Bevan Excels As Australia Take Pepsi Trophy

Michael Gwyl Bevan is an ODI legend. After today's match-winningheroics with the bat he has an astonishing batting average of57.41. Time and again he has carried Australia through to someremarkable victories. Friday was yet another crunch day for thetouring Australians and he showed his class by making an unbeaten87 to carry his team to victory in the fifth ODI match againstIndia, played at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Margao.Required to make 266 to win, Australia made 269/6 in 48 overs toscore an exciting victory. Going into the match at 2-2, bothteams had everything to play for. The Australian run chase gotoff to a flying start with Matthew Hayden carrying on with hisresounding form. He got into the act straightaway smashingboundaries off Srinath. He cracked a straight six off Srinath asthe partnership between him and Gilchrist bulged to 70 runs off10 overs.Ajit Agarkar's first over cost him 17 runs, Gilchrist smashing asix and two boundaries. In the 11th over Srinath struck two heavyblows. First he removed Hayden who had made 36 runs (42 balls, 5fours, 1 six) and then in the same over he had Ricky Ponting (4)caught behind by Vijay Dahiya.Gilchrist saw to it that the Aussies did not go on the defensiveby unleashing an attack on Harbhajan Singh and Srinath as runsflowed unabated. Gilchrist raced to his fifty off just 28 balls.With the introduction of spinners from either ends, runs startedto come in trickles. The boundaries dried up as Tendulkar andHarbhajan Singh kept a tight leash on the Aussie batsmen. Bevanand Gilchrist had to rely on quick running between the wickets.Gilchrist lost his wicket to Tendulkar, bowled while trying toguide a ball to third-man. He made 76 runs off 60 balls with thehelp of ten boundaries and a mighty six. Along with Bevan headded 68 valuable runs in 13.3 overs for the third wicket and inthe process steadying the Australian innings.A middle order collapse ensued. Steve Waugh (17) was caught byAgarkar off Tendulkar at the boundary line. Darren Lehmann (1)played a cut shot straight into the hands of Yuvraj Singh off thebowling of Tendulkar. Hemang Badani held a good catch off thebowling of Srinath, at the cover fence to dismiss Andrew Symonds(7). India was clawing back into the match with Australia in sometrouble at 202/6 in the 40th over.With the match keenly poised, there were renewed hopes of anIndian victory. Bevan would have none of that as he and IanHarvey knocked of the required runs off 8.5 overs. Bevan who wasdeclared Man of the Match, made 87 glorious runs, punctuating hisknock with a huge six off Harbhajan Singh and five strokes pastthe ropes. Harvey played a little cameo of 25 which was struckoff just 26 balls.Earlier in the day, Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected tobat first on a pitch that was predicted to break up in theafternoon. Sachin Tendulkar hit a couple of boundaries andthreatened to cut loose. Tendulkar (15) was caught behind byGilchrist; trying to play a drive on the rise off Nathan Bracken.Ganguly, whose wretched form with the bat has been the cause ofconcern for a while, came good today. He smashed Shane Warne outof the attack. Two sixes and nine boundaries flowed from his batin making 74 runs off 83 balls before he was caught at point byPonting off a bouncer from McGrath.Laxman's magic touch with the bat produced his maiden ODIhundred. He played an elegant innings of 101 off 107 balls,lacing his knock with 10 boundaries. He was particularly severeon Shane Warne and the part-time bowling of Symonds and Lehmann.Laxman's knock came to end when he skied a catch to Gilchrist offHarvey's bowling.Dravid (31) and Laxman added 97 runs for the fourth wicket in 16overs. That was the last significant contribution with the bat asthe middle and lower order failed to make an impact on thesplendid start. Badani (7) and Yuvraj Singh (17) could not keepthe momentum going. Dahiya remained unbeaten on 15 as Indiafinished on 265/6 in 50 overs.Australia will take some comfort from this One-Day Series victoryafter having lost the Test series 2-1. Remarkably the mostproductive Australian batsmen in the Test series, Matthew Haydenwas included in the ODI team at the last moment. He did notdisappoint the selectors who reposed faith in him. No wonder hetook the Man of the Series award for the one dayers too. Scorecard Cricinfo