MUNI THE BOSS

White swung Praveen Kumar for two sixes to the straight boundary in the 48th over before he bossed Vinay Kumar in some style. There were four massive sixes against the hapless bowler spread over two overs. He cleared the front foot and walloped a full-pitched delivery to the straight boundary for the first six. The second fell into the second tier over long-on and the third was swiped over the midwicket boundary. The fourth, off the final ball of the innings, showcased his skill: It was yet another full toss and he swat-flicked it over the wide midwicket boundary.

It would be tempting to focus solely on the surge in the last five overs but it was all set up by a superb stand between Hussey and Clarke. It was Hussey who increased the run-flow with three crisp boundaries by the 10th over. An inspired Clarke soon produced the shot of the afternoon: a classy on-the-up punchy drive past Praveen that defied the slow pitch.

It was a mature show from Clarke; there might have been a temptation to try taking risks and worrying about the ideal target to set but he seemed very clear in his head about the way ahead. You felt all along the afternoon that Clarke was waiting for the batting Powerplay and he cashed in style. He crashed Vinay to the cover boundary before nearly decapitating the umpire Billy Bowden with a powerful straight drive. It was around this time that he handed the baton to White. Their efforts didn't prove enough, though.
Innings Dot balls 4s 6s PP1 PP2 PP3 Last 10 overs NB/Wides
Australia 135 21 7 30/2 21/0 49/0 114/0 0/1
India 143 30 2 40/2 28/0 43/2 68/2 (8.5 overs) 0/9