By: Tarish Bhatt
Have you every seen a fall of dominoes? India’s batting collapse in Canberra was kinda like that. It was astonishing how India managed to lose the match, from a position where Australia have literally surrendered the game.
India had nine wickets in hands and they needed the last 60-70 odd runs to score at a run a ball, but the Indian team were bundled four balls early and 25 runs short of the required target.
The Indians were cruising at one point of time, and Australia skipper Steve Smith had even tried himself to put the screws on, but stopping India proved to be a nothing short of a mountainous task for him.
The way Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli were milking the Aussies at one point of time, a clinical win was on the cards, but soon one of the most astonishing collapsed happened.
“It looked like they were cruising, a coupe, of wickets swing things,” Smith said. “You have to try everything when Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan were batting, it felt like we needed 15 or 16 fielders.”
“15 or 16 fielders” that how good the Indian chase was going on when centurions Dhawan and Kohli; but from a majestic high, they fell to a downright mediocrity.
John Hastings dismissed Dhawan and within a space of two balls got rid of skipper MS Dhoni. India had added just a run and Kohli was seen taking a long walk to the pavilion.
Kane Williamson, who was hammered in the first spell, came back with flying colours and demolished the India lower-middle order, and completed a fifer.
“It’s a funny old game, cricket,” Williamson said. “We always knew it would speed up once we got a wicket but we did not get it. Hastings could be up here as well. You try and bowl good balls but sometimes they go for sixes.”
Ravindra Jadeja made a patient 27-ball 24, and was that was how India were supposed to bat, but he ran out of partners, and, well, another day, another Indian defeat in Australia.
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