Dhoni banned from Adelaide Test for slow over rate
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
INDIA'S pain was compounded last night when captain M.S. Dhoni was banned from the final Test in Adelaide for presiding over a sluggish over rate as Michael Clarke's ambitious side seized the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The 3-0 series victory took less than 11 days of play and came with a win by an innings and 37 runs in the third Test in Perth. In further bad news for an Indian side that has produced no convincing evidence it wants to be here, Clarke said there was no such thing as a dead rubber, indicating his side would ruthlessly pursue a 4-0 whitewash in Adelaide next week. He declared he would not relax until his team had taken the No.1 world Test ranking from England.
Dhoni is the first Test captain to be suspended since the International Cricket Council last year introduced suspensions for captains found guilty of two over rate transgressions in a 12-month period in the same format, and was also fined 40 per cent of his match fee. The other Indian players were slapped with 20 per cent fines. Dhoni, who was also fined for a slow over rate in the West Indies last June, was rubbed out after match referee Ranjan Madugalle adjudged India to be two overs behind their target.
The Indian captain has been questioned for his reckless batting, tactical decisions and commitment to Test cricket on this tour, and will hand the captaincy to Virender Sehwag, who last week rubbished reports of a falling out with Dhoni. Reserve wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha will come into the side for Adelaide. Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle ended India's resistance just after lunch by capturing the last four wickets for no runs. When the final wicket fell, Siddle made a beeline for man-of-the-match David Warner and the Australians leapt into each other's arms to celebrate a series win more emphatic than any of them could have imagined on Boxing Day.
Ed Cowan, whose 214-run partnership with Warner took the game away from India, said the Adelaide Test was a chance to show the world Australia were back in business. ''We will be looking to go four-nil, make a statement not only about the series but moving forward as a team,'' Cowan said. In his short time as Test captain, Clarke's Australians have beaten Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, matched South Africa in South Africa, drawn with New Zealand at home and demolished India 3-0 with one Test to play. But Clarke said Australia's mission was incomplete and, when the words ''dead rubber'' were uttered in the post-match press conference, he said Australia would not take their foot off the pedal in Adelaide, where spinner Nathan Lyon will come back into the side for one of the fast bowlers.
''Take those words back please, there's no such thing as a dead rubber for me,'' Clarke said. ''We haven't achieved much at this stage. We should be very proud, don't get me wrong, to have beaten the No. 2 Test team in the world in this series, but we've got a lot of hard work to do before we will be satisfied, and you will see that in Adelaide. Our goal has not changed from the first Test of the series, and it won't change until we achieve what we want as a team.
''We are a long way from the team we want to be. It's a nice feeling to have won this series but our goal is to be the No.1 team in the world.'' But Clarke said he had not considered how the team was shaping up before the 2013 Ashes, less than a year after its 3-1 loss at home to England triggered a series of hard decisions that are reaping stunning rewards. ''England is so far away, I don't think we even need to consider it,'' he said. ''Our goal is to win every Test match in this series. We've won the first three. We'll look to win in Adelaide and continue to improve our cricket. When you win games of cricket against the No.2 Test team in the world, that is the result of the hard work we've been putting in.''
Dhoni is the first Test captain to be suspended since the International Cricket Council last year introduced suspensions for captains found guilty of two over rate transgressions in a 12-month period in the same format, and was also fined 40 per cent of his match fee. The other Indian players were slapped with 20 per cent fines. Dhoni, who was also fined for a slow over rate in the West Indies last June, was rubbed out after match referee Ranjan Madugalle adjudged India to be two overs behind their target.
The Indian captain has been questioned for his reckless batting, tactical decisions and commitment to Test cricket on this tour, and will hand the captaincy to Virender Sehwag, who last week rubbished reports of a falling out with Dhoni. Reserve wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha will come into the side for Adelaide. Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle ended India's resistance just after lunch by capturing the last four wickets for no runs. When the final wicket fell, Siddle made a beeline for man-of-the-match David Warner and the Australians leapt into each other's arms to celebrate a series win more emphatic than any of them could have imagined on Boxing Day.
Ed Cowan, whose 214-run partnership with Warner took the game away from India, said the Adelaide Test was a chance to show the world Australia were back in business. ''We will be looking to go four-nil, make a statement not only about the series but moving forward as a team,'' Cowan said. In his short time as Test captain, Clarke's Australians have beaten Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, matched South Africa in South Africa, drawn with New Zealand at home and demolished India 3-0 with one Test to play. But Clarke said Australia's mission was incomplete and, when the words ''dead rubber'' were uttered in the post-match press conference, he said Australia would not take their foot off the pedal in Adelaide, where spinner Nathan Lyon will come back into the side for one of the fast bowlers.
''Take those words back please, there's no such thing as a dead rubber for me,'' Clarke said. ''We haven't achieved much at this stage. We should be very proud, don't get me wrong, to have beaten the No. 2 Test team in the world in this series, but we've got a lot of hard work to do before we will be satisfied, and you will see that in Adelaide. Our goal has not changed from the first Test of the series, and it won't change until we achieve what we want as a team.
''We are a long way from the team we want to be. It's a nice feeling to have won this series but our goal is to be the No.1 team in the world.'' But Clarke said he had not considered how the team was shaping up before the 2013 Ashes, less than a year after its 3-1 loss at home to England triggered a series of hard decisions that are reaping stunning rewards. ''England is so far away, I don't think we even need to consider it,'' he said. ''Our goal is to win every Test match in this series. We've won the first three. We'll look to win in Adelaide and continue to improve our cricket. When you win games of cricket against the No.2 Test team in the world, that is the result of the hard work we've been putting in.''
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