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Bopara and Broad see England through

— Photo: AFP

ON A HIGH: The left-right combination of Stuart Broad and Ravi Bopara proved too much for the Indian bowlers as the pair lifted England from a precarious position to victory.

Manchester: In the chill of Thursday night, the verdict cut like a knife. The Indians failed to close out a game yet again. Where was the killer instinct?

It could also be said that Ravi Bopara and Stuart Broad won the match for England. Paul Collingwood’s men now lead the NatWest one-day series 3-1, with three games remaining. From here on, it’s Mission Impossible for the Indians.

A worrying factor from the Indian team-management’s perspective would be the lack of full length, swinging deliveries in the end overs. Just one such ball was sent down — by Zaheer Khan — and it almost consumed Broad.

England, 114 for seven in the 24th over when the free-stroking Collingwood was run out at the striker’s end after Bopara had stroked to backward point and then hesitated, eventually clinched a humdinger by three wickets in the 48th over.

Bopara was unbeaten on 43 (82b, 3x4) and Player of the Match Broad followed his four-wicket haul with an impressive 45 not out (73b, 3x4). The calm and collected pair added 99 undefeated runs — the highest England partnership for the eighth wicket in ODIs.

The host also had the rub of the green. Broad, on 25, was clearly leg-before to leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. He missed a sweep and the ball, which struck Broad on his back leg, would have hit the leg-stump but umpire Ian Gould thought otherwise. Close games can turn on little.

This apart, Bopara and Broad collected runs with clean strokes and there was no hint of desperation. Once again India was undone by a right-left pair with contrasting methods.

Bopara is a busy batsman who can rotate the strike with jabs, steers and glides — he does use his wrists well — and can pick his spots on the field clinically. He is also strong square off the wicket. Broad is more of a striker in the ‘V’, especially off the back-foot, who stands tall and punches even those deliveries which are just short of a good length.

Rahul Dravid rung in the changes and switched ends but a breakthrough eluded India. The Indian skipper later said: “Broad coming at No. 9 is a huge thing for them.”

Bopara and Broad ran brilliantly between the wickets. The Indian fielders, under stress, committed elementary errors. Runs leaked through over-throws and the mobility on the outfield was often slow. The inability of the Indian fielding to put pressure on the batsmen when the bowlers were on top, as Dravid admitted, hurt the side.

Chawla encountered a problem every spinner has to grapple with in day/night games — the evening dew and the white ball. He struggled to grip and his line went awry.

This was a night when the Power Play overs might have actually helped the bowlers’ cause. Five of the seven English wickets fell during the 20 Power Play overs taken straight up. With only two fielders outside the ring, the batsmen attempted to breach the circle and perished in the process.

This should, however, not take any credit away from Agarkar. Handed a lifeline after Munaf Patel’s lethargic ways at Edgbaston — bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad has even suggested that the selectors should consult him before picking someone returning from an injury — Agarkar did bowl with pace, extracted bounce and achieved movement. A quick arm action, even if it is becoming more round-arm, is a major factor in the paceman generating surprising speed.

Agarkar also struck twice in each of his first two spells, having Mathew Prior picked up at third man, producing an error of judgment from Ian Bell who shouldered arms, hustling and taking out Kevin Pietersen with a short-pitched delivery, and luring Andrew Flintoff into a fatal, uppish square drive.

Dravid had a slip and a short-leg in place for Ramesh Powar, who once again bowled with flight, dip and turn. The off-spinner, who is mixing his length intelligently, had Owais Shah pouched at short-leg.

In the heat of the contest, some players probably got carried away. The umpires had to speak to Dravid after Zaheer, Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Karthik went a touch too far with their chatting. The line between gamesmanship and sledging is thin.

Eventually, the lack of runs came back to haunt India. India, as Dravid admitted, was about 30 runs short even on a sporting pitch.

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