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The Argonaut · 23-03-2003, 04:59 PM

A brilliant win to the Aussies. I couldn't believe the onslaught from Ponting at the end. He had a little bit of luck along the way but punished some pretty awful bowling at the end.

Ganguly again showed that he had no honour by appealing for that catch off Gilchrist where the ball not only missed the bat by a fair margin but clearly bounced before he caught it. It only confirmed my opinion of him. His captaincy was also quite flawed. Not bring ing Zaheer back on earlier was a mistake as was not bowling the Turbanator out at the end. Singh had bowled well early and just because he had one expensive over he never bowled again. Mongia also bowled well and could have bowled the full 10. Nehra only enhanced his reputation with a good performance. He was expensive late but wasn't everyone.

However he did make the right decision to bowl first. The Aussies would have skittled them quickly on a pitch that seamed around a lot. The Indian bowlers did not take advantage of such wonderful conditions for bowling. Gilchrist played a great knock early to make the Indians more nervous about being in the final.

Tendulkar mat have gotten out early but he had no choice. The Indians can take heart in that they did not throw in the towel. I was expecting them to get rolled once Tendulkar was out. Sehwag played his best innings in the tournament but could not beat an accurate throw from Lehmann.

I guess the Aussies strength was that they played more as a team than any other side. Everyone made a contibution along the way. Just think of key contributions from Symonds, Bichel, Bevan, McGrath, Lee, Ponting and Martyn in tough matches. Only Hayden and Hogg can say that they didn't have a good tournament as individuals. This is another good reason why no Australians figured in the man of the tournament awards. India relied on Tendulkar too much though their bowlers did the job for them during the tournament.

All in all a great victory though the Indians shouldn't get too down as they were clearly the second best side in the comp but the Aussies are ahead of them by a country mile.

23-03-2003, 04:59 PM	#103 (permalink)
The Argonaut State Vice-Captain Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Brisbane Australia Posts: 1,351	A brilliant win to the Aussies. I couldn't believe the onslaught from Ponting at the end. He had a little bit of luck along the way but punished some pretty awful bowling at the end. Ganguly again showed that he had no honour by appealing for that catch off Gilchrist where the ball not only missed the bat by a fair margin but clearly bounced before he caught it. It only confirmed my opinion of him. His captaincy was also quite flawed. Not bring ing Zaheer back on earlier was a mistake as was not bowling the Turbanator out at the end. Singh had bowled well early and just because he had one expensive over he never bowled again. Mongia also bowled well and could have bowled the full 10. Nehra only enhanced his reputation with a good performance. He was expensive late but wasn't everyone. However he did make the right decision to bowl first. The Aussies would have skittled them quickly on a pitch that seamed around a lot. The Indian bowlers did not take advantage of such wonderful conditions for bowling. Gilchrist played a great knock early to make the Indians more nervous about being in the final. Tendulkar mat have gotten out early but he had no choice. The Indians can take heart in that they did not throw in the towel. I was expecting them to get rolled once Tendulkar was out. Sehwag played his best innings in the tournament but could not beat an accurate throw from Lehmann. I guess the Aussies strength was that they played more as a team than any other side. Everyone made a contibution along the way. Just think of key contributions from Symonds, Bichel, Bevan, McGrath, Lee, Ponting and Martyn in tough matches. Only Hayden and Hogg can say that they didn't have a good tournament as individuals. This is another good reason why no Australians figured in the man of the tournament awards. India relied on Tendulkar too much though their bowlers did the job for them during the tournament. All in all a great victory though the Indians shouldn't get too down as they were clearly the second best side in the comp but the Aussies are ahead of them by a country mile.