The Hindu : Sport : India gets the better of England

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Monday, Oct 16, 2006
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India gets the better of England

Vijay Lokapally

AGGRESSIVE AND INCISIVE: Munaf Patel in action during the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and England in Jaipur on Sunday. The paceman took three for 18 off eight probing overs as England was dismissed for 125. Kevin Pietersen was among Pate l's victims. India won by four wickets. — Photo: R.V. Moorthy

JAIPUR: It is not often that a team begins its chase in a one-day match even before the break. But England went through this ignominy of coming out to defend a target that was never going to make India's strong batting line-up fret at any stage. A contrived Indian collapse notwithstanding, there was little in the match which could reflect the excitement that marks one-day cricket.

INCISIVE SPELL: Munaf Patel celebrates one of his three strikes with teammates. - PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY

The Champions Trophy encounter at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium saw India play impeccable cricket in the first half as it defeated a rusty England by four wickets on a Sunday that also saw Irfan Pathan make a refreshing comeback with a spell that should enhance his confidence for the matches ahead and Munaf Patel raise hopes of spearheading the attack in this tournament with authority.

Lowest total

It was a dark afternoon for England as it was bowled out for 125, its lowest ever total against India. England was shoddy in all departments and not one individual applied himself for the benefit of the team. In this land of warriors, rarely would have a contest been as meek as this.

From the toss to the winning hit, India did not make any wrong move. The incisive burst by `Man of the Match' Patel and Pathan and some fine fielding suggested the team had done its homework quite well.

India cruised on the strength of Sachin Tendulkar, who was willing to play second fiddle, watching his partners revel in strokeplay but also succumb to unwise aggression. Pathan and Rahul Dravid showed great hurry to finish the job and took no lessons from Tendulkar's presence at the crease after Virender Sehwag had perished to a splendid catch in the slips by Andrew Strauss.

A little later Kevin Pietersen plucked a full-blooded drive at covers to pack off Pathan. It was sensational stuff indeed. England made India earn the runs even as Tendulkar stayed firm and a plucky Yuvraj Singh produced a few imperious drives on either side to sign off in style. India was 28 runs adrift when Tendulkar fell but England realistically lacked the cushion of a healthy total to make any impact on the opposition, despite Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina falling cheaply in succession.

Earlier, on an untested and two-paced pitch, Dravid had opted to bowl and the English innings never found the momentum after being rocked early by Patel. His accuracy broke the back of England and there was chaos in the opposition ranks when he and Pathan dealt blows in tandem.

The cheap dismissal of Andrew Flintoff added to England's misery. The beefy all-rounder, gifted with the temperament to deal with any attack, and Kevin Pietersen, the mercurial stroke-maker, capable of destroying any attack, had to excel for England to make a match of it.

Pietersen had just begun to enjoy his batting, giving a brief glimpse of his range of shots when he presented his wicket, leaving none in doubt that the English camp had given up hopes of a fight even before the innings was 20 overs old.

Pathan was on target from the first ball, getting it to swing and seam just enough to keep the batsmen on their toes. Bell and Flintoff read the line wrong as Pathan struck a splendid line that carried him through a tight spell.

Patel, motivated by Pathan's success, continued to impress as a strike bowler. He had begun by packing off Ian Bell and followed it up with the wicket of Michael Yardy, who appeared out of place in this league.

Embarrassed

England, deeply embarrassed at 27 for four now looked up to Pietersen, who played some awesome shots, but his penchant to keep smashing induced a fatal piece of indiscretion that set India on course to make a convincing statement on its overall supremacy in the match. Pietersen guided the ball to Tendulkar, placed precisely at widish slip. The celebrations indicated the perfect execution of a well-crafted plan following change of ends by Patel.

The seamers had accomplished their job and the spinners now joined the act even as England looked to recover through a 49-run partnership between Paul Collingwood and Jamie Dalrymple.

Off-spinner Ramesh Powar distinguished himself with a performance that justified his inclusion while Harbhajan bowled in keeping with his reputation.

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