Live Streaming Cricket
India vs England 4th odi
India vs England 4th odi
India v England, 3rd ODI, Kanpur
India win by 16 runs
40 overs India 198 for 5 (Sehwag 68, Flintoff 3-31) beat England 240 (Bopara 60, Bell 46,
pitch with 22 tidy overs that derailed England after a strong start. Harbhajan Singh picked up 3 for 31, his best returns since April 2006,Flintoff's return in the 26th over ended Sehwag's resistance on 68, thanks to a brilliant reaction catch from Paul Collingwood at backward point. Sehwag absolutely smashed the ball and Collingwood intercepted it with a leap in the air. Attempting to edge ahead of the D/L requirement, India took their batting Powerplay after 34 overs, and Yuvraj welcomed it with a six. Attempting to hit another, he pulled Flintoff to deep square leg, holing out to Broad
Gambhir's first-ball life
The action started with the first ball, from James Anderson. Gautam Gambhir tapped him towards short midwicket and took off for a hard single. Samit Patel fielded and, seeing Gambhir struggle, aimed for the non-striker's end. His diving under-arm flick just missed the stumps with the batsman yet to reach the crease. Gambhir capitalised on the life, scoring 70 and sharing a stand of 134 for the fourth wicket with Yuvraj Singh.
Yuvraj gets going
At 29 for 3, India were in trouble and desperately needed a substantial partnership. Yuvraj had faced six balls without scoring when Andrew Flintoff strayed down the legside, allowing Yuvraj to ease it down to the fine-leg boundary. Worse, he'd overstepped and India had a free hit. Flintoff dug it in short of a length and Yuvraj merely stayed at the crease and clubbed it high over midwicket for six. That set the tone for Yuvraj's knock and gave the innings the impetus it needed.
Pathan's final burst
Steve Harmison began the final over of the innings with India at a gettable 274 for 8. Harbhajan Singh was run out off the first ball, and England's mood lifted. Munaf Patel stole a single off the first ball, bringing Yusuf Pathan, on 33 off 25, to the crease. Over the next four balls England's target went from gettable to forgettable. Two consecutive good length deliveries were heaved over the on-side for six by Pathan, who followed up with a scoop for four over backward point and a single off the last ball. India had 18 off the over and a firm grip on the match.
Raina's run-out
England, unsettled by that late burst, lost more momentum in the first over of their chase thanks to one moment of athletic brilliance from Suresh Raina. Ian Bell tapped Zaheer Khan towards cover and took off for a quick single. Raina sprinted across to his right, timed his dive to perfection and in one motion underarmed the ball to the stumps with Bell a yard short of his crease. There was no need for a replay.
India v England, 1st ODI, Rajkot
India 387 for 5 (Yuvraj 138*, Sehwag 85, Gambhir 51) beat England 229 (Pietersen 63, Bopara 54*) by 158 runs
| ||
First days for an opposition captain in India don't get much worse. Kevin Pietersen's decision to field because of an early morning start in Rajkot backfired spectacularly as India galloped out of the blocks and never looked back. What seemed a brave decision turned into an utter disaster with India posting 387 for 5 in 50 overs of ballistic strokeplay. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag added 127 for the first wicket, after which Yuvraj Singh overcame a stiff back to slam an unbeaten 138 from only 78 balls.
It was the fastest ODI hundred against England, while India's total beat the previous best against this team - Pakistan's 353 in Karachi in 2005. It was also India's best total at home and second highest anywhere. England could only reply with 229, and suffered their third heaviest ODI defeat ever.
The last time Yuvraj scored a hundred in a limited-overs game was on against Australia. He began in the 24th over, after Sehwag had been brilliantly caught by Ian Bell at midwicket for a 73-ball 85. Shortly into his innings, Yuvraj had problems with his back and needed a brace. Steve Harmison decided to test him with some short balls and, though Yuvraj took his eyes off them, he pulled consecutive boundaries and rounded off the over with a steer past slip for four more. Those three strokes set the tone.
India took the third Powerplay after the 34th over, a move which prompted Pietersen to bring back Andrew Flintoff. Yuvraj, who had Gambhir running for him, took the opportunity to break free by hitting sixes off Flintoff and Harmison before raising his fifty with a classy off-drive. Yuvraj's partnership with Suresh Raina for the third wicket had added 89 off 78 balls before his partner scooped Flintoff to backward point for 43.
Yusuf Pathan came and went for 0, but Yuvraj, not disturbed by the double blow, stood his ground and swatted a wayward Stuart Broad for six and four. He brought up the 300 - and the fifty partnership with Mahendra Singh Dhoni - by smashing Samit Patel out of the ground in the 44th over.
under threat but Yuvraj was probably unaware and turned the ball off his pads for a single when he was on 94 off 61 balls. He reached his ninth hundred off his 64th ball and lofted Flintoff for two sixes in the 47th over and took another 18 off him in the 49th. Yuvraj's 138 was one shy of his career best.
India v England 2nd ODI Watch Streaming online
| ||
, they are in danger of being steamrolled by Mahendra Singh Dhoni's clinical outfit which executed a 158-run victory in the first one-dayer. The upshot for England is that it will be relatively easier for them to improve on their previous effort, while India will be challenged to reproduce a performance as devastating as the one in Rajkot.
Touring sides face several tests in India. The common ones bandied about are difficulties in adjusting to the climate, the environment outside hotels, and the playing conditions: several Australian cricketers, for instance, were ill during the recent Test series. However, the biggest challenge is overcoming a formidable opponent in conditions tailored to its style of play. Indian batsmen have always flourished at home but recently their fast bowlers have become more effective on flat pitches by learning to reverse swing the ball. Fielding used to be a weakness, but the average age of this squad is 24 and they are fleet-footed, safe, and accurate.
England's limited-overs form, before the three massive defeats, was excellent. They beat South Africa 4-0 at home and their coach Peter Moores said they needed to play the same quality of cricket in different conditions in India. Their bowlers in particular need to find the right length quickly, especially against an opening pair that will attack from the outset. Ground once ceded is hard to regain. England bat deep - Stuart Broad is at No 9 - but there is little their batsmen can do if they have to chase 300-plus totals on india's opening partnership: The Rajkot match will be remembered for Yuvraj Singh's astonishing stroke play but the foundation for India's victory was laid by their openers. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were in excellent form during the Tests against Australia and they carried it into the first one-dayer. Both openers scored half-centuries and added 127 in 19.5 overs: a partnership full of big hits and terrific running between the wickets.
England's big two: Andrew Flintoff's finished 1 for 67 but he had figures of 1 for 34 off eight overs before he was battered by Yuvraj. Flintoff was the only bowler to exercise control over the run-rate during the first half of the Indian innings. Although the contest had been decided by the time Kevin Pietersen began his innings, he was in excellent touch during his 63 off 56 balls and particularly severe on India's spinners, scoring 43 off 29 balls against them.
The batting team's Powerplay: Both Dhoni and Collingwood were of the opinion that the new playing condition,a battle, though a friendly one, when the Indian batsmen take on England in the seven-match one-day series starting on November 14. Sourav Ganguly has vacated a middle-order spot in the Test team, and indications are that it will go to the man who makes the most of the opportunities in the one-dayers.
The Indian selectors have made it clear they will be guided by current form, even if it is in the shorter format, and the competition is between Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and M Vijay. The first three can expect to be in the starting line-up on Friday, and the fourth is expected to get his chance at some point during the series.
The other contender, S Badrinath, was part of the India squad for the recent Australia Tests but did not play a match and, having lost his place in the ODI team for the first three matches against England, will hope that a recall later in the series will help him state his case once again. Then there's Virat Kohli, the Under-19 World Cup winning captain who, it is felt, is still some way away from the Test grade.
Yuvraj is a proven performer in the one-day arena but his stocks have depleted following a poor series in Sri Lanka; Raina has made an impressive comeback after a season in the sidelines; and the Test XI in Nagpur and the one-day team that has added an intriguing turn to this race.
Apparently, the selectors are impressed by the assurance with which Vijay handled Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson in Nagpur, especially the time he seemed to have facing balls at 140kph. He has been highly recommended by Dav Whatmore, the India A coach, and he happens to be the only Test player in this group apart from Yuvraj.
Then there is Raina, who caught Greg Chappell's attention with a match-winning 81 against -and-a-half years ago, and has resurrected his career after a horror tour of South Africa in late 2006 that led to his banishment. His left-handedness is an advantage, and he is seen as a No. 6 Test batsman for his ability to absorb pressure and shift gears.
Rohit, meanwhile, is well on his way to becoming the complete batsman his batting prowess shows he can be. But then, after a convincing ODI debut in Australia early this year, he has *, 1. If it was not for this bewildering lack of consistency, due to what some feel is a lack of focus at times, Rohit would have been the obvious choice to replace Ganguly. But not any longer, unless he finally starts to match the hype and immense potential with a string of consistent scores. And so, it's back to the queue.
Finally, Yuvraj. "What do we do with this boy?," a selector from
| |
Kris Srikkanth, the chairman of the national selection panel, has backed Rahul Dravid to come out of his prolonged form slump. Dravid has only two half-centuries in his previous 17 knocks but Srikkanth said Dravid was "just one innings away from regaining form".
"If you look at this series (the Tests against Australia), he made a match-saving half-century in unfortunate that he could not build on starts."
With the retirements of the experienced Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble, India are going through a transitional phase and Srikkanth was pleased with the performances of Amit Mishra and M Vijay, the two players handed their Test debuts during the series.
Mishra finished with 14 wickets in three Tests, and his seven wickets in Mohali was instrumental in India's win. "Mishra is a genuine legspinner who is not afraid to flight the ball," he said. "As he gains in experience, he will develop greater variety."
Vijay, who was drafted in as an opener after Gautam Gambhir was banned for the final Test in Nagpur, played a couple of confident knocks to provide India solid starts. "Vijay is a correct batsman who can adapt to both forms of the game. He adds value with his fielding."
Pakistan v West Indies, 1st ODI, Abu Dhabi
25 overs West Indies 151 for 1 (Gayle 92*, Sarwan 18*) v Pakistan
| ||
The venue changed from Antigua to Abu Dhabi, the format from Twenty20 to 50-overs, but what did Chris Gayle care? Having hit a 33-ball half-century in the Stanford 20/20 for 20 earlier this month, Gayle batted like a true millionaire, thumping ten fours and five sixes in an unbeaten innings of 92 that carried West Indies to 151 for 1 after 25 overs. There was a thin crowd at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium to witness Gayle power a 125-run opening stand, the sixth-best for West Indies against Pakistan, but word may get around that something special is brewing in the lazy afternoon sun.
The ball didn't come on initially so Gayle, who'd opted to bat, took matters in hand. After five overs West Indies were 11 for 0; that's when Gayle moved up a gear, stepping outside the line of a delivery from Adbur Rauf and swinging it over midwicket for six.
Rauf opened the attack in the absence of an injured Shoaib Akhtar and after two tidy overs, was taken for six and five fours in eight balls by Gayle. A whip over mid-on was followed by a flick off the pads. Then Rauf pitched outside off stump and craned his neck as Gayle biffed him over his head. Shoaib Malik removed third man and Gayle smartly steered four past the wicketkeeper. Seventeen runs had come in the over.
Sohail Tanvir was cracked past point and West Indies' fifty was up in the tenth over with consecutive pulled sixes in Umar Gul's first over. In five overs, 48 had been scored, and Gayle's half-century needed 36 balls. It was his 38th in all and fifth versus Pakistan.
Seventy-two of Gayle's runs came on the on side. Anything full was clipped over the infield behind square leg, while the shorter deliveries were worked across the line, mostly with hard hands. Rauf's fingertips grazed a back-foot slap back past the umpire, but catching that beast of a shot could have resulted in his requiring urgent medical attention. Rauf walked off having conceded 57 from six overs.
Initially Sewnarine Chattergoon had been a silent bystander on 5 from 29 deliveries. An aerial drive over cover brought him his first boundary yet he was more comfortable dabbing the ball into the gaps. Malik took the second Powerplay straightaway and Chattergoon joined in, flicking and cutting Rauf for further boundaries when he returned. He only played aggressive shots when the ball was short.
Malik accounted for Chattergoon (33), trying to hit against the turn, in his second over, the 20th, but Gayle motored along with a stunning six off Shahid Afridi. The contrasting approach of the two openers worked for West Indies, who are looking at a big score in the 111th clash between these two sides.