Sadly on a night when Sehwag’s exploits were relished, the nation writhed to the unedifying sights of Mumbai under a terror-siege. Understandably the matches in Guwahati and Delhi were cancelled and India had won the series 5-0. K.C. Vijaya Kumar reports.
It was a Wednesday night that had an exhilarating air as Virender Sehwag forced England skipper Kevin Pietersen to mutter, “he is a superstar, he is a special talent.”
Sehwag’s 91 was the sizzling base upon which India dished out some hot curry to dash England’s hopes. Sehwag’s knock helped India defeat England by six wickets while chasing 270 in the fifth ODI of the seven-match series at the Barabati Stadium.
Sadly on a night when Sehwag’s exploits were relished, the nation writhed to the unedifying sights of Mumbai under a terror-siege. Understandably the matches in Guwahati and Delhi were cancelled and India had won the series 5-0.
But before security and terror hijacked the focus away from cricket, a match was played in two parts as a steady England struggled against an Indian team that according to Pietersen, played “without fear.”
Pietersen had earlier notched his seventh ODI hundred, an unbeaten 111 (128b, 10x4, 1x6) that anchored England’s 270 for four in 50 overs.
“What’s a hundred in a match that we lost? It means nothing mate,” fumed Pietersen.
In the afternoon after the England openers Ravi Bopara and Alastair Cook flattered and failed, Pietersen found his initial voice through a flurry of fours. He started with a miscued hook against Irfan Pathan before finding his feet and playing with the meat of his bat.
An 89-run third-wicket partnership was strung with Collingwood (40) though the runs never came at the rate England wanted. In the course of his knock, that was all early punches topped with steady feet, Pietersen got past 3000 runs in ODIs as he made light of a Harbhajan Singh over. The wily off-spinner struck in a jiffy, dismissing Collingwood and when Sachin Tendulkar jumped sideways and caught Andrew Flintoff who flailed at Ishant Sharma, England’s search for quick runs hit a road-block.
England at 158 for four needed the giant leap but ended up with a tired flight as Pietersen and Owais Shah (66 n.o., 57b, 9x4) shared an unbeaten fifth-wicket partnership of 112 runs.
The duo struggled to pierce the in-field and clear the ropes in the batting power-play from overs 41 to 45 as Zaheer Khan and Ishant mixed it up and restricted the shots.
England scored just 74 in the last 10 overs which included a meagre power-play yield of 32 and later Harbhajan Singh, never one to miss an opportunity to strike a psychological blow, said: “I thought England will get past 300 but I found the way Pietersen batted strange, he slowed down in his 90s and they couldn’t score in the power-play. We knew 270 was gettable.”
Harbhajan’s belief found expression in Sehwag (91, 73b, 15x4, 1x6) and Sachin Tendulkar’s 136-run opening partnership in 19.5 overs. And as it happens so often these days, the disciple evoked indulgence and smiles from the mentor as Sehwag’s made-to-order shots had Tendulkar rooting for more. The maestro (50, 57b, 6x4) was not far behind but his delicate touch was bound to be over-shadowed by Sehwag’s muscular ways.
Sehwag caned off-spinner Graeme Swann all over and tucked into the width that the England seamers offered. “I got angry for the first time in the field. We didn’t bowl well in the first 20 overs but I cannot fault the effort,” Pietersen said.
However a minor blip surfaced as Tendulkar departed to the sound of wobbly stumps, Yuvraj Singh shook hands with the law of averages and Sehwag was unfortunate in not getting the benefit of doubt against Stuart Broad.
But as it has happened in the recent past, a crisis found many hands willing to help as Dhoni (51, 61b, 5x4) and Suresh Raina (54 n.o., 53b, 8x4) opted for obduracy in the beginning and flamboyance later to script a decisive 94-run fourth-wicket partnership that helped India score 273 for four in 43.4 overs.
Dhoni and Raina struggled with their timings initially as the ball stopped a bit and sometimes the bounce was low but they gradually adjusted and soon scored at will.
Matt Prior’s simultaneous appeal for caught behind as well as stumping against Dhoni was the closest England got to a sniff before the Indians pulled away.
THE SCRORESEngland: R. Bopara c Yuvraj b Zaheer 24, A. Cook c Tendulkar b Zaheer 11, K. Pietersen (not out) 111, P. Collingwood c Zaheer b Harbhajan 40, A. Flintoff c Tendulkar b Ishant 0, O. Shah (not out) 66, Extras (lb-14, w-4): 18, Total (for four wkts., in 50 overs): 270.
Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-68, 3-157, 4-158.India bowling: Irfan 10-1-57-0, Zaheer 10-1-60-2, Ishant 10-0-54-1, Harbhajan 10-0-47-1, Yuvraj 10-0-38-0.
India: V. Sehwag lbw b Broad 91, S. Tendulkar b Harmison 50, Yuvraj Singh c & b Bopara 6, M.S. Dhoni lbw Swann 51, S. Raina (not out) 54, Rohit Sharma (not out) 8. Extras (lb-4, w-8, nb-1): 13. Total (for four wkts, in 43.4 overs): 273.
Fall of wickets: 1-136, 2-156, 3-156, 4-250.England bowling: Harmison 10-1-51-1, Broad 8.4-0-54-1, Flintoff 9-0-43-0, Samit 3-0-23-0, Swann 7-0-56-1, Bopara 6-1-42-1.
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