Aussies win comfortably
Friday, May 28 2004
Australia completed another enphatic win over Zimbabwe in the second One-Day International of the three-match Nissan series, to win the series as predicted, with Matthew Hayden and Darren Lehmann both putting in valuable performances.
Put in to bat first by Zimbabwean captain Tatenda Taibu, Australia scored a massive 323 for 8, in which Hayden and Lehmann contributed 87 and 67 respectively. Hayden, who was down with a mild flew and a sore back, struggled early on, scoring at a slow pace unknown to his style of play, but managed to notch his strike rate above 80 towards the end of his innings. Lehmann, who later picked up four wickets as well, scored 67 off 69 balls to increase the run-rate during the middle overs.
Jason Gillespie proved an unlikely batting hero, as he single-handedly raised the score above 300 with an entertaining 33 not out off 14 balls, which included 3 sixes. Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting playing in his 200th One-Day International too a backseat, as he went in the middle at the number eight batting position, allowing the likes of Ian Harvery and Michael Clarke to spend some time batting.
Chasing virtually an impossible target for them, of 324, Zimbabwean top and middle order instead of going after the bowlers, decided to spend maximum time in the middle, frustrating the Australian bowlers. Brendan Taylor, who scored a half century in the last match, brough up another one, however it was too slow and ineffective to cause much impact.
At one stage Zimbabwe were 163/2, though with no sights of getting the target. But they underwent a collaspe which has now become a characteristic of their batting line-up, losing 7 wickets for 21 runs, as Lehmann ended with his best One-Day figures of 7/4. Douglas Hondo didn't bat for the Zimbabweans, after being hit on the ear earlier while bowling during the Australian innings by a straight drive from Ponting.
Score Summary:
Australia: 323/8 in 50 overs (ML Hayden 87, DS Lehmann 67, JN Gillespie 33*, S Matsikenyeri 43/2, T Mupariwa 64/2)
Zimbabwe: 184 all out in 44.3 overs (BRM Taylor 65, MS Kasprowicz 23/2, DS Lehmann 7/4)
Man of the Match: DS Lehmann
Result: Australia won by 139 runs, and lead the three-match series 2-0
Posted by Sudeep
Email Us
Forum
Mail Article
Print Article