Kanpur ODI: Sehwag leads India’s fightback
Friday, November 21, 2008 at 3:11 am Under Sports News 51 views
After an early jolt, Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma have steadied the Indian innings as the home team chase 240 runs to win the Kanpur ODI. While Viru scored yet another ODI half-century, Sharma was giving him company with a patient 25.
England got early breakthroughs, dismissing opener Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina in quick succession. India lost their first wicket as Andrew Flintoff removed Gambhir for 14. Suresh Raina was bowled for 1 by Stuart Broad.
Earlier, England could not make the most of their best start of the series so far as India’s phalanx of disciplined bowlers shot them out for 240 in 48.4 overs. After the early morning haze delayed the start and reduced the tie to a 49-overs-a-side affair, England captain Kevin Pietersen won the toss and had little hesitation in opting to bat first.
A rejigged batting order saw Ravi Bopara (60) walking out to open with Ian Bell (46) and the openers put on 79 runs before England lost the plot. For India, Harbhajan Singh scalped three for 31 in his 10 overs, joining the 200 ODI wicket club in the process.
It may not have been a flying start for the visitors, but once the openers saw through the claustrophobic opening spells by Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel, things looked quiet easy for them.
They remained cautious in the early phase when there was some juice in the wicket and sniffed an opportunity to free their arms when Ishant Sharma came as the first change bowler. Bell greeted Ishant with two boundaries in the first over, upsetting the lanky pacer’s rhythm by repeatedly stepping out of the crease.
Bell was not quite convincing when he nicked Ishant through the vacant slips, but made amends with a fierce cut that raced to the boundary in no time. With Bell on song, Bopara chimed in, proving the perfect foil for his partner. Bopara, who got off the mark with a flicked four of Zaheer, inside edged the pacer for another four before driving Ishant through covers for the same result.
The run-rate was nothing to write home about but England crossed the 50-mark in 11 overs without any loss. This was a marked improvement, considering the fact that their opening stands had yielded 12 and six runs in the last two matches. Bell fell four runs before the fifty he so thoroughly deserved, nicking an angling Munaf delivery to perish caught behind after a 47-ball 46 which had eight fours in it. It was double trouble for the visitors as Pietersen’s (13) unbridled aggression did him in.
Having hoicked Yuvraj Singh over long on for a six in the previous over, Pietersen wanted an encore of the shot against Harbhajan but all he could manage was a mishit that found Zaheer at long-off.
The dismissal only whetted Harbhajan’s appetite and the off-spinner foxed Paul Collingwood (1) with a doosra, luring him out of the crease and Dhoni did a smart job behind the stumps. From 79 for no loss, England suddenly slumped to 106 for three. In his next over, Harbhajan almost caught Flintoff off his own bowling but the ball fell little short. India tasted another success soon and this time Yuvraj had Bopara stumped.
Bopara’s patient 82-ball 60 included eight hits to the fence. England needed a big score from Andrew Flintoff (26) and he got the start as well but Yusuf Pathan trapped him with his second ball to pre-empt any batting fireworks by the talismanic all-rounder. Owais Shah (40) added 36 runs with Samit Patel (29) before holing out in the deep, giving Harbhajan his 200th ODI wicket.
In an eventful over in which Ishant followed two successive no balls with a wide delivery that raced down the boundary, the Delhi pacer removed Patel and Matt Prior (5) off successive deliveries before sending down yet another wide.
(Click here for updated scores)
Teams:
India: V Sehwag, G Gambhir, SK Raina, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, RG Sharma, YK Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, I Sharma, MM Patel
England: Bell, MJ Prior, OA Shah, KP Pietersen, A Flintoff, PD Collingwood, SR Patel, RS Bopara, SCJ Broad, GP Swann, JM Anderson
( This post is from an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by APakistanNews.Com.)
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