India ended their tour of Australia on a high note when they beat the hosts by nine runs on Tuesday to win their best-of-three finals series 2-0.
Sachin Tendulkar scored a superb 91 and paceman Praveen Kumar went on to capture four wickets as the tourists followed up Sunday’s six-wicket win in Sydney with a thrilling victory at the Gabba in Brisbane.
The Australians, who also lost last year’s tri-series finals at home to England, recovered from a terrible start to give themselves a glimmer of hope when James Hopes (63) and Matthew Hayden (55) made half-centuries, only to come up short.
Tendulkar just missed out on back-to-back centuries after helping India post 258-9 after they won the toss and batted first.
The master batsman followed up his unbeaten hundred in Sydney with a patient display to set India on the road to victory.
The tourists were heading for a much bigger total when Tendulkar and Robin Uthappa (30) piled on 94 for the first wicket before Australia’s bowlers struck back.
Part-time spinner Michael Clarke (3-52) captured three wickets, including the prize scalp of Tendulkar, while paceman Nathan Bracken (3-31) also picked up three wickets in the frantic final few overs.
Tendulkar was untroubled as he cruised to his half-century off 70 balls, but missed out on his hundred when he misjudged a delivery from Clarke and spooned a catch to a diving Ricky Ponting at mid-on.
Lower-order collapse
Yuvraj Singh made a run-a-ball 38 in a 54-run stand with Tendulkar but their dismissals triggered a lower-order batting collapse.
The Indians lost six wickets for 50 runs in the last 11 overs after looking as though they would get closer to 300.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni kept the tail wagging with 36 from 37 deliveries but received little support from his teammates as the Australian bowlers stemmed the run flow.
The Australians made a terrible start to their run-chase when they lost three wickets in the first nine overs.
Adam Gilchrist, in his final appearance before retiring from international cricket, was caught behind for two off the third ball of the innings. Ponting (one) and Clarke (17) quickly followed.
Hayden and Andrew Symonds steadied the innings with a fourth-wicket partnership of 89 before they both departed in the same over.
Hayden was run out at the non-striker’s end for 55 and Symonds was trapped lbw by Harbhajan Singh for 42.
Mike Hussey and Hopes kept Australia in the hunt with a stand of 76, but the wickets began tumbling as the world champions were forced to take risks to reduce the required run-rate, and they were bowled out for 249 in the last over. — Reuters