(Adds quotes paras 18-21)
By Greg Buckle
MELBOURNE, Jan 9 - World champions Australia
fielded brilliantly to record a tense 18-run victory over India
in their triangular series one-day match on Friday despite a
brave innings of 82 from opposing captain Saurav Ganguly.
Michael Clarke took four catches and one for 22 after
guiding the hosts to 288 all out in 48.3 overs with a quickfire
63.
He shared a century partnership with man-of-the-match Andrew
Symonds, who made 88 and took two for 47.
Australia had been set for an even bigger score but were
kept below 300 after a six-wicket haul from India's Ajit
Agarkar.
India scored 270 in 49.0 overs in reply after Sachin
Tendulkar clipped 63 from 69 balls to give the tourists a flying
start.
Tendulkar, who hit eight fours, and Virender Sehwag (35) put
on 103 for the first wicket in 18.2 overs.
Tendulkar's dismissal at 134 for two in the 26th over, after
Australia captain Ricky Ponting pulled in a spectacular
one-handed catch at midwicket off the bowling of Symonds, was a
big blow for India's hopes of victory.
Ganguly was left to anchor the innings after Vangipurappu
Laxman (16), Rahul Dravid (16) and Yuvraj Singh (25) could not
push to big scores before a capacity crowd of 63,271 at
Melbourne Cricket Ground, where India flags almost outnumbered
the local variety.
Medium pacer Ian Harvey (3-52) helped turn the match in the
46th over when he had Yuvraj caught at midwicket and next ball
ran out Ganguly with a direct hit at the bowler's end. The
skipper had batted for two hours, hitting six fours and one six
from 83 balls.
SYMONDS SIZZLES
Australia's Symonds and 22-year-old Clarke, who came to the
crease at 89 for four, put on 143 for the fifth wicket in 142
balls.
Clarke holed out to deep square leg off leg spinner Anil
Kumble in the 39th over while Symonds thumped three sixes in his
88.
Paceman Agarkar claimed the scalps of Symonds and Harvey
(28), both caught in the deep, and Brad Williams (0) to finish
with a career-best 6-42 from 9.3 overs.
Adam Gilchrist, who hit six fours, raced to 34 off 34 balls
before he was brilliantly caught by a diving Irfan Pathan at
deep backward square leg off Agarkar.
Agarkar struck twice in two balls in his next over, the
11th, when he dismissed opener Matthew Hayden for 20 and had
Damien Martyn caught at fine leg for a first-ball duck.
Ponting was caught and bowled by Lakshmipathy Balaji for 18
in the 16th over as Australia slumped from 59 without loss to
89-4.
Left-hander Michael Bevan (1) fell cheaply to Sehwag's off
break bowling but Harvey paced Australia's innings in the
closing overs before becoming Agarkar's fifth victim.
Australia host Zimbabwe at Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday
in the second match of the triangular series.
Ponting said he was conscious of the need for Australia to
improve their fielding.
"We talked about it a fair bit coming into the game," he
said. "There was a noticeable improvement tonight. We still put
a couple down and probably had a few other half-chances we
didn't take."
Yuvraj said his team were deeply disappointed at losing from
such a strong position.
"If one of us would have stayed, things would have been
different," he said.