Ralph Dellor
|
1st ODI: India v England at Kolkata, 19 Jan 2002 Ralph Dellor |
|
|
India innings:
Pre-game: England innings: |
Depending from which camp the game was being observed, England made the worst possible start to chasing 282 to win in 49 overs, or India got off to the best possible start.
What is indisputable is that Trescothick took a single off the first ball of the innings bowled by Javagal Srinath, and Srinath got an lbw decision out of the umpire from the second ball.
This early setback did nothing to put England in a defensive mode. Hussain came out to go after the bowling. Aware of the opportunities made available by fielding restrictions in the first 15 overs, Trescothick was keen to seize on anything loose, or he could make loose, while Hussain utilised the open face to the full.
Both batsmen were dropped by VVS Laxman at slip. Trescothick was on 2 when put down off Ajit Agarkar and Hussain on 19 off Srinath. The miss of Hussain did not prove to be too costly for, facing Anil Kumble's second ball, he was given out lbw without any hesitation despite the fact that he had got a very full stride in.
The new batsman Vaughan never really looked comfortable, or perhaps he suffered in comparison to Trescothick who was determined to make full use of what remained of the first 15 overs.
He thrashed Harbhajan Singh over mid-wicket for six, and played much straighter for the same result off Kumble. He then hit three fours off Harbhajan in the 15th over to leave England well up with the required rate.
He and Vaughan had put on 59 in eight overs, with Vaughan hitting his second four and starting to look a little more assured when he tried to hit Kumble over the top, failed to get to the pitch and was well caught by Agarkar at mid-off.
Trescothick, however, went on. There is a lack of experience in the lower middle order, but the newcomers have a chance to learn quickly and make a name for themselves. India, on the other hand have only four specialist bowlers in their attack so need to make a fifth out of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
After 25 overs, England still needed another 121 to win from 24 overs with seven wickets in hand. A fascinating equation, which was tilted a little more in England's favour when Trescothick went to his century just after the halfway mark with his 13th four to go with two sixes to reach a great landmark from only 80 balls.
Dinesh Mongia might not have attracted too many of the pre-match forecasters as the likely top-scorer for India, but the left-hander in only his fifth one-day international rose to the occasion admirably.
After Andrew Flintoff had dismissed both openers, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, Mongia was left with a lot of responsibility when VVS Laxman chipped Darren Gough to mid-wicket for 25.
India lost wickets – or England took wickets – at regular intervals. Although batsmen got in, they got out at just the time when they should have been utilising the start they had made, with Mongia the honourable exception.
Virender Sehwag on 29, playing a horrible slog to Matthew Hoggard's slower ball, was an example of throwing a wicket away when nothing spectacular was required.
Nevertheless, Mongia and Hemang Badani ran well and hit sensibly, with Mongia lifting Jeremy Snape straight back for four when he returned to the attack in the 41st over. He did the same in Snape's next over, despite the fact that there was a long on and long off out, but the following ball he was bowled to bring a fine innings to a close.
Two balls later, Ajit Agarkar was well stumped by James Foster off a leg side wide from Ashley Giles, and when Ajay Ratra was run out to make it 242 for 7 in the 45th over, it appeared that India had lost their way and wasted the good start they had been given.
Badani found a resolute partner in Harbhajan Singh and this pair were rewarded for chancing their arm in the closing overs. What had looked like a total that England might have settled for when India were 78 without loss in the 15th over was expertly manipulated to reach the proportions at which India would have been aiming.
Furthermore, England's task will be made a little bit harder by the fact that they will almost certainly be docked overs in the light of their over rate.
Early on, the batsmen took advantage of a somewhat wayward English attack. As is characteristic of the top one-day international players, the Indian pair took full advantage every time the bowlers strayed off line. Hoggard, in particular, was getting the white ball to swing. His natural movement is away from the right-hander, but such swing can be a liability against a left-hander like Ganguly.
With such an exciting approach to batting, the 50 came up in the tenth over and, with neither batsman looking in any sort of trouble, a massive total was in the offing.
Paul Collingwood came on to bowl the 14th over of the innings but found little success. His fourth ball was lifted back over his head by Ganguly for the first six of the innings – an imperious stroke. The ten runs off that one over cost Collingwood his place in the attack.
However, Flintoff bowled the final over before the drinks interval and, with the last ball, found a beauty to get past Tendulkar's bat as he attempted to play across the line towards mid-wicket. As the bails flew, the crowd was stunned into silence. Tendulkar had hit six boundaries in his 43 ball stay at the wicket, but the Indians would have hoped he might have gone on beyond 36.
At the start of the 19th over, Flintoff struck again. This time, Ganguly seemed pre-determined to pull through mid-wicket but the ball, outside off stump, was a little too full for the shot and was on him before he could do anything other than sky it to Hussain who judged the catch at mid-wicket to perfection.
VVS Laxman and Dinesh Mongia took the score along to the half-way point of the innings against what was now a double spin attack of Jeremy Snape and Ashley Giles, still maintaining the rate at five an over.
England were further handicapped when Graham Thorpe reported sick. Michael Vaughan therefore took his place in the batting line-up, while Matthew Hoggard was preferred to Andrew Caddick as Darren Gough's new-ball partner.
Ajay Ratra, the 20 year-old wicket-keeper from Haryana makes his international debut for India.
© CricInfo
Date-stamped : 19 Jan2002 - 22:35