Whatever it was, the team's hopes slipped dismally again in the opening game of the Tri-series against Australia. The morale-boosting win last Friday is now a distant memory and India are back to their losing ways.
The 65-run defeat in a rain-shortened 32-over game was as much a commentary of Australia's great all-round show as much as their own inept batting and bowling. After India had started impressively, having Australia on the backfoot at 35/2 in the 11th over, there was a three-hour rain-break which changed the course of the match.
Once the game became a 32-over shootout, the Australians switched to T20 mode, scoring 166 runs in the next 17 at almost 10 runs per over. However, the Duckworth-Lewis rain rule was kind to the Indians, with the team being required to get 217 runs for victory at a little under seven runs per over.
To Australia's good fortune, rain had spiced up the pitch. Their fast bowlers not only found extra pace but also good seam movement. It was the same recipe which had spelt doom for the Indians in the Test series. India were in familiar territory as early as the fourth over when left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc cleaned up openers Sachin Tendulkar, his drive going straight to Ricky Ponting at point, and Gautam Gambhir, edging behind, in his first two overs.
Young guns Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma revived the Indian innings for a bit, and they looked to be doing a good job before Clink McKay struck a double blow in the 12th over, effectively sealing India's fate. If Kohli could only stop and marvel at Ponting's catching ability at backward point, Rohit fell to a gem of a delivery which saw him fending off to the wicket-keeper.
Suresh Raina fell trying to pull a short ball that was climbing on him. Mahendra Singh Dhoni waged a lone battle but there was no support for him at the other end and he walked off after holding out to long off.
Earlier, Australian opener Matthew Wade made his debut more memorable by scoring a responsible half-century that won him the Man of the Match award. However, it was the Hussey brothers, David and Michael, who turned on the heat as Australia scored 167 runs in their last 17 overs. They added 73 runs off 50 balls while David got another 62 from 32 in Dan Christian's company to set the tone.
Ravindra Jadeja was clearly overwhelmed by the price he fetched at the IPL auction as he turned up at the crease and bowled like a millionaire! He conceded 27 in his first two overs and another 14 in the last 4 balls of the Australian innings.
Later, his long handle wasn't enough to clear the rope as Mike Hussey in the deep mid-wicket ran paces to bring up a good catch. India now face Sri Lanka on Feb 8.
