India’s off-spinner R Ashwin used all his experience to emerge as the most economical bowler in the semi-final match against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday. He not only exerted pressure on Australia, but also took the wicket of Glenn Maxwell when just he was looking good for a big knock.
From his 10 overs, he conceded only 42 runs. Ravindra Jadeja too extended a good support to Ashwin, but the Indian pace bowlers couldn’t match the Indian spin department. In all, the pace department gave away 215 runs as the Australian team made most of the conditions at the SCG.
Despite that, fast bowler Umesh Yadav took those four wickets and kept India in the match throughout the Australian innings. This was the same Indian attack which had taken 70 wickets from last seven matches of the 2015 World Cup and probably, the only team to do so in the history of the competition. And now, they have taken 77 wickets from eight matches.
So what went wrong today? The Indian bowlers, as such, didn’t make much of a mistake. It was their form in last seven matches that enabled them to keep the Aussie at bay. Whenever there was an effort from the home team to dominate a few overs, the Indian bowlers fought back.
On top of that, the flat pitch offered lots to the batting department and there was hardly any moment off the deck and in the air. But, India didn’t drop their shoulder. Australia’s Steve Smith was on song, still the bowlers kept things simple by bowling stump-to-stump.
