Saifullah Sani
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England steady after early losses
The Report by Andrew McGlashan at Lord's
September 11, 2011
25 overs England 126 for 3 (Bell 38*, Bopara 38*) need 155 more runs to beat India 280 for 5 (Raina 84, Dhoni 78*)
India made early inroads to give themselves a chance of finally securing an international victory on the tour but England recovered to reach 126 for 3 in pursuit of 281 needed to take the series. RP Singh struck with consecutive deliveries and Praveen Kumar removed Jonathan Trott before the home side were steadied with Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara forming a solid stand.
For a batting line-up without Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen the chase posed a testing ask but a solid start from the openers would have set up the middle order. However, after the total had moved briskly to 21 Craig Kieswetter tried to clear mid-off and could only pick out Ravinder Jadeja who took a well-judged catch.
That wicket came off the last ball of RP Singh's second over and with the first ball of the third he was gifted a second scalp when Alastair Cook slapped straight to cover to give India a real opening. Trott timed the ball nicely and along with his Warwickshire team-mate Bell settled the innings, but misjudged the length of a delivery from Praveen when he went to pull.
Bell now had a huge role to play but first he and Bopara had to ensure against further losses much as Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni had done earlier in the day. Dhoni turned to R Ashwin, who caused England problems at The Oval, but his first spell was restricted to two overs as the batsmen milked him.
Bell and Bopara brought up a fifty stand in under 10 overs to keep the asking rate well within site. Due to India's slow progress during the same stage of their innings England were actually ahead on the runs comparison but they can't rely on their middle having the same impact as the visitors managed.
India 280 for 5 (Raina 84, Dhoni 78*) v England
For the second game running India fought back from a difficult position to post a competitive score as Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni added a scintillating 169 for the fifth wicket to lift the total to 280 for 5 at Lord's. Stuart Broad, who couldn't complete his spell due to injury, and Graeme Swann both struck twice to leave the visitors in some strife at 110 for 4, but after a lengthy period of consolidation the middle-order pair exploded during the closing overs to leave England looking ragged.
Although their situation wasn't as dire as at The Oval when they were 58 for 5 there was a similarity to the recovery as Raina played the Ravindra Jadeja role and Dhoni provided a calming influence. Raina's tour has been revived in coloured clothes after his technique was picked apart in the Tests and when he reached fifty off 58 balls it was his first in internationals since the second innings of the Lord's Test.
Both Raina and Dhoni waited until fairly deep into the innings before opening up and again targeted the batting Powerplay which yielded 58 runs including 18 off an over from James Anderson. Dhoni's second consecutive half-century also came off 58 deliveries and the last 14 overs brought 140 runs with the partnership becoming the best fifth-wicket stand for India against England in ODIs.
For the fourth time in the series Alastair Cook put India in to bat but, unlike at The Oval, early wickets eluded the home side. Initially the openers were content to weather the threat of the new ball on a well-grassed surface as the first six overs brought 14 runs. Steven Finn, who was recalled in place of Jade Dernbach, was excellent from the Pavilion End on his home ground and caused problems for both batsmen.
Finn was then frustrated when neither Craig Kieswetter or Graeme Swann, at slip, moved for an edge off Ajinkya Rahane who at that point had 7 off 29 balls. Rahane continued to have problems against Finn's bounce, but responded aggressively during the bowling Powerplay as he took 14 off Finn's sixth over although the strokes were of the agricultural rather than authentic variety.
Broad made the breakthrough in his first over to end a stand of 65 when Rahane missed a low full toss and the batsman almost walked for the lbw. Parthiv Patel had been forced to call for a runner (which will be outlawed from October 1) after slipping at the end of a run but his innings didn't last much longer as he spliced a pull which looped to midwicket.
However, it was Swann who really set India back on their heels. With his second ball he had Virat Kohli caught behind as he tried to dab to third man and later in the same over Rahul Dravid popped a leading edge back to the bowler. Swann bowled beautifully and after five overs had 2 for 10 as India found it tough to score at even three-an-over. From the 22nd to the 36th over they added 55 runs and the one boundary was an outside edge off Dhoni's bat that flew past Kieswetter just where a first slip would have been standing.
Raina, who has scored at comfortably more than a run-a-ball in the series, broke the shackles with a pull off Finn followed by a drive past mid-off and Dhoni followed that by lofting Swann over deep midwicket. Raina would have been run out on 26 if Anderson's back-handed flick from mid-off had hit the stumps and in the second over of the Powerplay he cut loose.
Anderson was picked up into the stands on the leg side after Dhoni had already taken consecutive boundaries as he again proved expensive in the latter stages of an innings. Broad recieved similar punishment when Raina targeted the midwicket stands with a mighty six as Cook was given another tough job trying to stem an onslaught. Swann's figures were also dented when he came back for the 48th over and England had further cause for concern when Broad left the field four balls before the end of the innings.
England v India: England steady after early losses | England v India, 4th ODI, Lord's Report | Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo
The Report by Andrew McGlashan at Lord's
September 11, 2011
25 overs England 126 for 3 (Bell 38*, Bopara 38*) need 155 more runs to beat India 280 for 5 (Raina 84, Dhoni 78*)
India made early inroads to give themselves a chance of finally securing an international victory on the tour but England recovered to reach 126 for 3 in pursuit of 281 needed to take the series. RP Singh struck with consecutive deliveries and Praveen Kumar removed Jonathan Trott before the home side were steadied with Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara forming a solid stand.
For a batting line-up without Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen the chase posed a testing ask but a solid start from the openers would have set up the middle order. However, after the total had moved briskly to 21 Craig Kieswetter tried to clear mid-off and could only pick out Ravinder Jadeja who took a well-judged catch.
That wicket came off the last ball of RP Singh's second over and with the first ball of the third he was gifted a second scalp when Alastair Cook slapped straight to cover to give India a real opening. Trott timed the ball nicely and along with his Warwickshire team-mate Bell settled the innings, but misjudged the length of a delivery from Praveen when he went to pull.
Bell now had a huge role to play but first he and Bopara had to ensure against further losses much as Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni had done earlier in the day. Dhoni turned to R Ashwin, who caused England problems at The Oval, but his first spell was restricted to two overs as the batsmen milked him.
Bell and Bopara brought up a fifty stand in under 10 overs to keep the asking rate well within site. Due to India's slow progress during the same stage of their innings England were actually ahead on the runs comparison but they can't rely on their middle having the same impact as the visitors managed.
India 280 for 5 (Raina 84, Dhoni 78*) v England
For the second game running India fought back from a difficult position to post a competitive score as Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni added a scintillating 169 for the fifth wicket to lift the total to 280 for 5 at Lord's. Stuart Broad, who couldn't complete his spell due to injury, and Graeme Swann both struck twice to leave the visitors in some strife at 110 for 4, but after a lengthy period of consolidation the middle-order pair exploded during the closing overs to leave England looking ragged.
Although their situation wasn't as dire as at The Oval when they were 58 for 5 there was a similarity to the recovery as Raina played the Ravindra Jadeja role and Dhoni provided a calming influence. Raina's tour has been revived in coloured clothes after his technique was picked apart in the Tests and when he reached fifty off 58 balls it was his first in internationals since the second innings of the Lord's Test.
Both Raina and Dhoni waited until fairly deep into the innings before opening up and again targeted the batting Powerplay which yielded 58 runs including 18 off an over from James Anderson. Dhoni's second consecutive half-century also came off 58 deliveries and the last 14 overs brought 140 runs with the partnership becoming the best fifth-wicket stand for India against England in ODIs.
For the fourth time in the series Alastair Cook put India in to bat but, unlike at The Oval, early wickets eluded the home side. Initially the openers were content to weather the threat of the new ball on a well-grassed surface as the first six overs brought 14 runs. Steven Finn, who was recalled in place of Jade Dernbach, was excellent from the Pavilion End on his home ground and caused problems for both batsmen.
Finn was then frustrated when neither Craig Kieswetter or Graeme Swann, at slip, moved for an edge off Ajinkya Rahane who at that point had 7 off 29 balls. Rahane continued to have problems against Finn's bounce, but responded aggressively during the bowling Powerplay as he took 14 off Finn's sixth over although the strokes were of the agricultural rather than authentic variety.
Broad made the breakthrough in his first over to end a stand of 65 when Rahane missed a low full toss and the batsman almost walked for the lbw. Parthiv Patel had been forced to call for a runner (which will be outlawed from October 1) after slipping at the end of a run but his innings didn't last much longer as he spliced a pull which looped to midwicket.
However, it was Swann who really set India back on their heels. With his second ball he had Virat Kohli caught behind as he tried to dab to third man and later in the same over Rahul Dravid popped a leading edge back to the bowler. Swann bowled beautifully and after five overs had 2 for 10 as India found it tough to score at even three-an-over. From the 22nd to the 36th over they added 55 runs and the one boundary was an outside edge off Dhoni's bat that flew past Kieswetter just where a first slip would have been standing.
Raina, who has scored at comfortably more than a run-a-ball in the series, broke the shackles with a pull off Finn followed by a drive past mid-off and Dhoni followed that by lofting Swann over deep midwicket. Raina would have been run out on 26 if Anderson's back-handed flick from mid-off had hit the stumps and in the second over of the Powerplay he cut loose.
Anderson was picked up into the stands on the leg side after Dhoni had already taken consecutive boundaries as he again proved expensive in the latter stages of an innings. Broad recieved similar punishment when Raina targeted the midwicket stands with a mighty six as Cook was given another tough job trying to stem an onslaught. Swann's figures were also dented when he came back for the 48th over and England had further cause for concern when Broad left the field four balls before the end of the innings.
England v India: England steady after early losses | England v India, 4th ODI, Lord's Report | Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo
