It was four victories in a row for India, as the host won the seven-match one-day series with ease. K. C. Vijaya Kumar reports.
Late on that Sunday night a bunch of youngsters ran screaming across the Chinnaswamy Stadium turf. Some of them had their faces smeared with cake, others wore shirts stained with soft drinks and they were pursued by a few, intent on having their share of fun.
The youth in question were M. S. Dhoni’s men and their delight that echoed in their shrieks of joy forced television crews and shutter-bugs to freeze that moment for posterity.
India had won the seven-match series 4-0 after the fourth ODI in Bangalore almost slipped into a watery grave as rains threatened to wash out the match.
Last year, an ODI against Australia was washed out after the visitor batted and the Indians had commenced the chase of a 300-plus target.
The fans were wary but a majority of them stayed put, waving the Tri-Colour and shivering in their damp clothes. Thankfully for them, the match was shortened to 22 overs per side and India scored 122 for four. With the Duckworth Lewis equation revising the England target to 198, the visitor scored 178 for eight to suffer another defeat.
The two rain breaks amounted to a loss of 306 minutes but Dhoni’s men could not be denied their momentum.
“The wicket was flat with good bounce and we were confident but we thought that the rains would start in the night when England was chasing but it happened when we were batting!,” said Man of the Match Virender Sehwag later.
On an evening that found post-Diwali fireworks in Sehwag’s 69 (57b, 9x4, 3x6), the clouds could not restrain its wet itch.
But true to his cavalier spirit, Sehwag motored on. India’s 700th ODI commenced with its favourite cricketing son, Sachin Tendulkar, walking out to open alongside Sehwag after England captain Kevin Pietersen opted to field.
Tendulkar was returning to the limited overs arena after his match-winning knocks in the Commonwealth Bank Series finals at Brisbane in March, this year.
Sehwag started with a bang as he scored a four off James Anderson’s first delivery. Tendulkar too got into his stride with tucks to mid-wicket and a dab-cut for four that was all about timing and placement.
However, the prelude to an evening of rains leading to restlessness and chewed up nails occurred when Stuart Broad paused in his delivery stride at the BEML end. Quickly the groundstaff got to work as they tried to dry up the soft spot at the bowlers’ landing area.
The seven-minute stoppage seemed to have affected Tendulkar’s concentration and on resumption, he played all over, feet askew, elbow far ahead. Broad relished the gap between bat and pad.
The openers’ 38-run partnership was over and as the great man walked back, Gautam Gambhir scampered in, swinging his bat and struck a four off his first delivery.
Sehwag though was busy with his aggressive play. He swivelled to a front-on stance in a blink of an eye and swatted Anderson straight — a shot that was akin to a tennis forehand. It was a stroke that reflected his quick eye and a unique style. Anderson was again at the receiving end as Sehwag slapped one over covers, pulled another to mid-wicket to traipse past 6000 ODI runs and then exulted with a six.
Gambhir (40) meanwhile whipped and square-drove Stuart Broad as the seamer erred in his line while operating from around the wicket. The ploy to cramp Gambhir did not work but when the drizzle increased its tempo, the Indians lost theirs as a two-hour break forced Sehwag and Gambhir — the pair had a 79-run stand — to cool their heels in the dressing room.
After the first break, the match was reduced to 44 overs per side but following more rains umpires Daryl Harper and Amish Saheba decided that a 22-over bash would be perfect.
Sehwag and Gambhir immediately got into Twenty20 mode that saw big hits and quick dismissals. Yuvraj Singh (25 not out) then got into his act, threatening the low-slung clouds while Yusuf Pathan finished the proceedings to a nicety with a six.
After the 10-minute dinner break, England started on the wrong foot as Ishant Sharma, sporting a welcome close-crop, dived and fell and yet managed to hold on to Ravi Bopara’s lofted shot. Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen lost their wood to Harbhajan Singh and Ishant as they tried to accelerate the run-rate and when all seemed lost, Owais Shah’s 72 (48b, 9x4, 3x6) and Andrew Flintoff’s 41 forced Dhoni to ponder over his options. The duo shared an 82-run fourth-wicket partnership off 48 balls with the highlights being Shah’s neat and hard strikes against the spinners and Flintoff’s muscular shots, especially the scorcher off Harbhajan that cannoned onto the roof beyond the mid-wicket fence.
The Indians though pulled it back in the power-play set of the 17th and 18th overs as Zaheer conceded four and scalped Shah and Ishant gave 10 but prised out Flintoff. The fight back was over and a tired Pietersen later said, “we will keep our chins up and fight.”
THE SCORESIndia: V. Sehwag c Anderson b Swann 69, S. Tendulkar b Broad 11, G. Gambhir c Anderson b Swann 40, Yuvraj Singh (not out) 25, M. S. Dhoni b Samit 9, Yusuf Pathan (not out) 6. Extras (b-1, lb-1, w-4): 6. Total (for four wkts. in 22 overs): 166.
Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-117, 3-142, 4-160.England bowling: Anderson 5-0-33-0, Broad 6-1-49-1, Flintoff 5-0-20-0, Samit 3-0-24-1, Swann 2-0-21-2, Pietersen 1-0-17-0.
England: R. Bopara c Ishant b Munaf 1, I. Bell b Harbhajan 12, O. Shah c Tendulkar b Zaheer 72, Pietersen b Ishant 5, Flintoff c Zaheer b Ishant 41, Collingwood c Tendulkar b Patel 22, Samit Patel c Gambhir b Zaheer 11, Swann (run out) 5, M. Prior (not out) 0, Broad (not out) 0. Extras (b-3, lb-2, w-3, nb-1): 9. Total (for eight wkts. in 22 overs): 178.
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-44, 3-52, 4-134, 5-141, 6-161, 7-178, 8 178.
India bowling: Zaheer 5-0-20-2, Munaf 4-1-22-2, Ishant 5-0-41-2, Yusuf 1-0-17-0, Harbhajan 4-0-42-1, Yuvraj 3-0-31-0.
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