da pinnacle： When it came to the crunch, with a major trophy at stake, Australia’s greater experience and quality came to the fore, with the bowlers showing immense resolve after being subjected to an earlyshellacking
da fazobetai： The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran in Mumbai05-Nov-200628.1 overs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Nathan Bracken’s three wickets played a decisive role in Australia’s victory © AFP
Having started off like a runaway train, West Indies ran out of steam, and after a couple of early hiccups and a rain delay that lastedmore than two hours, Australia sauntered to their first Champions Trophytriumph. When it came to the crunch, with a major trophy at stake,Australia’s greater experience and quality came to the fore, with thebowlers showing immense resolve after being subjected to an earlyshellacking.Damien Martyn’s 47 continued his splendid run in the tournament, and therewas an invaluable 57 from Shane Watson as Australia put their jinx – theyhad never previously made the final – to bed in emphatic fashion. When theplayers finally came back out at 9pm, with 15 overs having been lost tothe rain, the Duckworth-Lewis par score was pegged at 115. With a further25 overs in which to get 71, Martyn and Watson approached the task inmeasured fashion.The singles came easily with the field spread, and Martyn laced a CoreyCollymore delivery through midwicket with a touch of class as West Indies’hopes started to disappear like the clouds overhead. When Jerome Taylorwas recalled to the fray, Martyn clipped an errant delivery to fine leg,and once Watson clipped one beautifully through midwicket, the crowd’sresponse was an eerie quietness. The remainder of the game was uneventful,with both batsmen finding gaps at will as the last vestiges of West Indianresistance were swept away.The spadework for victory had been done by the bowlers, and Nathan Brackenin particular, after Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle had given WestIndies a rollicking start. With the rapidly filling stands roaring on theunderdog, Brett Lee ran in with little or no rhythm, and Chanderpaul gotthe scoreboard motoring with a leading edge that just evaded MichaelClarke at point. And the decision to give Bracken the new ball in place ofGlenn McGrath paid no immediate dividends either, with Gayle nonchalantlysmacking one past point.More punishment followed in Lee’s next over. Chanderpaul clipped onebeautifully down to long-on before an ungainly hoick flew off the edge forsix over third man. It only got worse, with a sublime Chanderpaul on-drivein Lee’s third over the precursor to a peachy straight-drive and acracking shot through the covers from Gayle. By the time Bracken struck,with Chanderpaul miscuing a cut, West Indies were off and running atincredible pace.By then, Lee had been taken off, having gone for a whopping 36 from threeovers, but if Australia expected a lull, that certainly wasn’t the case.Gayle launched a cheesed-off McGrath for two huge sixes over midwicket,and an uncharacteristic half-volley was crisply dispatched through thecovers as 14 came from his second over.The tide turned decisively once Bracken got his cutters going from theother end. Ramnaresh Sarwan played too early at one, and Gayle’sthrill-a-minute 37 was ended by a superb delivery. Suddenly, batting wasno longer a stroll in the park, and an emboldened Ponting brought back Leein the 14th over. By the time McGrath confirmed that his big-gametemperament was peerless by getting one to graze the outer edge of BrianLara’s bat, the complexion of the match had turned utterly.
Damien Martyn made sure that there would be no hiccups in Australia’s chase © AFP
McGrath went on to bowl three maidens, and by the time he was taken off,he also had the wicket of Runako Morton to show for his efforts. MarlonSamuels and Dwayne Bravo briefly threatened a recovery, but theintroduction of Watson scotched any Great Escape plans. Samuels tamelychipped one to midwicket, and Carlton Baugh shuffled across a few inchestoo many to leave the innings in absolute disarray.Lee and Brad Hogg, who outfoxed Bravo into playing no shot, mopped up therest, leaving Australia with the simple task of scoring 139. With dinnerstill cooking, Lara opted to give the new ball to Gayle, an experimentthat lasted all of one over. When Ian Bradshaw came on in his place, thereward was instantaneous. Adam Gilchrist edged and walked, and the stadiumerupted. Then, with the stands bellowing his name, Taylor trapped Pontingon the walk. Suddenly, the formality of a run chase wasn’t sostraightforward anymore.Martyn eased anxieties with three gorgeous strokes – two square-drives offTaylor, and a cut over backward point when Collymore was introduced inBradshaw’s place. Watson chipped in with a sweetly timed clip throughmidwicket off Taylor, silencing a crowd that was still praying for theimpossible to become possible. Dinner and the subsequent rain delay thenheld Australia back, but ultimately, there was no stopping a team thatepitomises the old Hemingway line about grace under pressure. Call themDad’s army or what you will, but they can play the game like no one else.West Indies
Shivnarine Chanderpaul b Bracken 27 (49 for 1)
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Hogg b Bracken 7 (65 for 2)
Chris Gayle b Bracken 37 (80 for 3)
Brian Lara c Gilchrist b McGrath 2 (88 for 4)
Runako Morton c Gilchrist b McGrath 2 (94 for 5)
Marlon Samuels c Ponting b Watson 7 (113 for 6)
Carlton Baugh lbw Watson 9 (125 for 7)
Dwayne Bravo lbw Hogg 21 (125 for 8)
Ian Bradshaw b Lee 7 (136 for 9)
Corey Collymore run out (Symonds) 0 (138 all out)
Australia
Adam Gilchrist c Gayle b Bradshaw 2 (12 for 1)
Ricky Ponting lbw Taylor 0 (13 for 2)
