Story India's quest for glory 2.0 - 4th ODI - IND vs AUS 342/5 (50) - Hughes breaks ODI record

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India desperately search for answers


Preview at Hyderabad


Match Facts
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Start Time 14.30

Big Picture
It's funny how one loss can completely change the complexion of a side, and India has fallen victim to this phenomenon. Down 2-1 in a 7 match series, you would think India have time to claw their way back, but that's far from the truth, with India requiring 3 wins from 4 games. And considering their shortcomings so far, they don't have much leeway to get things right.

The batting has been inconsistent, Sehwag and Yuvraj not getting starts, and Tendulkar failing to building on them. Gambhir and Dravid have looked the most reliable, and Raina could stake his claim with that status, however he has not had the opportunity to bat longer due to his position in the lineup. The bowling has been a shamble, a far cry from the first game, and India can ill afford to leak runs against a long Australian batting lineup.

Australia, meanwhile are sitting pretty. Even with the openers not providing the best starts, their batting looks soundm and they're bowling is as tidy as it could be. A win at Hyderabad will effectively shut India out of the series, although a 3-1 scoreline may not reflect that.

Form Guide
(last five matches, most recent first, Champions Trophy 2009 not included)
India - LLWLW

Australia - WWLLW

Watch out for...
Phil Hughes has constantly made starts, with scores 44, 24, and 68, but has not made anything overly substantial. He'll be itching to get a big score, and against India's waivering pace bowlers, he has the perfect opportunity to really win the game for Australia early on.

Andrew Symonds has had a quiet series so far, getting the odd wicket here and there, and not joining the party in terms of batting, mainly because he doesn't get the time at no. 8. Symonds will surely be looking to stamp his authority on the series soon.

Team News
Australia are unlikely to change their side. India however, have various conundrums in both batting and bowling. Thye most likely change will be Yuvraj Singh, who probably will be replaced by Yusuf Pathan or Rohit Sharma. Dhoni may opt for Yusuf, as he will help ease the pain of only going in with four frontline bowlers.

India (probable): 1 Sachin Tendulkar 2 Virender Sehwag 3 Gautam Gambhir 4 Rahul Dravid 5 Suresh Raina 6 MS Dhoni (c)(wk) 7 Yusuf Pathan/Rohit Sharma 8 Harbhajan Singh 9 Praveen Kumar 10 Ishant Sharma 11 Ashish Nehra

Australia (probable): 1 Phil Hughes 2 Phil Jaques 3 Ricky Ponting (c) 4 Michael Hussey 5 Michael Clarke 6 Shane Watson 7 Andrew Symonds 8 Brad Haddin (wk) 9 Mitchell Johnson 10 Nathan Bracken 11 Pete Siddle

Pitch and Conditions
Weather is forecasted to be warm and sunny, while reports suggest that the pitch is expected to be flat.

Image: Phil Hughes will be itching to get a big score on Thursday...

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4th ODI - India vs Australia - 1st Innings

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Welcome to Hyderabad for the 4th ODI of the series between India and Australia, where Australia lead 2-1. The pitch looks a belter, and the bowlers will have a very tough time getting wickets and keeping the runs down.

Dhoni has called heads, and the coin lands with tails facing up, Ponting winning the toss and electing to bat. India have replaced Yuvraj with Yusuf Pathan, while Australia have reverted back to Katich to open with Phil Hughes.

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Hughes' unbeaten 195 powers Australia to a massive 342


India defied the trend so far, and got the early wicket, Praveen Kumar bowling a corker of a delivery, with a ball that seamed from middle to uproot Simon Katich's offstump, the opener leaving for just 2. However proceedings quickly descended into familiarity, as Australia recovered with a strong partnership from Hughes and Ponting. Both passed half centuries, as they pace bowlers found it tough to limit their shots, Ishant Sharma particularly taking a battering. On a great batting pitch, the two put on a 133 run stand for the 2nd wicket. Yusuf Pathan provided the breakthrough in the 27th over, bowling Ponting with an offspinner for 69 off 73 balls, including 12 fours, Australia in a comfortable position at 142/2 off 26.4 overs.

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Phil Hughes look impenetrable, and raced to his 2nd ODI century in just 110 balls, as none of the bowler could trouble the batsmen on a flat track. Michael Hussey looked in great touch, helping Hughes in putting on a 89 run partnership, before he was runout for 36 off 40 balls by a brilliant direct hit from the outfield. Hughes however kept on punishing the pace bowlers during the 3rd powerplay, reaching 150 off just 137 balls, including scoring 22 runs off one Ashish Nehra over. Ishant Sharma trapped Clarke lbw without scoring, but the runs continued to flow, as Dhoni didn't have any sound options apart from the pace bowlers to see India through the 50 overs, and the spin bowlers were not considered as India were just left with part timers. Phil Hughes looked menacing, threatening to break the 200 mark, but sadly ended short at 195 not out off 160 balls, in what was a marathon and flawless innings, Nehra facing the brunt of what was a drubbing. Australia reached a massive 342/5 off 50 overs.


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What a brilliant show of batting from Australia, thanks mainly to what is one of the best one day knocks ever, Phil Hughes just 5 runs shy of the first double century in the history of ODI cricket. He has surpassed Chris Coventry and Saeed Anwar by 1 run to claim the highest individual score in ODIs.

The Indian bowlers were just downright shocking, and the batsmen have a daunting task ahead, despite the flatness of the pitch. Stay tuned for India's reply.


Next: India begin their climb in pursuit of 342

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Last edited:
I would say one thing - You are crap in ICC. Lol just joking. Hughes batted brilliantly. It's almost impossible for India to chase the target successfully, it would be nice to see how it develops. Keep up the great work.
 

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