Symonds the new boy in charge of Aussie success drive

Galle (Sri Lanka) - Rain not so much came to Australia's rescue as drowned India's hopes in a late morning deluge from which they were always knee deep in troubled waters as the World Cup champions cruised to a second victory in the Aiwa Cup series yesterday.

And with Messrs Duckworth and Lewis adding their touch of mathematical mystery, the initial calculated target of 158 was later stretched by an extra run once the figures has been run through the computer for the sake of accuracy. Not that an extra run was going to mean too much difference as the professional Australians were just too street wise to the even shorter version of the short game.

When Sachin Tendulkar won the toss he no doubted based his calculations of a competitive 220 plus target on batting 50 overs, despite the top-order's ability to shoot off both feet in the process. Along came the rain, our good friends Duckworth and Lewis and we had the incongruous format worked out in England dictating the result of a game in far off Galle whose conditions are far removed from Hertford, Hereford or Hampshire.

An eight wickets victory, though, is about as comprehensive as you are going to get, and with nine overs to spare, the Australian run rate will place them, with their two wins well ahead of the what challenge either sub-continental side are likely to make.

It was all-rounder Andrew Symonds who did as much as Adam Gilchrist to help fashion this comprehensive victory. In only his third limited-overs international the man of the match winner, with the figures 39 on his back, often charged up and down the surface as though he was involved in some Aussie Rules escapade than a serious limited overs thrash.

Perhaps the numbers on his back may be a matter of a lucky dip selection policy, just as Lance Klusener enjoys wearing 69. There was no mistaking his batting style. It was neither of the lucky dip variety nor the cultured school of technique: more in keeping with the Steve Waugh style of aggression and hard work. As it is he scored a sensible 68 off as many balls, and for those who need the statistics, there were seven fours and a six.

The partnership with Adam Gilchrist was worth 132 and there was no argument about the strengths of either side. The Aussies were cool and calculated. There was no pressure either, just a common sense approach to a gettable target. Clever rotation of the strike also put the Indians under pressure. If Gilchrist, the old campaigner batted without too much bother save for a narrow run out squeak, the new boy Symonds attracted most attention and showed why when he was undefeated at the end.

The problem with this particular limited-overs tournament is that there is no second day and no second chance. When the rain swept across the battlements of the old Dutch fort, drenching those in the 'cheap seats' India had struggled to reach 69 for three after 20.2 overs although we had a brief glimpse of Asian magic in the form of Amay Khurasiya. Over the years the Madhya Pradesh batsman has scored runs with fluency and style along with a touch of aggressiveness but the Indian selectors also have a well known habit of ignoring talent.

If Tendulkar is the crown prince, and Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly the rock on which any number of victories have been founded, Khurasiya is the new elegant stylist brought in as a replacement for Mohammad Azharuddin. Here is no common usurper but a batsman who has the ability to reel off the fashionable text book strokes mixed with his own brand of intuitive flamboyance.

We did not get too much of a chance yesterday to see him in full flow. No doubt there will a chance to do so in this tournament as it progresses through the league stages. What upset his efforts to rescue India from digging yet another grave in which to bury a lost cause was the rain. There is little doubt that had the rain not interrupted Ajay Jadeja and Khurasiya's efforts to revive the corpse, India would have gone on to post a more challenging target to set the Australians.

Yet with Ganguly, Tendulkar and Dravid already propping the feet up on the balcony whatever chance India had of putting Australia under pressure had come and gone. It was a good toss to win but to go and squander the early initiative was a major disappointment to Tendulkar.

His after-match comment of 'we did not get it right today and failed to put a total on the board' was to be expected. It was neither new nor revealing. What should have also said was the team's basic fielding skills were also notably absent as the Gilchrist-Symonds partnership was allowed to profit through a lack of urgency.

It is early days and defeat is nothing new to the Indians, but Tendulkar who agreed to take over the captaincy after the World Cup, might make a quick baton change after the series in Singapore if there is no improvement in the team's mental approach.