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Craig HillArrogance the undoing of the Australian cricket team
March 3rd 2008 12:42
Need to punish 'bad boy' undoes the Green and Gold
It was there to see at the SCG on Sunday night. Australia lost, the all conquering almighty team of the past two decades came crashing down and it was all due to one man. The turbinator, the man publicly named as an obnoxious weed - Harbhajan Singh brought the downfall of Australia by his mere presence.
How is this you ask? The Australians got themselves into trouble with some early poor shot selection and bad luck (Ricky Ponting underedged a pull shot that went cannoning into leg stump - two overs later Matthew Hayden did exactly the same thing but the ball missed the stumps and rolled away for a boundary).
At 3 for 24 Australia was in dire trouble when Andrew Symonds came to wicket and joined Matthew Hayden in a furious counter attack that saw them reach a 100 by the 18th over. They took the game by the scruff of the neck and shook it violently back to Australia's favour with the kind of intelligent power cricket that has been the hallmark of this team. Commentators were likening it to the world series finals of 2006 when a game down and 3 for 10 in the second game Symonds then joined by Ricky Ponting bludgeoned the Sri Lankan making 358. Hayden and Symonds had put on a hundred run partnership when the Indians then turned to Harbhajan - he hasn't been bowling particularly well of late and he didn't bowl particularly well here - BUT the two batsman at the centre of the childish schoolyard spat with the indian off spinner both decided he had to go. The thing is after they had dominated the game and got the Indians on the back foot Symonds and Hayden could quite easily have milked the bowling, taken five singles an over and just accumulated another 80 more runs then set up for a guns blazing finale with both of them past 100. BUT Harbhajan had to be taught a lesson and the two tried to arrogantly hit him out of the attack. It was an attack of stupidity that really did cost the Australians the match as the Indians settled down to chase a moderate total of 237 when they should have been chasing a much more daunting total of more than 320!
All attention will now turn to Brisbane, Australia has to win this match to stay in the final series and more importantly get back that air of invincibility. I would recommend instead of going after Harbhajan they concentrate on their own brilliant game and maybe teach him a lesson that way. To everyone else in the cricket world Harbhajan has given you the answer as to how to beat the Australians - as Arjuna Ranatunga before him, you have to beat them at their own game and really really get under their skin.
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