First, he consolidated the innings with Gautam Gambhir. Then, in tandem with Suresh Raina, he ripped the bowling to shreds. MS Dhoni's superb 107-ball 124 was the foundation for India's highest-ever total against Australia, a mammoth 354 for 7, and once Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma winkled out Australia's top three for just 45, the match was effectively over. Michael Hussey's 53 provided a lone note of defiance as India romped home by 99 runs, to leave the series all square as the teams packed their bags and headed to Delhi.
The match slipped out of Australia's grasp in the final 11 overs of the Indian innings. When the batting Powerplay was taken with the scoreboard showing 238 for 4, the run-rate had dipped close to six. But with 47 coming from those five overs, and the mayhem continuing unabated afterwards, Ricky Ponting's decision to bowl first in view of the dew factor didn't look too clever. Peter Siddle bowled with impressive pace and accuracy, while Nathan Hauritz was tidy, but the rest were taken to the cleaners on a day when Dhoni appeared to rediscover his big-hitting mojo.
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