Gritty Yuvraj fails to stop Aussie rampage

Hyderabad:India could not produce the superlative performance they needed to defeat world champions Australia and conceded a 0-2 lead in the seven-match ODI series against Australia.

A determined yet classy 121 from 115 balls from stylish batsman Yuvraj Singh failed to get India past the post as the hosts fell short by 47 runs in the third match here on Friday.

Andrew Symonds bludgeoned his way to 89 runs from just 67 balls as the visitors put up a commanding 290-7 before India were bowled out for 243 with 2.2 overs remaining.

India were off to a sordid start to their run chase when opener Gautam Gambhir was trapped leg before for six off paceman Brett Lee, and the first blow was rubbed in with the dismissals of Robin Uthappa and Rahul Dravid in quick succession as both the batsmen departed for nought. The opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Gambhir failed for the third time in a row in the series.

Tottering at 13-3, Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh held the fort for the Indians, not allowing the Australian bowlers to dictate terms by bringing up their 50-run partnership in 81 balls.

Tendulkar was at his crafty best as he coupled his trademark straight drives with deft paddle strokes to frustrate the Australians, much to the delight of the 39000-strong crowd and Telugu superstar Venkatesh. Yuvraj Singh, who quietly worked his way when Tendulkar was on song, came into his own later on.

India were dealt their fourth blow when Tendulkar moved away from his stumps only to be castled by spinner Brad Hogg after a gritty 43 from 71 balls, as a 95-run fourth wicket stand was brought to an end. India, however, were on par with Australia at this stage.

Yuvraj Singh, who broke batting records by the heaps at the recently concluded T20 World Championship, displayed signs of his prowess as he put on the accelerator to reach his fifty from just 61 balls. The southpaw opened up to strike a flurry of boundaries to get India in the hunt for the series leveller,

But captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was involved in a 65-run stand with his deputy, was out caught behind for 33, which was followed by the dismissal of Rohit Sharma, who fell for an ambitious hook to James Hopes. Irfan Pathan, too, followed back into the pavilion as India's chances of drawing level in the series dwindled.

Yuvraj Singh continued his onslaught on the Australian bowlers as he brought up his century from 104 balls, his second at the venue in as many matches, but India still needed more than 100 runs for an outside chance.

Yuvraj's blistering knock came to an end with Mitchell Johnson bowling him with a yorker as that batsmen departed for 121 from 115 balls, studded with 12 fours and three sixes. Australia wrapped up the game with the wicket of S Sreesanth.

Symonds powers Australia

Andrew Symonds cracked five fours and five sixes, out for a blistering 89 in the last over of the innings, while opener Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke scored quickfire half-centuries as Australia fell short of their third successive score of over 300.

Openers Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist gave the Aussies their best start so far in the series, as the duo added 61 in the first powerplay of 10 overs, after skipper Ricky Ponting marked his return to the side by winning the toss and electing to bat.

Irfan Pathan got India the first breakthrough in the 14th over by getting rid of Gilchrist who looked to be striking form, as the batsman misread the line in an attempt to go over the top of midwicket for 29, leaving Australia one down for 76.

Matthew Hayden continued his good run with the bat by celebrating his second half-century in succession, threading the in-field with perfection and using his feet well to the spinners as he reached his second successive half-century of the series with the help of 10 fours.

Skipper MS Dhoni held on to a sharp catch standing up to the stumps to Pathan to remove Hayden for 60 to hand the bowler his second wicket in an impressive second spell.

The Indian spinners managed to put a cap on the scoring rate thereafter, and Ponting gave in after a laborious stay in the middle to part-time bowler Yuvraj Singh with a lofted shot for 25 from 44 balls to leave Australia on 135-3.

However, Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds stitched together a crucial fourth-wicket stand, the pair raising Australia's 200 in the 39th over, while the 'Pup' brought up his half-century in quick time as well. Symonds followed it up with two powerful hits over the fence to bring up his half-century, too, off a run-a-ball.

Zaheer Khan snared two quick wickets at the early part of the death overs as Australia were unable to run away with the initiative. But Symonds sent the ball over the fence five times to gain back the momentum, and end with 290-5.

Harbhajan Singh's fine spell of off-spin only allowed 38 runs from his 10 overs, while Zaheer, S Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan managed two wickets apiece. Yuvraj Singh's left-armers accounted for 49 runs from his seven overs and a wicket.

Australia, leading the series 1-0, left out Brad Haddin to include the skipper, while India left out off-spinner Ramesh Powar who was replaced by batsman Rohit Sharma. Sourav Ganguly was unable to make the cut, still recovering from a hamstring strain.

Earlier in the morning, showers threatened the third ODI here, but cleared in time for the game to get underway.

Teams:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (C), Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Stuart Clark, James Hopes, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson.