tiwary, helped India win the match by five wickets and take an unassailable 1-0 lead in three match series.

Earlier, Australia too had started slowly before they consolidated, courtesy a fine 144-run partnership between Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey, to 205 for 3 from 45 overs, before exploding in the death overs. Stand-in skipper Michael Clarke returned to form with his fifth century to help Australia post a challenging 289 for three.

The opening duo of Shaun Marsh (0) and Tim Paine (9) was evicted by Ashish Nehra, but Clarke (111 not out from 138 balls with 7 fours and 1 six) and Hussey (69) steadied the ship, putting on 144 runs together.

Some impressive batting by vice-captain Cameron White (89 from 49 balls with 6 fours and six overboundaries) spurred the Aussie scoring as they scored 49 runs in the five overs of batting powerplay between 43rd and 47th overs.

Both White and Clarke were in a rampaging mood. Nehra, who had an impressive first spell of 4-1-3-2 had his figures destroyed towards the end as he returned with 57 runs from his 10 overs.

The Australians scored 114 in the last 10 overs, something that speaks highly of Clarke’s innings that had the shades of recovery and then dominance. Put into bat, Australia were clearly under pressure as the opening duo of Marsh and Paine was dismissed early by Nehra in an impressive first spell.

The experienced duo of the new-look Australia side, Skipper Clarke and Hussey did the repair work, building their innings brick by brick. In the end, Cameron White’s big hitting helped Australia in reaching a fighting total of 289.

Match report
India 292 for 5 (Kohli 118, Raina 71*, Yuvraj 58) beat Australia 289 for 3 (Clarke 111*, White 89*, Hussey 69) by five wickets