The Hindu : Sport : India capitulates to a heavy loss

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Thursday, Aug 23, 2007
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India capitulates to a heavy loss

S. Dinakar

The batting lacked application and common sense

— PHOTO: AP

IMMEDIATE IMPACT: Andrew Flintoff made a significant contribution in his return match, bowling a tight spell and scalping M.S. Dhoni.

Southampton: England enjoyed its cricket at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday. The host played with freshness, freedom, and aggression. India seemed weighed down by the pressure of expectations. The tag of being the favourite appeared a burden, not a motivator.

The contrast could not have been starker than in the first NatWest ODI here on Tuesday. The floodlights shone on England, India was enveloped in darkness.

The match also illustrated the importance of a start and the contributions from the top-order batsmen. After India slumped to 34 for four before the 12th over — England’s first two wickets had been worth 221 in 41.4 overs — the contest was going to end only one way.

More than the 104-run setback in the first face-off of a seven-match series, it must have been the manner of India’s defeat — this was capitulation to be precise — that must have sent worrying signals to the Indian think-tank. A celebrated batting line-up crawled to 184 before being dismissed off the last ball of the 50th over. The surface may have got a little slower as the match progressed, but this was still, essentially, more of a batting pitch. England’s intensity levels were higher.

Need to regroup quickly

“No excuses” said the Indian captain and he was being honest. The Indians need to regroup and fast. The side has to find the right No. 3, where Gautam Gambhir — still tending to play away from his body — has invariably failed against the better attacks.

The No. 3 slot is a pivotal position. Ian Bell, who emerged the Player of the Match, changed the ebb and the flow of the innings when he joined Alastair Cook. The No. 3 has to be influential.

The Indian bowling lacked sting — apart from left-arm pacemen Zaheer Khan and Rudra Pratap Singh, the rest were also inconsistent and expensive — the fielding was below par, the batting lacked application and common sense, and the running between the wickets left much to be desired.

In the afternoon, Alastair Cook and Ian Bell ran their singles, twos and threes brilliantly, stretching the Indian fielding which gradually wilted.

England captain Paul Collingwood called it “a kind of perfect day” and he was right. The side batted big after being inserted, with two of the top three batsmen making centuries. Then, James Anderson struck body blows with the new ball, generating pace, achieving movement and shifting his line adeptly.

Well directed bowling laced with incision and swift fielding created the pressure, leading to three run-outs, a couple of them of the comical kind.

Spirited

Andrew Flintoff’s war cry after dismissing Mahendra Singh Dhoni illustrated the English spirit. The big man, returning to the international stage after four months, operated with great heart passion and skill, conceding just 12 runs off seven fiery overs.

He clocked speeds well over 140 kmph and hustled the batsmen. The crowd roared as he probed Dhoni with short, lifting deliveries before finally consuming the Indian.

Back to Anderson. A rhythm bowler and one with a telling outswinger, Anderson has been haunted by streaks of inconsistency in the past. On Tuesday night, he was brilliant, running in well and swinging the ball; the evening dew on the surface provided him a little nip off the pitch.

However, it was not Anderson who opened the sluice gates.

Sourav Ganguly, inexplicably, turned back for a second run after Tendulkar pushed one to mid-off and completed a single. Monty Panesar, not particularly known for the fielding, combined with ’keeper Mathew Prior to effect a run-out. England had drawn first blood.

Then, Anderson, supported well by the energetic and lively Stuart Broad at the other end, made deep inroads. The left-handed Gambhir attempted a stroke on the rise and edged one to Prior.

A brush of fortune

Tendulkar, who was fortunate not to be castled — the bails did not come off after the ball brushed the stumps — could not keep a flick off Anderson down and was picked by Ravi Bopara at short mid-wicket. In the same over, southpaw Yuvraj Singh, whose footwork against the moving ball is still not as organised as it should be, was sensationally caught by Cook at gully. India was 34 for four and the English celebrations had already begun.

Skipper Dravid (46 off 72 balls) put a price on his wicket even if he did not find his timing and range. He was finally done in by seamer Mascerenhas’s stump-to-stump bowling. Dhoni, unable to breach the gaps, struggled during a 60-ball 19. Dinesh Karthik displayed the fight in him again with a 45-ball unbeaten 44, but this, in the context of the match, was too little too late.

Collingwood praised Anderson, Flintoff, Cook and Bell. The English skipper admitted he too could have fielded first had he got lucky with the toss — “It was 50-50.”

Dravid said Cook and Bell rotated the strike well. About India’s tardy fielding, he answered: “Fielding is not our strength and we are not going to develop strong arms and athletic legs overnight. We need to keep working.”

Bell stressed on his shot selection and said he would remember his first hundred. “The pitch was good and we did not know what would be the ideal score. I was trying to get as many as possible,” he added.

Eventually, the English total proved more than adequate.

scoreboard

England: A. Cook b R.P. Singh 102, M. Prior c Dravid b Zaheer 19, I. Bell (not out) 126, K. Pietersen (not out) 33, Extras (lb-4, w-4) 8; Total (for two wickets, 50 overs): 288

Fall of wickets: 1-43 (Prior), 2-221 (Cook).

India bowling: Zaheer 10-1-49-1, Agarkar 10-1-65-0, R.P. Singh 10-0-49-1, Ganguly 4-0-21-0, Chawla 7-0-42-0, Tendulkar 4-0-29-0, Yuvraj 5-0-29-0.

India: S. Ganguly run out 2, S. Tendulkar c Bopara b Anderson 17, G. Gambhir c Prior b Anderson 3, R. Dravid c Prior b Mascarenhas 46, Yuvraj c Cook b Anderson 0, M.S. Dhoni c Prior b Flintoff 19, D. Karthik (not out) 44; A. Agarkar ru n out 11; P. Chawla run out 2; Zaheer Khan b Anderson 20; R.P. Singh b Panesar 0, Extras (lb-10, w-5, nb-5) 20; Total (in 50 overs) 184.

Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Ganguly), 2-19 (Gambhir), 3-34 (Tendulkar), 4-34 (Yuvraj Singh), 5-102 (Dhoni), 6-105 (Dravid), 7-129 (Agarkar), 8-145 (Chawla), 9-183 (Zaheer).

England bowling: Broad 8-1-27-0, Anderson 10-2-23-4, Flintoff 7-0-12-1, Mascarenhas 10-1-28-1, Panesar 10-0-47-1, Collingwood 5-0-37-0.

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