Dispirited India crash to nine-wicket defeat

 Hello everyone and welcome for the third match of the tri-series at Brisbane. The tri-series shift to Brisbane where India takes on England. The match takes on a little extra significance because both the team tested an early defeat to Australia. Australia match could prove to be crucial in the final scheme to goes to final, should Australia continue to exert their home dominance. However, each team is will play the another time so their is still time.

 England will be boosted by the return of James Anderson. The swing bowler had the measure of Virat Kholi during India's tour of England. That could emerge as a key contest once again. England will hope that the return of Anderson brings them some needed luck. They have only 3 wins from their last 10 ODIs, as stat they would dearly love to change.
India on other hand, will like to put behind, their defeat against Australia in Melbourne. MS Dhoni batting at no.6 is clearly weighed by the presence of the longish tail. They will also plan to put together a better show with the ball at the top of the innings. The team that wins today, goes second on the point table. 

 India's bid to register their first win on the tour of Australia remained unsuccessful following a humiliating nine-wicket defeat at the hands of England.

 After MS Dhoni elected to bat on a slow and tricky Gabba pitch, Steven Finn took a career-best 5 for 33 and along with James Anderson (4 for 18) knocked India over for 153 in 39.3 overs. From there, given India's suspect bowling resources the results was almost a forgone conclusion and, with a unbeaten 131-run stand for the second wicket between Ian Bell (88*) and James Taylor (56*), England bounced back from defeat to Australia on friday to pocket five points.

  Not for the first time in overseas conditions under Dhoni, India's batsmen fsiled to apply themselves. As the captain admitted after the loss, a lack of partnerships hurt the team. Ajiyanka Rahane and Ambati Rayudu had put 56 for the second wicket and then Stuart Binny and Dhoni had added 70 runs for the six to try and revive a flagging innings, but a crippling spell from Finn had broke both partnerships to restrict India to a sub-standard total. Barring those two stands, the rest of India's partnerships were 1,7,1,2,0,6,10 and 0. Rarely ODI matches won with production like these.

 The unwelcome news for the last-match centurion Rohit Sharma was missing out on account of a hamstring injury hung over all through India's batting. Anderson had Shikhar Dhavan caught behind 1 with a delivery that angled across from left-hander batsman, and the left-hand openers latest failure brought in Rayudu at no.3 instead of Virat Kholi.

 India's struggles could be gauged from the fact that their first four came off the last ball of the seventh over when Rayudu whacked Anderson over midwicket . Finn, who used slow bouncer s to good effect, extracted Rahane for 33 with one such delivery, the batsman finding Taylor at midd-on just outside the 30-yard circle.

 After that Kholi (4) and Rayudu (23) fell in similar manner, trying to glide Finn down towards third man but instead found the wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. Sandwiched between Kholi and Rayudu sclaps was the wicket of Suresh Raina (1) who nexplicably left the crease to play a defensive shot and was out stumped off the bowling of Ali.

 Five down with just 67 on the board, Binny joined Dhoni and  both raised hopes of a fighting total but Finn threw a spanner in India's plans with another slow bouncer. Dhoni, cramped for room, tickled the ball down    the leg side to give Buttler his fourth catch. The skipper made 34, the second highest contribution to a sorry total. 

Axar patel had his second successive duck he lost his stumps to Anderson. Binny, who replaced R Ashwin for these game, looked impressive during his 55-ball 44 but Anderson removed him and Mohammed Shami in quick time to wrap up the India innings. The Indian lost their last five wickets for just 16 runs. 

After such an abject performance with the bat, India needed to take early wickets to make a match of it. That came from Binny, who opened the bowling and had Ali (8) spooning a clever slower delivery to midd-off, but that was India's only success in the field. Bell overcame a duck against Australia to score a confident 88 off 91balls - his first fifty in ten games - and with Taylor ( again given the chance to solidify the No 3 spot) - he put Englnad on track for a facile win. Taylor's busy innings contained four fours and came from 63 balls. The target was achieved in 27.3 overs to earn England a bonus point.

 Steven Finn was adjusted the Man of the Match for his brilliant spell of 5/33 that set the game up for England. Bowlers were getting rewards and India in total have picked up just 7 wickets in two games. And that is the difference between the two teams and India. Do join us for the game between Australia and India from Hobart on 23rd January, 2015. Until then, it's goodbye and take care!