Australia won the sixth ODI in Guwahati on Sunday by a comfortable six-wicket margin and took an unassailable 4-2 lead in the seven match series. The Australian media lauded Ricky Ponting and his men for the way they have humiliated India despite being without their key players. The series win also meant that Australia consolidated their position at the top of the ODI rankings, which was under threat if India were to win the series.

“Courageous Australia remain cricket’s one-day kings after crushing upstart rivals India in a ruthless show of strength,” screamed a write-up in the Courier Mail. “India’s bold ambition to send Ricky Ponting’s men home without the number one ranking proved hollow with Australia’s six-wicket victory sealing the series and one-day bragging rights.”

Headlined ‘Jubilant Aussies take series over India’, Herald Sun newspaper said the series win by Ponting’s men would be even more devastating to the Indian psyche as it had come with a “virtual Australia-A side”.

“Dhoni’s side will be licking its wounds for a while after being bashed by a virtual Australia ‘A’ side, short of front-line names but big on heart,” it said.

“The loss of Brett Lee, Peter Siddle, Tim Paine, James Hopes and Moises Henriques only served to galvanise Ponting’s unit. Australia has depth in young talent who will not only hold the line as reinforcements but win battles of their own,” the article in the Herald Sun said. “Ponting’s injury-hit squad of ‘home brand’ warriors put India back in their box, dealing a huge psychological blow to their psyche.”

The Age lauded Ponting’s men for keeping Australia’s 13-year undefeated ODI series run in India intact. “Australia will fly out this week with both its number one ranking and 13-year unbeaten run in one-day series here intact, after taking an unassailable 4-2 lead over India,” the newspaper said. “Forty-five minutes of lethal new-ball bowling from Doug Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson paved the way for the six-wicket win at the Nehru Stadium at Guwahati.”

Cricket Australia said in a press release on Wednesday that Henriques would return home after suffering a hamstring injury during the fourth ODI in Mohali. The release also said that the CA National Selection Panel (NSP) have decided that McDonald and Cockley would join the squad for the sixth ODI in Guwahati as replacement players for Henriques and Peter Siddle, who returned home early this morning with stiffness in his left side.

“Moises complained of some discomfort after the fourth ODI in Mohali. He had an MRI scan when we arrived in Hyderabad which showed signs of injury to the right hamstring,” Australian physiotherapist Kevin Sims said. “The medical staff believes the injury will not recover sufficiently for him to participate in the last week of the tour and therefore we have decided he will return to Australia where he will continue his treatment.”

Australia’s National Selection Panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch said McDonald’s form in the Champions League Twenty20 was instrumental in getting him a call-up while Cockley was rewarded for his performance in the Ford Ranger Cup.

“Andrew played very well for Victoria in the recent Champions League in India. He was in very good form in the first Sheffield Shield game, scoring a hundred and bowling impressively on a batsman friendly Adelaide wicket and backing that up with a dominant display in tonight’s Ford Ranger Cup match,” Hilditch said. “We are sure that Andrew will grab his opportunity and perform well in the Australian one-day set up.”

“Burt is someone who the NSP has identified in the last 12 months as someone who could have an impact at international level. He performed well in the recent Ford Ranger Cup game against Western Australia and we think he will be well suited to Indian conditions. This is a great opportunity for a young Australian fast bowler to have an impact at the international level,” added Hilditch.

Australia’s injury worries have been increasing by the day. They landed in India without key players like Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin and a string of injuries during the series saw Brett Lee, James Hopes, Tim Paine, Siddle and now Henriques return home.

Cricket Australia on Sunday confirmed Hopes would return to Australia to continue his recovery from a right hamstring injury suffered during the first ODI at Vadodara. “James has done everything he can with medical staff to try and make himself available for the remaining games of the tour of India,” Cricket Australia physiotherapist Kevin Sims said.

“However, due to the compressed nature of this tour and his speed of recovery so far, we feel now we have insufficient time to have James fully fit to take part in the remaining games of this series. Therefore a decision has been made that James will return to Australia where he will continue his rehabilitation from this hamstring injury,” he said.

Australia’s National Selection Committee has named Victorian fast bowler Clinton McKay a replacement player for the injured Brett Lee, who too has been ruled out of the series and has returned home, while New South Wales all-rounder Moises Henriques will now remain with the squad for the remainder of the series.

“With the injuries to Brett Lee and James Hopes and both of these players returning to Australia, the National Selection Panel has taken the opportunity to add another bowler to the squad in Clinton McKay,” said NSP Chairman Andrew Hilditch. “Clinton is a young promising bowler who performed well at interstate level last season and has recently shown very good form for Victoria in the Champions League in India.”

“He will be very well suited to Indian conditions and we believe he is another young player to benefit from the experience of being in the Australian team set-up during this tour. We also feel he has the ability to perform well at the international level,” Hilditch said. “With Moises having played in the last ODI game and James Hopes going home, Moises will now remain with the squad in India for the duration of the series.”

Earlier, Australia had come to the tour without key players like Michael Clarke, Nathan Bracken, Brad Haddin and Callum Ferguson.  In the team in place of Brad Haddin, wicketkeeper Tim Paine was also ruled out after a finger injury and Graham Manou made his international debut coming in for him at Nagpur.

“Our medical staff have now decided that while both Brett Lee (right elbow) and Mitchell Johnson’s (left ankle) injuries have responded well to treatment, they will be severe enough to rule them out of contention for tomorrow’s match,” National Selection Panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch said in a Cricket Australia statement.

New South Wales all-rounder Moises Henriques will be flying back to India just a couple of days after returning to Australia with the victorious NSW squad, who won the inaugural Champions League T20 tournament, as cover for the injured James Hopes, who is unlikely to be fit till the Delhi ODI.

“With James Hopes’ right hamstring injury being more serious and likely to keep him out for at least the next two matches it is thought adding a standby player to the squad is a necessity,” Hilditch said. “Given the most significant injury appears to be Hopes’ hamstring we have taken this opportunity to add Moises to the squad until the completion of game four in Mohali, where we will again assess the situation before it is decided if he remains with the squad.”

Henriques will reach Delhi on Wednesday and join the Australian squad when it arrives in Delhi on Thursday.

“While the injury situation is disappointing it does provide an opportunity for Moises to join the Australian squad and become familiar in this environment,” Hilditch said. “His form for Australia A in Pakistan and for New South Wales during the recent Champions League in India has been very good and we view him as an exciting young all-rounder who will be looking to make the most of this opportunity in India.”

The Australian side had already been struggling with injuries to some key players and these injuries may prove to be a big setback for the world champions. Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Callum Ferguson and Nathan Bracken were not able to make it to this tour due to fitness issues and now three new names have been added to the list.

The Australian team has been in a grueling schedule with back to back series, starting with the Ashes, and then a 7 match ODI series against England, before moving onto the Champions Trophy in South Africa.

In the title showdown featuring top two teams of the tournament, it was a battle between the Caribbean flair and Australian professionalism and in the end, NSW had the last laugh with Brett Lee as their star performer. But a 41-run victory margin doesn’t mean that it was a one-sided match. In fact T&T dominated the proceedings, initially reducing NSW to 83 for 6, before Lee’s fighting innings lifted his side to a competitive total. He then returned for a fiery spell with the new ball, jolting T&T’s chase with two early wickets.

The match was won and lost in ten overs — the last five of the NSW innings and the first five of T&T’s — and it was Lee who imposed himself on the game-breaking moments.

Put into bat, NSW never really got going, with Ravi Rampaul (3/20) and Dwayne Bravo (2/27) polishing the top order before some poor shot selections did the middle order in. David Warner and Phil Hughes have been key to New South Wales’ success in the tournament so far but the left-handed opening pair, for once, gave in to the big match pressure.

Rampaul cleaned up Hughes (3) with the first delivery of his second over and then Bravo, with the help of a flying Dave Mohammad, cut short Warner’s (19) stay just when the burly left-hander had started looking his menacing self.

Simon Katich (16) decided to punish Bravo, hitting him for two sixes — one miscued shot soared over long-on ropes and another effortless pull cleared fine leg — in the same over before the pacer returned to settle the score. Three balls later, Moises Henriques (4) joined his captain in the pavilion, holing out in the deep off Kieron Pollard, and NSW were clearly in a hole at 49 for four.

Dave Mohammad removed Ben Rohrer (16) with his first delivery and Rampaul returned to disturb Daniel Smith’s timbers in the next over before Lee joined Smith in the middle.

At 83 for 6 in the 12^th over, NSW found a messiah in Brett Lee, whose 31-ball 48 along with Steven Smith’s 33, guided the Blues past the 150 runs mark. Lee seemed unstoppable, hitting the Caribbean bowlers all around the park in his knock of 48 which included one boundary and five huge sixes. Steven Smith gave Lee able support scoring 33 off 26 balls as the two lower order batsmen added 49 off just 37 balls before Smith was undone by Sherwin Ganga.

NSW ended with a competitive total of 159 for 9 off their 20 overs, with Ravi Rampaul being the pick of the bowlers for T&T, finishing with figures of 3 for 20 off 4 overs.

After his batting heroics, Lee (2/10) was in the thick of action again, claiming two quick wickets to reduce T&T to 21 for three in the first 14 balls of the innings. Lee’s second delivery saw the stumps of Wiliam Perkins (0) being rattled and the fastest bowler in the world returned to catch Lendl Simmons off his own bowling in the next over.

In between, Adrian Barath hit Steve Smith’s first three balls for successive fours, following it with a six before returning caught behind off the last delivery. The crisis deepened for the T&T as Dwayne Bravo (17), captain Darren Ganga (19) and Denesh Ramadin (16) fell when the team needed them the most.

Throughout this tournament, Pollard has batted like Lance Klusener did in the 1999 World Cup. No target seemed out of reach for him. In the league game against the same opposition, he had come in with the game almost lost and smashed a 18-ball 54 to win the game for his team. Just like Klusener, he showed tremendous composure — starting his innings calmly, dealing in singles, before he unleashed his own brand of razzmatazz. He hit Bollinger for a huge six off a free hit and then went after Nathan Hauritz. But he went for one big shot too many off Hauritz, as this time he couldn’t clear the boundary, and who else but Lee, at long-on took a brilliant catch. With Pollard’s exit, Trinidad’s dream run came to a crushing halt, and they had to settle for second prize – US$ 1.3 million.

T&T was eventually bowled out for 118 in the 16^th over. Brett Lee finished with figures of 2 for 10, with Stuart Clarke picking up 3 for 21.

It was a perfect advertisement for the T20 version of the game with the match being a see-saw battle having several big moments — the nervy collapse of both top orders, Ravi Rampaul’s astute seam bowling, Steven Smith’s sensible support act and the threat posed by Kieron Pollard — but the one that had the biggest impact was Lee’s all-round contribution.

The Champions League Twenty20 promised to change the face of club cricket when it was announced. And now, when the inaugural edition is finished, we can say for sure that everything that they claimed was right! It was a terrific tournament where the best of cricketers competed to the fullest of their abilities. Never did one get the feeling that it wasn’t an international tournament. Brace yourself people, this is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of this wonderful game.

Brief Scores:

New South Wales 159 for 9 (Lee 48, Rampaul 3-20) beat Trinidad & Tobago 118 (Clark 3-21, Lee 2-10) by 41 runs

Man of the Match: Brett Lee

Man of the Series: Brett Lee

The NSW team, led by Simon Katich, muscled their way to a total of 169 for 7 with the help of a brilliant opening partnership between David Warner and Phillip Hughes. Chasing 170, Victoria’s pursuit looked hopeless with three top-order batsmen back in the pavilion inside three overs and all they could manage was 90 runs for nine wickets in 20 overs, with Matthew Wade’s unbeaten 23 as the highest individual score, showing the sorry state of Victoria in the match.

Wary of chasing on Ferozeshah Kotla’s much-derided track, NSW captain Simon Katich opted to bat first and the in-form left-handed duo of Warner and Hughes vindicated the captain’s decision. Shane Harwood’s bowled a measly first over, yielding just one run, but that was merely the lull before the storm with Warner in the thick of action.

Warner welcomed Harwood on his return with back-to-back fours and in the very next over hit the first two balls from Siddle for boundaries and a dot ball later, lifted him over long-off ropes. Siddle bled 19 runs in that forgettable over. Warner, known for his swashbuckling ways, was in no mood to relent and the way he treated the Victorian bowlers, it was clear that none of them could remove him.

The left-hander was dismissed run out in the seventh over, having dominated the 62-run opening stand. Warner’s spectacular 25-ball 48 was decked with seven fours and two sixes. Hughes decided to continue the tempo and milked 13 runs off Jon Holland’s first over before a Clint McKay slower delivery saw his off-stump castled. Hughes took 28 balls to score 35 brisk runs that included four fours and a six.

Daniel Smith (20) and Simon Katich (26) continued the good work as both scored quickly enough to haul the team past the 100-mark in 11 overs before they fell in a nine-ball span. Andrew McDonald and Shane Harwood stemmed the run flow with some disciplined bowling as NSW somewhat ran out of steam towards the end despite having being provided a perfect platform by the top order to go for the late charge.

The Victorian bowlers did a good job in the last five overs, conceding 37 runs, while claiming four wickets. McKay was the pick of the bowlers for Victoria with figures of 3 for 27 in 4 overs.

Considering NSW’s bowling repertoire, it was always going to be difficult for Victoria to chase down 170 but they wouldn’t have expected that they would be completely derailed by Brett Lee and Co.

Simon Katich’s move to open the bowling with Nathan Hauritz did wonders as he removed both openers, Brad Hodge (0) and Rob Quiney (0) in the second over while Brett Lee snared Andrew Blizzard (5) in the next. Moises Henriques then ended any hopes of a fightback by first removing David Hussey (16) with his very first delivery and then accounting for Victoria captain Cameron White (11) in his next over. The young all-rounder went on to add Clint McKay’s scalp to finish with three for 11.

At 39 for five, Victoria needed a miracle to win the match and the miracle did not occur. All they could manage was a meagre 90 runs in their 20 overs for the loss of 9 wickets. Matthew Wade was the highest scorer, making 23 not out. Only four Victorian batsmen could manage to reach the double figures with only one getting past 20. For NSW Blues, Brett Lee led from the front finishing with figures of 2 for 15 in 4 overs.

The second semi-final will be played between Trinidad & Tobago and the Cape Cobras at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Thursday.

Brief Scores:

New South Wales 169 for 7 (Warner 48, Hughes 35, McKay 3-27) beat Victoria 90 for 9 (Wade 23 not out, Henriques 3-11, Lee 2-15) by 79 runs.

Man of the Match: David Warner