Australian innings

1st – Zaheer Khan opens and goes for 15 runs, two wides and a no-ball

2nd – Srinath bowls tight, only two runs, swings both ways, lbw appeal turned down off Hayden

3rd – First ball fiercely hit through straightish mid-off for four by Gilchrist.

4th – Srinath beats Gilchrist outside off, first ball. Fourth hit for four.

5th – Zaheer bowls two wides. Gilchrist slashes last


ball over third slip for four. 38/0

6th – Short and wide from Srinath, Gilchrist hits third ball through point for four and fifth ball over cover point.

7th – Nehra brought in place of Zaheer. Has Gilchrist in trouble immediately with outgoing and incoming deliveries. 50 reached

8th – Srinath again short and wide outside off, goes for four by Gilchrist. Next ball hitfor four over midwicket. Follows up with a six over midwicket.

9th – Nehra drops short and this time it’s Hayden who pulls from off-stump to midwicket for four. Next ball shout for caught behind. Turned down.

10th – Harbhajan introduced. Fifth ball turns and jumps, beating Hayden. Next ball swept to square leg for four. 80/0. 15 extras

11th – Two consecutive wides by Nehra. Hayden straight-drives fifth ball for four.

12th – Hayden gets a four off Harbhajan at midoff. Plenty of turn.

13th – Gilchrist skies Nehra but ball drops safely between two fielders. Next ball mistimes, ball goes behind the wicket, Gilchrist gets his 50 in 40 balls. Shout for lbw turned down.

14th – Lot of turn, Sourav catches ball on bounce, goes up for a catch. Short and wide outside off by Harbhajan and bang it goes for four. Next ball sweeps uppishly, Zaheer can’t reach. Next ball, last, same shot and this time Sehwag catches it at midwicket. Australia 105/1. Gilchrist goes.

15th – Nehra moves the ball around, Hayden beaten twice consecutively, one coming in, the other going away. 109/1

16th – Harbhajan bowls with a slip and short-leg to Ponting.

17th – Ponting struck on pad off Nehra, by far the most dangerous of the quicks.

18th – Yuvraj misfields at fine-leg off Ponting.

19th – Srinath returns to bowl a better length, squares Ponting up with a ball that straightens after pitching

20th – Fourth ball spins across Hayden’s bat, fine nick, caught behind wicket: 125/2. 126/2 at end of 20th. Both wickets for Harbhajan (6-1-30-2).

21st – Last ball Damien Martyn hits Srinath half-volley for four.

22nd – Off-spinner’s wrong ’un eludes Martyn’s bat. Close shave.

23rd – Srinath again bowling too short. Ponting hits him for four to square leg.

24th – Enter Sehwag… four dot balls.

25th – Sachin brought in. First ball cut to third man for four — 150. 155/2.

26th – Australians milk the bowling. Score creeping up dangerously.

27th – Juicy full toss from Sachin hit for four to mid-on by Martyn.

28th – Ponting uses his feet well

29th – Sachin demands an extra over. 50 partnership in 51 balls.

30th – Mongia given the ball. Martyn cuts for four to point. 184/2.

31st – Zaheer back with 3-0-28-0.

32nd – For the first time run rate drops to 6. 192/2.

33rd – Ponting skies. Sourav can’t reach at midoff. Two wides followed by a half-volley on leg stump, tickled to fine-leg boundary. 200 up.

34th – Mongia continues.

35th – Yuvraj takes up from Zaheer. Martyn gets 50 in 46 balls by fetching a ball from outside off to long-on. 216/2.

36th – Sourav misfields to Mongia and then ambles after the ball. Bad body language.

37th – Lbw shout to Ponting turned down. 100 partnership off 107 balls.

38th – Relatively quiet Mongia over.

39th – Harbhajan returns. Ponting gets 50. Consecutive sixes over mid-wicket.

40th – Mongia does a good job until an inside out hit over mid-off for four. 250/2.

41st – Nehra back. Ponting hits full-toss over midwicket for six. 261.

42nd – Ponting hits a huge six, a la Tiger Woods – high and deep — into the stands off Mongia. 273.

43rd – 150 partnership in 139 balls. Highest in a final. 277.

44th – Shot of the innings, Ponting hits straight down the ground as Zaheer returns for third time. Next ball hit for a six over midwicket. 289.

45th – Quiet Nehra over. 295.

46th – Srinath. Ponting’s hundred in 103 balls. 305.

47th – Martyn greets Nehra with six over mid-off. 316.

48th – Srinath full-toss on leg stump hit for six by Ponting. 328

49th – Zaheer restarts with leg-bye four. Ponting hit soars over square-leg for six. Higest score in the Cup and Wanderers. 341.

50th – Ponting hits his eighth six and ends with another four. 359. Sourav shellshocked.

Indian innings

1st – First McGrath ball, movement off pitch. Fourth ball goes for four. Fifth ball, Sachin tries to pull again, but skies, high catch taken by bowler. 4/1. There goes half of India’s battle.

2nd – Lee starts at 149 kmph plus, movement off the wicket too. Next goes over 150. Fourth short and into Sehwag’s body.

3rd – First ball Ganguly gives McGrath the charge. Off the mark next ball with a nudge off the hips. Sehwag plays out the over, yet to score.

4th – Lee to Sehwag, flicked to square leg for four. Bouncer up next. Caught at square leg by Martyn. Heart in mouth, but a no-ball.

5th – Sourav top-edges behind wicketkeeper, next ball six over cover. Sehwag six over point. 33/1.

6th – Sourav charges Lee, ball goes over stumps. Between cover and mid-off, inside-out four.

7th – Sehwag charges McGrath, top edge for four over point. Sehwag tries to glance, misses, ball misses leg-stump too, by a whisker.

8th – Nudge off the hips, two for Sehwag. Lee pitches up, Sehwag gets the ball down from an awkward position. Then Sehwag replies with a stunning boundary through the covers.

9th– Sourav gives himself room, crashes one for four past mid-off off McGrath. Sourav mistimes a pull, ball up in the air but falls in no-man’s land.

10th – Sourav gives himself room against Lee and tries to play over covers, misses. Tries to play one over short fine-leg, misses. Fifth ball, Sourav tries to pull Lee, top-edges, Lehmann snaps up at mid-on. 58/2.

11th – Third ball, Kaif tries to cut McGrath; outside edge, caught behind, 59/3. Stumbling down…

12th – Lee tucks Sehwag up with a short ball. Clouds hang around, an Indian prayer for rain.

13th – First bowling change, Bradd Hogg brought in to quicken the over-rate. Groundsmen ready for showers.

14th – Second change, Lehmann brought in. Sehwag hits the second ball for four. Charges and hits the third ball for another boundary over mid-on. Next ball, same treatment. Drizzling.

15th – Appeal for run-out against Sehwag, third umpire says no. Hogg bowls short, Sehwag cuts for four. Next ball, plays with the turn into the stands, six. 88/3.

16th – Bichel brought into attack. Starts with a wide, Sehwag reaches his 50 with a single down to deep-point. Dravid flicks off his hips for four, then beaten outside the off-stump. Rain gets heavier.

17th – McGrath brought back. Sehwag hooks for a couple.

[Players come off at the end of the over with rain getting heavier. 103/3 (Sehwag 56, Dravid 12). Match resumes after 25 minutes, no over curtailed.]

18th – Bichel starts off with a wide. Pitches good length, beats Sehwag on the drive. Sehwag edges, survives

19th – Sehwag cuts McGrath, brilliantly saved by Hogg at backward-point. Misunderstanding between Dravid and Sehwag, Symonds tries to run Dravid out, misses, goes for five overthrows.

20th – Sehwag pulls Bichel awkwardly for four. 122/3

21st – Hogg brought back. Four inside the ring, Ponting on the defensive for the first time. Sehwag still finds the gap for four.

22nd – Leg-before appeal against Dravid, Bucknor says no. Sehwag tries to make room and play over point, Bradd Hogg gets his hand to it, fails to cling on. Bichel gets one to jump off length, Dravid lucky not to edge it.

23rd – Sehwag lofts Hogg for six. He hits the last ball for four over mid-off.

24th – Dravid finds it hard to rotate strike. Sehwag goes for a single of the fifth ball, Lehmann breaks the stump with a direct throw from mid-off, Sehwag run out for 82.

25th – India reach 150. Yuvraj plays an excellent off-drive of Hogg for a couple. 154/4

26th – Dravid inside-edges Bichel, ball misses stump by a whisker. Dravid plays a superb on-drive down the ground for four. Yuvraj edges, Ponting dives, just missed.

27th – Yuvraj, top edges a sweep off Hogg’s last ball, Martyn misses sitter at deep-square leg.

28th – Yuvraj plays a bowler’s back-drive off Bichel for a couple. Last ball, Yuvraj escapes a run-out with Lehmann missing a direct hit.

29th – Clouds start to hover again. Message regarding required rate emanates from the dressing room. Runs coming in ones and twos, required rate shooting.

30th – Yuvraj lofts Bichel over his head for a couple. Batsmen getting a little impatient for boundaries. 178/4.

31st – Hogg fires a flipper, Dravid beaten., Yuvraj starts to use his feet. Last ball, full toss, Yuvraj hits straight to Symonds, dropped.

32nd – Dravid cuts Bichel for a couple. Dravid (47) drags the fifth into the stumps, bowled, 187/5.

33rd – Yuvarj gets a couple on the off-side off Hogg. Sweeps the third ball for four, welcome boundary.

34th – First ball off Bichel, Dinesh Mongia opens account with a boundary. Cuts the third ball for another boundary. Fifth ball, Mongia outside edge, but ball in no-man’s land.

35th – Yuvraj top-edges a sweep off the third ball, Lee takes an easy catch, running in from deep square-leg. 209/6.

36th – Ponting brings in Symonds. Dinesh Mongia tries a lofted shot, Martyn makes up for his earlier drop with a superb catch running back from mid-off. Harbhajan edges last ball, falls in no-man’s land, gets a couple.

37th – Lehmann introduced. Harbhajan steps out, gets an outside edge for three. Rare blemish by Gilchrist, four byes conceded.

38th – Harbhajan hooks Symonds’ first ball straight down McGrath’s throat at deep fine-leg. 224/8. Three off the over.

39th – Lee brought back to finish things off. Yorker second ball, Srinath bowled. Nehra picks Lee up and hits him for a four over his head. Another attempted yorker, Nehra finds the middle of the bat for a four.

40th – McGrath back. Zaheer top-edges a pull of the second ball, Lehmann catches at short mid-wicket. A winning huddle results.