India paid a heavy price for their pathetic batting display against Australia
who humiliated the hosts with an emphatic nine-wicket victory in the fifth cricket
one-dayer to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the seven-match series here today.
The Australians first bundled out the home team for a paltry 148 in 39.4 overs
and then raced to the target with 24.1 overs to spare in a totally lop-sided
contest at the Reliance Stadium.
Paceman Mitchel Johnson wrecked the Indian innings with a devastating
five for 26 while Brett Lee chipped in with two for 42 as the strong
Indian batting line-up surprisingly caved in without much of a fight on a good
batting track.
Only Sachin Tendulkar, playing his 400th ODI, stood bravely amid the
ruins with a 73-ball 47 while Zaheer Khan (28) and Irfan Pathan (26) were the
other notable contributers.
The Australians hit up the required runs without much fuss with Adam Gilchrist
returning to form with an unbeaten 77-ball 79 and captain Ricky Ponting
scoring 39 not out to steer the team to a facile win.
The victory has ensured that Australians can no longer lose the series while
the Indians have been left with the stiff task of winning the remaining two
matches in Nagpur (Oct 14) and Mumbai (Oct 17) to level the series.
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