Once a team is down at 27 for 5, there is very little that can be done to get to a match-winning score. The series may have been lost during that one small phase on Sunday morning at Guwahati, but there are still some positives to be taken from the game. The Indians didn't give up and found two guys who were willing to fight it out and provide the team with a chance.
Once you have a below-200 total, early wickets become the key. When that didn't happen, there was no chance of anything other than an Australian win.
As far as batting first is concerned, there is always a risk but it is one that needs to be taken. Had the batsmen been a bit more cautious, things could have been different. For me, though the day was summed up with the Yuvraj Singh dismissal. When you come across a freak dismissal (I don't think I have seen a stranger one), it does send out a message, saying 'whatever you do, its just not going to be your day'.
It was Mitchell Johnson's day for sure. All the Aussie bowlers did well but Johnson was outstanding. For a while now he's been bowling behind new-ball bowlers Brett Lee and Peter Siddle, but given the new ball in their absence, Johnson grabbed his chance. The trick lay in pitching the ball well up, thus allowing for maximum movement. The left-armer must be given credit for using the given conditions so well.
The Indians must now go all out in the final ODI at the DY Patil Stadium. The strengths of the two teams don't warrant a 5-2 scoreline, 4-3 will be a better reflection of the way the series has gone. Most matches have been closely fought and the results could have gone either way. Also, with the Indians playing a Test barely five days after the Mumbai game, a win will leave them in a better frame of mind. Ravindra Jadeja will be in a better frame of mind after scoring that useful half-century. He panicked during the big chase in Hyderabad but when he found he had time to build an innings, he seemed equal to the task. He seemed to have got over the Hyderabad game too.
{{/usCountry}}The Indians must now go all out in the final ODI at the DY Patil Stadium. The strengths of the two teams don't warrant a 5-2 scoreline, 4-3 will be a better reflection of the way the series has gone. Most matches have been closely fought and the results could have gone either way. Also, with the Indians playing a Test barely five days after the Mumbai game, a win will leave them in a better frame of mind. Ravindra Jadeja will be in a better frame of mind after scoring that useful half-century. He panicked during the big chase in Hyderabad but when he found he had time to build an innings, he seemed equal to the task. He seemed to have got over the Hyderabad game too.
{{/usCountry}}The team management retained Jadeja in the playing eleven and the young man repaid their faith. That's the way it should be. When you have invested in someone, you must back him fully and give him ample time to settle in. Jadeja has also bowled well right through the series and the newfound success with the bat will stand him in good stead.