Brad Haddin and Andrew Symonds hammered brisk half-centuries to set up Australia's crushing 84-run win over India in the second one-day international here on Tuesday. Australia's batting might was on view as the World Cup winners posted a challenging 306-6, with man-of-the-match Haddin (87 not out), Symonds (87) and Matthew Hayden (75) all putting the Indian attack to the sword.
The total was big enough to put pressure on world Twenty20 champions India, who were bowled out for 222 to concede a 1-0 lead in the seven-match series. The first one-dayer was abandoned due to rain at Bangalore on Saturday.
The match also saw rival players trade words in the middle - first Indian seamer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and Symonds and then Indian batsman Harbhajan Singh with a few Australian players after his dismissal.
Sreesanth later received a nasty blow on his helmet at the non-striker's end as he reacted late to a firm drive from his captain Mahender Singh Dhoni, who top-scored with a fighting 58 before being the last man out. "It was a very solid and professional performance by us. Our bowlers did a great job and put India under pressure," said stand-in Australian captain Adam Gilchrist.
"It is very satisfying to see new players come in and perform. With injuries come opportunities and Haddin showed that today." The tourists are still without captain Ricky Ponting, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, while Haddin was named in the squad as a replacement for the injured Michael Hussey.
Australia virtually wrapped up the match when they reduced India to 87-4 in the opening 15 overs, with paceman Stuart Clark grabbing two wickets, and Mitchell Johnson and James Hopes one apiece. Robin Uthappa tried to match the Australians' stroke-play as he hit a 30-ball 41 with two sixes and four boundaries but his flourish did not last long.
India were on the back foot after losing ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar (16), Twenty20 world championships sensation Yuvraj Singh (10) and Gautam Gambhir (seven) cheaply.
"We got a good start with the ball but didn't bowl well in the last 20 overs. That's the only concern for us. We lost a few wickets in the middle and that made the difference. Our batsmen failed to apply themselves," said Dhoni. Australia were struggling at 8-2 after being put in to bat, but Symonds, Haddin and Hayden ended India's early celebrations and helped their side set a stiff target.
Hayden was instrumental in getting his side back on track after Gilchrist (0) and Brad Hodge (3) had fallen in the opening four overs. He added 58 for the third wicket with Michael Clarke and 94 for the next with Symonds.
Symonds and Haddin then built on Hayden's superb effort with a 108-run stand for the fifth wicket. The last 10 overs yielded 91 runs, thanks to big hitting from the pair.
Haddin faced just 69 balls and hit three sixes and eight fours in his career-best knock for his second successive half-century, while Symonds struck two sixes and nine fours in his 83-ball innings. Hayden initially relied on singles and twos, but Symonds went for big shots soon after arriving at the crease to considerably ease the pressure.
SCOREBOARD:
AUSTRALIA::
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A. Gilchrist c Tendulkar b Zaheer 0
M. Hayden b Pathan 75
B. Hodge c Dhoni b Sreesanth 3
M. Clarke st Dhoni b Pathan 27
A. Symonds c and b Sreesanth 87
B. Haddin not out 87
J. Hopes c Dravid b Sreesanth 4
B. Lee not out 2
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Extras: (b4, lb2, w15) 21
Total: (for six wickets) 306
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Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-8, 3-66, 4-160, 5-268, 6-297.
Bowling: Zaheer 10-1-55-1, Sreesanth 9-0-67-3, Pathan 10-0-47-2, Harbhajan 10-0-57-0, Powar 5-0-30-0, Tendulkar 3-0-22-0, Yuvraj 3-0-22-0.
Overs: 50
INDIA:
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G. Gambhir b Johnson 7
S. Tendulkar c Symonds b Clark 16
R. Uthappa lbw b Clark 41
Yuvraj Singh c Hayden b Hopes 10
R. Dravid c Johnson b Hogg 31
MS Dhoni c Hodge b Hogg 58
Irfan Pathan run out 1
Harbhajan Singh st Gilchrist b Clarke 4
R. Powar b Clarke 17
Zaheer Khan c Hodge b Hogg 3
S. Sreesanth not out 7
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Extras: (b4, lb6, nb7, w10) 27
Total: 222
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Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-58, 3-79, 4-87, 5-136, 6-139, 7-154, 8-179, 9-190.
Bowling: Lee 7-0-44-0, Johnson 9-1-46-1, Clark 6-0-14-2, Hopes 7-0-33-1, Clarke 9-1-35-2, Hogg 9.3-0-40-3.
Overs: 47.3
Result: Australia win by 84 runs
Man of the match: Brad Haddin
Toss: India
Umpires: Steve Bucknor (WIS), Suresh Shastri (IND)
Third Umpire: G. Pratapkumar (IND)
Match Referee: Chris Broad (ENG)
Third one-dayer: At Hyderabad on Friday.
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