India A chased down the target with three wickets and four overs in hand to take confidence into the final on Friday

The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran in Chennai24-Sep-2008
Scorecard
How they were out

Piyush Chawla took two wickets and struck 25 off 11 balls in India A’s victory © Getty Images
The final league game of the tri-series may have been reduced to a dead rubber after New Zealand A’s elimination but the few thousands of spectators who came to watch India A take on Australia A were entertained by a see-saw battle. Both teams brought competitive flair to an inconsequential match and, in the end, India A chased down the target with three wickets and four overs in hand to take some confidence into Friday’s final.India suffered a few hiccups during their run-chase. They lost their first three wickets for 70 before Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina shared an 85-run stand for the fourth wicket, which turned the match India’s way. They lost a few more wickets but not direction and a cameo from Piyush Chawla helped them go past Australia’s total of 272.Both teams took the opportunity presented by the dead rubber to field experimental sides. Ravi Teja, Jaydev Shah and Wriddhiman Saha finally got a chance while Australia tinkered with their batting line-up and also rested Shaun Tait for the seamer Mark Cameron.Robin Uthappa had another chance to get out of his rut but Cameron was too quick and the opener lost his off stump. Shah had the licence to attack and he made room and swung hard at wide deliveries to kick start the innings. Ravi Teja was given an opportunity ahead of Raina and he impressed during his stint using Cameron’s pace to hit two boundaries on either side of the wicket before an attempted pull eventually fell to David Hussey at midwicket. The dismissal left India on 70 for 3 and in need of a partnership or two.Cue Sharma and Raina, who gave India the initiative by scoring at a brisk rate – their partnership took only 83 balls – and preventing the loss of further wickets. Raina set the tone by hitting left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty for two sixes over the leg side. Rohit collected singles with deft touches and flicks against the spinners. However, their dismissals – Raina was caught off Brett Geeves and Sharma was run out while ball-watching – came in quick succession and left India with a bit more work to do.At the 34th over India were 187 for 5 and Yusuf Pathan’s aggressive 36 took them closer. He dictated terms during his innings, which included a whip past midwicket and a powerful pull over square leg, but his dismissal left Australia with a chance. Chawla, however, eased the pressure with a straight six off Geeves in the 45th over and sealed the win with two sixes off Doherty in the following over.Both teams had a satisfactory workout, especially the Australians, after their one-sided contest against New Zealand on Tuesday. They experimented with a new opening pair in Adam Voges and Marcus North but their stand was broken by the fourth over. North scored 40 off 52 balls and played second fiddle to Hussey, who peppered the off side with boundaries. Hussey favoured the extra cover region, scooping Irfan Pathan over the rope and driving him along the ground. He used his feet once the spinners came on and lofted Chawla with the turn over mid-off before hitting him over midwicket shortly after bringing up his fifty.A cloudy morning gave way to a sunny afternoon and the conditions got easier for batting. The Australians were comfortably placed at 104 for 2 after the Powerplays and Hussey was ticking along at more than a run a ball. Hussey’s dismissal was vital and Yusuf Pathan sneaked one through his defences to cut him short on 74.India did not find wickets easy to come by and Australia’s middle order put together useful partnerships. Cameron White and George Bailey added 41 before Bailey and Phillip Hughes combined for 45, both in quick time. Hughes, who had dropped down the order, adjusted smoothly and improvised during the slog overs. He made room to attack by moving towards leg, exposing all three stumps, to hit the bowlers over the off side. Ashley Noffke joined Hughes and the pair added 57 off 46 balls to take the Australians to a competitive score. The target, however, was well within India’s reach and the two sides will play the final with an even head-to-head record.Australia AAdam Voges c Raina b Kumar 5 (7 for 1)
Lunged forward to one that moved away and edged to second slipMarcus North lbw b Chawla 40 (103 for 2)
Played down the wrong lineDavid Hussey b Yusuf 74 (127 for 3)
Tried to work it to the on side with the turnCameron White c Saha b Rohit 30 (168 for 4)
Attempted to slog but got an edge onto the pads that ballooned up to SahaGeorge Bailey c Kulkarni b Kumar 36 (213 for 5)
Tried to work a full delivery to the on side but got a leading edge to mid-offLuke Ronchi c Uthappa b Chawla 0 (215 for 6)
Went down the track, Uthappa ran forward from long-off to take the catchIndiaRobin Uthappa b Cameron 7 (18 for 1)
Beaten for pace, the off stump went cartwheelingJaydev Shah c Hughes b Cameron 26 (58 for 2)
Made room to slap one over the off side but miscued it to mid-offRavi Teja c Voges b Doherty 33 (70 for 3)
Pulled a short delivery but failed to clear midwicketSuresh Raina c Hussey b Geeves 46 (155 for 4)
A leading edge lobbed up to Hussey who ran to his left from coverRohit Sharma run out (Ronchi) 51 (187 for 5)
Was ball-watching and failed to beat Ronchi’s direct hitYusuf Pathan c Hussey b Noffke 36 (214 for 6)
Slower ball, he tried to clear mid-off but failed to get enough elevationIrfan Pathan run out 14 (240 for 7)
Tapped to short cover, Voges gathered and threw it underarm back to White