India's winning habit

Trucks in the Punjab are famous for the one-line messages they carry. One of the typically earthy ones is, "Vekhi ja, par chedi na [Keep watching my truck, but don't fiddle around]." For four days and a bit in Mohali, India were the runaway truck that Australia could only watch and do nothing about.

It is a rare happening: When was the last time a team toyed around with Australia? When was the last time Australia were so dominated? One has to go back more than 10 years, to the same opposition and country, to Eden Gardens 1997-98. So long ago that only four players, on both sides, from that Test played in this match. Between Eden Gardens and Mohali, Australia played 117 matches, losing 15, without being so completely outplayed even once.

What would be more satisfactory for India, though, is that this win didn't come on a crumbling dustbowl; home advantage counted for nought this time. It was a good batting track, looking like any Australian pitch, with a little less bounce, on the first day. Contrast this with Eden Gardens 1998, when India played with three spinners, and Sourav Ganguly opened the bowling. Over the last five days, though, and on the same pitch, the ball would lose all potency the moment it was handled by Australian bowlers.

To be fair to the Australians, this isn't the same team that dominated the world over the last decade. Some of the best players in that side - Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer - have gone. Also, they embarked on this tour - possibly their toughest assignment of recent times - without Andrew Symonds; discipline problem or not, it's a mistake they may yet come to regret. Even so, it would take a special effort to put the boot in, simply because of their winning habit and the belief that they can pull themselves out of any kind of strife.

It's perhaps fitting that this defeat has been inflicted by India, who have stood up to Australia, competed against them more consistently than any other team in the past decade. And India are the only team who constantly threaten to outskill them: once it was their mysterious spin bowling and imperious batting, here the biggest difference between the teams was the quality of the pace bowling.

While Australia struggled for any disconcerting movement, the Indian bowlers got prodigious swing, both conventional and reverse. A TV split-screen visual of the six-over-old ball being used by both the teams told a story. While the one Australia used was scuffed up all over, the one India used had two markedly different sides, shiny and rough. That meant the ball started reversing as early as in the ninth over at times, a sensational phenomenon. And since it's still hard and new that early, as MS Dhoni suggested, it was all the more difficult to face. "The ball [from Ishant Sharma] that got me would get me 95 times out of 100," Ricky Ponting confessed.

The batsmen and the spinners did their job too. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag gave India two fiery starts, putting Australia on the back foot right away. The middle order revived them after a brief blip. Amit Mishra's debut was phenomenal, a throwback to the old days of classical legspin bowling. And Harbhajan Singh fast-tracked Australia to their demise in the second innings.

Right from the toss, India did little wrong. The one potentially distracting period was when Tendulkar moved towards his record but India regrouped well. They were aggressive throughout, and there wasn't a single player in the side they needed to hide. You could say they had nine potential Man-of-the-Match winners, something we rarely see with the Indian team. Perth, earlier this year, was a team performance, but not nearly as destructive.

How and McCullum power New Zealand win

New Zealand, led by scintillating half-centuries from Brendon McCullum and Jamie How, dismantled South Africa with clinical efficiency and brought the one-day series alive with a seven-wicket victory in the second one-dayer at St George's Park. The target of 210 was seen as fairly competitive under lights but McCullum and How tackled it with a level of confidence rarely seen from New Zealand in this series.

There was a refreshing consistency with which New Zealand dominated the game for most parts. The 89-run rescue act for the sixth wicket between Shaun Pollock and Mark Boucher was the only lengthy passage of play dominated by South Africa - who had won eight of the last ten day-night games here - but the momentum was with New Zealand from the second ball of the match.

Lou Vincent's run-out got the chase off to a rocky start but that brought McCullum and How together. McCullum was in imperious touch against Nel in particular and dented his confidence in one over. Nel pitched up outside off, McCullum lofted through the line and deposited the ball straight back over his head for the first six of the innings. The next ball was heaved over point before How got into the act with a streaky inside edge past short fine leg, but the intent with which the pair picked up 16 in that single over sent out a statement that New Zealand weren't going to be trampled upon again.

Both showed a fondness for horizontal bat shots - some met with thin air, some off the toe edge while some rocketed off the meat of the bat. The confidence in the strokeplay rubbed off on the running between the wickets as the pair rotated the strike judiciously. The fielding was sharp, characteristic of the South Africans, but not sharp enough. The number of direct hits didn't deter How or McCullum from applying further pressure on the infielders. Gaps were bisected with precision and there wasn't much Graeme Smith could do to plug them.

The ploy of bowling slower balls, adopted by Charl Langeveldt, had the right intention - to confuse the batsmen - but not the desired effect. The ball often landed short of a good length, allowing the batsmen time to plan their strokes. The partnership looked ominous for South Africa and the bounce and sideways movement in the evening was barely seen under lights. As the pair stretched the stand to 150, the shoulders drooped and South Africa ran out of ideas, with the chase progressing at the rate of knots.

Despite the running, it was ironical that two of the three dismissals came by way of run-outs. Dale Steyn, on the field as a substitute, set a fine example with a flat throw from deep extra cover to send back McCullum for 81 and How was trapped playing across the line to Langeveldt for 76. But it was a little too late for inspiration as Scott Styris and Ross Taylor played neat cameos and reached the target with 68 balls to spare.

New Zealand's batsmen were simply carrying on the team's effort in the field. South Africa's top order wilted under the pressure created at the start by an incisive opening burst from Kyle Mills, backed by restrictive spells from the two-pronged spin attack of Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel.

The catching and anticipation was sharp and agile, and New Zealand, sensing an opportunity to make further inroads, threw themselves in the field, plugging the gaps in the first Powerplay. At 20 for 3, the pressure began to tell, particularly on Jacques Kallis, who was uncharacteristically scratchy in a situation tailor-made for him. Attempts at shuffling across the stumps to unsettle the bowler's rhythm were met with little or no success and the fielders patrolling the inner circle were kept busy each time Kallis attempted something different.

JP Duminy, who promised plenty with a couple of smooth drives on the front foot, fell to an untimely slog off Patel. And as the usually festive crowd turned quiet, New Zealand celebrated Kallis' wicket as well.

The rebuilding act by Boucher and Pollock wasn't electrifying but effective as they rotated the strike against Patel and Vettori. The first ten overs of the stand had little in runs value -only 26 came off it - but the passage of play after the drinks interval followed a slightly different script. Pollock was fed with three gifts in succession by Gillespie - scooping two over backward point and dispatching the third back past the bowler - and suddenly the next ten overs yielded 58.

The late fireworks were reserved for Nel. He picked on Mills, one of New Zealand's least-effective bowlers at the death, slashing past gully, smoking one over square leg, and then following it up with a six over deep cover. Nel finished the innings in style with a six off Gillespie, giving South Africa hope. However, there weren't too many smiles in the South African camp after that.

Oram boost for New Zealand in must-win game

South Africa will look to continue their successful run against New Zealand with a win in the second ODI in Port Elizabeth. The hosts almost faltered during their run-chase in the first ODI in Durban but a win on Friday will give them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Going by current form, South Africa are clear favourites and this is even without considering their record in day-night encounters at St. George's Park - eights win out of ten ODIs, with one no result.

The hosts will be boosted by the return of Herschelle Gibbs, who had missed the Twenty20 international and the first ODI with a knee injury. Gibbs' standby Morne van Wyk has been released from the squad to play for the Eagles in the SuperSport series.

The other dilemma facing the South African selectors surrounds their pace attack. New Zealand's batsmen were blown away by Dale Steyn during the two-Test series, and his inclusion in the playing XI could dent the tourists' confidence ahead of a must-win game.

Smith's opposition counterpart Daniel Vettori must be wondering what his team needs to do to beat this South African side. New Zealand's main worry through the Tests was the form of their batsmen, but after the Durban ODI, the team would be concerned over its bowling options as well, besides their poor catching, which Vettori highlighted as the main reason for the last-ball loss at Kingsmead.

Kyle Mills' 5 for 25 in Durban would have done Shane Bond proud but New Zealand could have done with some firepower at the other end - Mark Gillespie, Chris Martin, Scott Styris and Vettori conceded 220 runs and picked up three wickets.

Allrounder Jacob Oram will be a handy addition to the bowling department. Oram suffered a hamstring strain in the first Test, and Vettori indicated the team would play six bowlers.

"Jacob's probably the most important member of our team purely from the roles he fills, batting at number six and able to bowl 10 overs," Vettori told SuperCricket. "It's a luxury not many teams have and having him back means I can take six bowlers and we get a nice balance when he's playing."

England secure warm-up win

Kevin Pietersen produced his first half-century of the tour and Alastair Cook continued his recent good form, as England wrapped up a morale-boosting victory over the Sri Lanka Board President's XI at Colombo. The pair combined in a third-wicket stand of 55, making 59 and 58 respectively, before Owais Shah and Matt Prior sealed the victory with a flurry of boundaries shortly after tea.

After their first-innings aberration, in which they lost three top-order wickets in six overs, England's batsmen seemed keen to make amends. Michael Vaughan, who fell for a duck first time around, made a brisk and stylish start, cracking four fours in his 32-ball 28, as England added 50 for the first wicket in only ten overs.

But Vaughan then suffered a lapse in concentration when the part-time medium-pacer Jehan Mubarak entered the attack - he steered his first delivery to Tillakaratne Dilshan in the gully. Ian Bell followed soon afterwards, completing a poor match by scooping Dilshan to deep mid-on for 6, and at 74 for 2 England were in danger of squandering a good start.

Cook, however, remained composed and was joined in the middle by Pietersen, who was unbeaten on 10 from 22 balls at lunch. After the interval, he began to find his timing and moments after Cook had brought up his half-century from 96 balls, Pietersen went down on one knee to reverse-sweep Dilshan for six.

Cook fell lbw to Mubarak as he missed a sweep for the second time in the match, and Pietersen didn't last much longer. He reached for a cut off Chamara Kapugedera and snicked a thin under-edge through to the keeper. That left Bopara and Shah in tandem, and each man produced some polished strokeplay - including a straight six for Bopara off Mubarak - as they attempted to force their way into the Test reckoning.

Malik and Tanvir earn Pakistan consolation win

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Shoaib Malik excelled with both bat and ball as Pakistan notched up the consolation win that reduced India's margin of victory in the one-day series to 3-2. A 168-run partnership with Mohammad Yousuf revived Pakistan's stuttering innings, and he then picked up the key wickets of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma as an under-strength team outlasted an Indian side that had also rested four regulars.

By the time Malik arrived in the middle, Sreesanth had struck in each over of his second spell to transform a promising start (65 for 0) into a decidedly rocky one (77 for 3). But with Yousuf in the sort of form that fetched him an unbeaten 99 in the previous game, the innings was steadily rebuilt, first with singles, and then with big hits over midwicket and through the covers.

Malik's innings was laced with some good fortune too, with top-edged pulls off Sreesanth and Praveen Kumar, the debutant, falling safe, but the manner in which he and Yousuf took on India's slow bowlers completely changed the complexion of the innings.

Yousuf was again at his unhurried, classy best. He picked the gaps on the leg side cleverly and cut the ball behind point fluently when the bowlers erred. He was well on track for the century that he had missed both in Guwahati and Gwalior, but was flummoxed when the previously expensive Yuvraj Singh spun one past the bat as he lunged forward.

Malik's 82-ball 89 had ended in similar fashion just minutes earlier, with Murali Kartik deceiving him in the flight. But Misbah-ul-Haq and the impressive Fawad Alam finished with a flourish to ensure that the exit of the two established batsmen didn't really affect the final total.

Lee spearheads a big Australia win

Brett Lee helped Australia beat not only Sri Lanka but also the unpredictable Brisbane weather as the hosts rattled out the last five wickets between rain breaks on the final day. Lee claimed 4 for 86 to confirm Australia's 1-0 lead ahead of the second Test in the two-match series, which starts in Hobart on Friday.

Australia won their first Test of the post-Warne, McGrath and Langer era by an innings and 40 runs and it was fitting that Lee, the attack's new spearhead, was the leading trouble-maker and the Man of the Match. Pleasingly for Australia, he was also building on the work of their new opener, Phil Jaques, who made 100, while another fresh face, Mitchell Johnson, chipped in with two wickets in each innings.

After Michael Vandort induced a slight hiccup from Australia on the fourth day, Lee made sure the plan came back on track on the final morning despite Chamara Silva's 43. Silva was guiding Sri Lanka closer to making Australia bat again when he fell 15 minutes before lunch, trying to flick Lee into the on side and finding a leading edge that flew to Michael Hussey at wide third man.

That was the key breakthrough in a session that brought two rain interruptions that halted Australia's progress. Wet conditions in Brisbane overnight had indicated that Australia might have to race the weather radar while chasing victory, although play began under sunny skies.

Silva struck five fours - including two pulls and an edge past the slips from one Lee over - in his 63-ball stay as he tried to rein in Sri Lanka's deficit as quickly as possible. However, his departure opened the door for Lee, who followed by bowling Dilhara Fernando for 7 to leave Sri Lanka nine down at lunch.

For more information log on http://www.cricinfo.com/