IndiaPost.com - Australia thump India by 84 runs to take 1-0 lead

KOCHI: India were brought down to earth after the euphoria of the Twenty20 World Cup triumph by a determined Australia who thrashed the hosts by an emphatic margin of 84 runs in the second cricket one-dayer here on Tuesday.

In a completely lop-sided encounter, the Australians first recovered from early jolts to post a commanding 306 for six and then bundled out the home team for 222 in 47.3 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the seven-match series. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (58) was the top scorer for the Indians who found the going tough against a disciplined Australian bowling attack.

Robin Uthappa (41) and Rahul Dravid (31) were the other notable performers. Batting first, Australia once again exposed India's middle over blues and recovered from a shaky start to put up an imposing total on the board with Andrew Symonds (87), Brad Haddin (87 not out) and Matthew Hayden (75) scoring bulk of the runs.

Symonds starred in two crucial partnerships while Haddin provided the late fireworks to pile up the misery on the home team. Chasing a steep victory target, India needed a solid start to give them some chance but that was not to be as Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar did not last long. Instead, the hosts soon found themselves in a complete mess, reeling at 87 for four inside 15th over.

And when Rahul Dravid (31) departed in the 26th over, India had lost top half of their batting order for a meager 136. The writing was clearly on the wall by then and it was just a matter of time before the visitors wrapped up the match. Mitchell Johnson drew the first blood in the fourth over when his off-cutter got the better of Gautam Gambhir's (7) defense to clip the bails.

Next man in Uthappa started with a scrappy boundary but followed it up a with a convincing one. The youngster was in his usual belligerent mood as he hit Brett Lee for back-to-back fours and then hoicked him for a six in his next over. Subdued so far, Sachin Tendulkar (16) got enthused by the idea and pulled Lee for a six and hit a four as well in that productive over before first change bowler Stuart Clark decided to break million hearts.

It was the fifth delivery of his first over when he induced Tendulkar for an uppish drive that found Andrew Symonds at short cover. Yuvraj Singh (10) walked in with huge responsibilities on his shoulder and made the most of the Free Hit delivery after James Hopes had overstepped while sending down his first ball. Hit for a six, Hopes settled the score three deliveries later when Yuvraj drove to Hayden at short cover.

Eight more runs and crisis compounded as Uthappa returned, trapped by Clark after a 30-ball 41 that had four boundaries and two sixes in it. The momentum snapped there and former captain Dravid and incumbent Dhoni only managed to labor on.

Dravid greeted Brad Hogg with a sweet six over midwicket and almost repeated the stroke in his next over before Mitchell Johnson took a brilliant catch inches off the rope.

By then, the match was as good as over for the hosts. Irfan Pathan (1) returned after an almighty mix-up with his captain, while Harbhajan Singh (4) was stumped off Michael Clarke, who also castled Ramesh Powar (17). Hogg polished the last two wickets of Zaheer Khan (3) and Dhoni to finish with three for 40.

Contrary to Met office predictions of rain, the game started half an hour late in bright sunshine and the capacity crowd at the Nehru stadium had plenty to cheer as the hosts seized early initiatives.

Australia slumped to eight for two wickets in the fourth over with Adam Gilchrist (0) and Brad Hodge (3) cooling their heels in the pavilion. Michael Clarke (27) too departed just when he was looking dangerous.