Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid's smashing half-centuries helped India score a nine-run victory over England in the second one-day international, at the County Ground in Bristol, on Friday.
Batting first, India put up a huge 329 for 7 in their 50 overs and in reply England finished nine runs short, at 320 for 8, in a thrilling finish.
India thus bounced back in style to level the seven-match series 1-1
Tendulkar was dismissed in unfortunate circumstances on 99, while Dravid sizzled with a quick knock of 92 not out.
Andrew Flintoff, in his second match after a long injury lay-off, took 5 wickets for 53 but could not prevent India from mustering a huge total.
For England, Ian Bell top-scored with a steady innings of 64, but it was Dimitri Mascarenhas, who gave England some late hope with an entertaining knock of 52 from 39 deliveries, inclusive of five sixes and a boundary.
Young leg spinner Piyush Chawla was the most impressive bowler for India, claiming 3 for 60 in 10 overs. Munaf Patel also was among the wickets, taking 3 wickets, but went for 70 runs in his eight overs.
India innings:England made one change, bringing in pacer Chris Tremlett for left-arm spinner Monty Panesar. It was a strange move to leave out Panesar considering that he bowled well in the first ODI and also got the important run-out of Sourav Ganguly. Tremlett though had impressed with his consistent line and length bowling in the Tests.
For India, Zaheer Khan missed out after being down with flu. His place was taken by Munaf Patel. They also preferred to bolster their bowling, getting in off-spinner Ramesh Powar for Gautam Gambhir.
Sachin Tendulkar got India going in the first over of the day when he clipped Stuart Broad for a boundary through square leg. Three balls later, Ganguly smashed James Anderson through the point region for his first boundary as India showed their intentions.
In the first match, they were guilty of not taking the attack to the England bowlers, but here they were looking to attack the fielding restrictions.
In the fourth over, Tendulkar again creamed Anderson for two more boundaries through the leg-side and both times the bowler pitched it full and on the pads.
In the 10th over Tendulkar creamed a ball past midwicket for a boundary, a repeat of the shot that cost him his wicket in the first ODI. But, this time, he was better balanced and also found the gap. In the same over he scampered for a quick single for his first run on the off-side to move to 21.
Tendulkar's plan was quite clear. He was disciplined in his shot-making and preferred not to have a go on the off-side; he resisted the temptation and forced England to bowl a bit straighter, which he milked on the leg side.
India reached 39 for no loss in 10 overs as England opted to take the second Powerplay even though both the opening batsmen were looking to attack the bowling.
In the 11th over, Tendulkar smashed young pacer Broad for a delightful boundary through the off-side. Two balls later he charged down the wicket as Broad pitched it short, but Tendulkar, equal to the task, hit through the midwicket for another boundary, his sixth, to race to 29.
Tendulkar took India past 50 in style when he lofted Tremlett over the cover region for another smashing boundary. While Tendulkar was looking to get the boundaries, Ganguly provided the solidity from the other end as India's best-ever opening pair was proving its worth.
Tremlett suffered in his next over too when both Ganguly and Tendulkar hit him for a boundary each as India reached a strong 69 for no loss after 15 overs.
The master batsman brought up his half-century in fine style with two consecutive boundaries off Flintoff in the 16th over. First he opened the face of his bat to glide the ball to the third man for a boundary and then sliced through a crowded off-side to reach his fifty. His 80th half-century in ODIs took him 58 deliveries and included 10 boundaries.
Ganguly also started to blast a few boundaries from the other end. He lofted Tremlett straight down the ground for a huge six off a no-ball and followed it up with two boundaries in the same over.
After a cautious start, India were in the driver's seat with 41 runs coming from the last three overs as India reached 100 for no loss after 17 overs.
Just when it seemed that the two veterans were heading for a big score, India lost a wicket against the run of play. Ganguly tried to chip Flintoff over the off-side but could not hit it far enough and Paul Collingwood at point ran back to complete the catch.
Ganguly made 39, hitting five boundaries and a six in his 54-ball knock, adding 113 runs for the opening wicket. The platform had been set by the openers as India looked for a huge score a good batting wicket at Bristol.
Yuvraj Singh came in at number three as India looked to keep the left-right combination going. India had made good use of the second and third Powerplay overs. They scored 74 runs off the last 10 overs to reach 113 for 1 after 20 overs.
Part-timer Dimitri Mascarenhas was introduced and Tendulkar immediately gave the medium pacer some rough treatment. The veteran played two paddle shots for boundaries off two consecutive deliveries as Mascarenhas went for 10 in his first over, giving captain Collingwood plenty to think about.
Mascarenhas's inexperience showed as he strayed on the off-side in his next over and Tendulkar promptly despatched him through the covers for his 15th boundary to progress to 79.
Tremlett was clearly India's main target as the bowler was taken to the cleaners by Tendulkar as soon as he came back for his new spell. Tendulkar danced down the wicket and smashed the fast bowler straight down the ground for a huge six in the 25th over.
Yuvraj took some time to get going, but once he got settled even he found the pitch to his liking. In the 28th over, bowled by Mascarenhas, he announced himself with three spanking boundaries, two on the leg side and one through the covers.
Tendulkar survived a nervy moment in the nineties when his attempted a chip over mid-on off Collingwood which just about cleared the fielder as he moved to 98.
However, he fell soon after for 99, caught behind by wicketkeeper Matt Prior off a quick rising delivery from Flintoff. The short delivery that kicked up steeply seemed to have caught the maestro by surprise as he tried to evade it, but it took the gloves on the way to the keeper.
Closer looks at television replays showed that the ball had struck the arm guard, but England umpire Ian Gould ruled him out instantly without taking time to think about the exact spot of impact or the height of the delivery.
Tendulkar walked back smiling and shaking his head in disbelief to a huge applause after a delightful knock of 99, which included 15 boundaries and a six in 112 deliveries. He was involved in two big partnerships, 113 for the opening wicket with Ganguly and 67 for the second wicket with Yuvraj.
Captain Rahul Dravid looked positive from the onset as he looked to build on the solid platform laid by Tendulkar. His first boundary was a cute late cut off part time bowler Ravi Bopara through the third man region.
The duo played a few quite overs consisting of just singles and twos before Yuvraj broke the shackles with a powerful pull shot off the hapless Tremlett in the 39th over. In the next over, Dravid joined the party with two consecutive boundaries off Bopara on either side of the wicket.
Yuvraj also missed out on a milestone when he was caught at point off Broad for 49. The left-hander fell short of a deserved half-century when he sliced it straight to Collingwood, who held on to a good catch.
The stage was set perfectly for the dashing Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take advantage of the final few overs. He took just six balls to hit his first boundary, a smashing upper cut through the point region off Broad.
But it was Dravid who seemed just unstoppable as he raced to 46 from 42 deliveries, inclusive of five boundaries.
He brought up his half-century (off 43 deliveries) with a flick through mid-wicket off Broad in the 45th over as India looked to get a move on in the final few overs. Broad was then despatched through the square boundary on the off-side off the next delivery, before Dhoni glanced another boundary through fine leg in the same over.
Dhoni hit a quick 21 off 18 deliveries, inclusive of three boundaries, before he was caught at short fine leg off Anderson. He tried to hit it over Tremlett, but the tall fast bowler plucked out a neat catch to send back the Indian wicketkeeper in the 47th over.
Umpire Gould, a former England player, then gave another shocking decision when he ruled Dinesh Karthik out leg before wicket. A yorker delivery from Flintoff hit Karthik's left leg first which was clearly outside the leg stump before going on to hit the right leg in front of the stumps.
Dravid was in vintage form and was easily finding the boundary on either side of the wicket. In the 49th over by Anderson, he hit a flat six over the off-side off Anderson and then in the same over followed it up with a boundary.
Flintoff took two wickets in the final over of the innings to complete his five-wicket haul. Agarkar went for a big drive through the off-side but was caught behind and his Mumbai team mate Ramesh Powar also followed him in the same way.
Dravid finished unbeaten on 92 from 63, inclusive of 11 boundaries and a six, as India amassed a mammoth 329 for 7 in their 50 overs.
It completed a brilliant batting performance from the Indians as contributions came from all the top batsmen. Never in the course of their batting did they let the England bowlers comeback.
The Indian bowlers, in the absence of the in-form Zaheer Khan, now face a huge task as even the England batsmen will look to attack them in pursuit of 330. A perfect pitch for batting and short boundaries is every bowler's nightmare and even the Indian bowlers will feel the heat.
England innings:
Faced with a stiff target, England went all out from the start. Alastair Cook hit a boundary off the fourth ball of the innings by Ajit Agarkar. The Mumbai pacer was then hit for three more boundaries in his next over as Cook and Matt Prior went in hot pursuit, taking England to 22 for no loss in three overs.
In the fifth over of the innings, Agarkar, was however unlucky. He got the edge of Prior's bat but the catch was dropped by Sourav Ganguly at first slip. In fact, first wicketkeeper Dhoni seemed to go for the catch but stopped mid-way, catching Ganguly by surprise, which led to the drop and subsequent boundary.
Prior blazed two boundaries in two deliveries in Agarkar's next over to take England past the 50-run mark in the seventh over.
Agarkar went for 41 in his four overs and made way for Munaf Patel, who immediately made an impression with the steep bounce that he extracted from the wicket.
R P Singh had a bowled steady spell from the other end, but even he suffered in his fifth over as Cook hit him for two boundaries as England reached 75 for no loss after 10 overs. It was exactly the start England had hoped and now it seemed that India needed a few quick wickets else the hosts would run away with the game.
Dravid opted to take the second Powerplay in a bid to force England to go for the shots and get some wickets.
It was Munaf who made things happen. In the fourth ball of his second over, he had Prior caught by Ganguly at midwicket, but to his horror he overstepped the bowling mark.
He was however not put off by that and struck two balls later. Prior tried to smash him straight down, but ended up lofting the ball high in the air. Dravid at mid-on took a well-judged catch, keeping his eye on the ball, which travelled long and high before coming down.
Prior had given England a flying start, hitting 33 from 28 deliveries, inclusive of six boundaries, adding 76 runs for the opening wicket with Cook.
It was a much-needed wicket for the Indian team as both the openers were going haywire.
India's joy doubled when Munaf struck off the very next delivery with the wicket of Cook for 36. A good length out-swinger made Cook play and the edge was neatly taken by Dhoni behind the stumps. England were reduced to 76 for 2.
Singh could have taken the third England wicket, but Powar at third man dropped an easy catch. Ian Bell played the upper cut but it flew straight to the fielder and to everyone's shock the easy offering was put down by the bulky off-spinner.
Munaf had bowled a tight spell to start with, but conceded a few runs towards the latter part of his first spell. He gave 23 runs in two overs as his first spell read 36 for 2 after five overs and he was duly replaced by part timer Sourav Ganguly in the 18th over.
Ganguly nearly got the important wicket of Kevin Pietersen, but Dhoni, standing up to the wickets, failed to hold on to a difficult chance. Pietersen, on 11, then got another reprieve when he drove straight back and Ganguly failed to cling on to a difficult return chance.
It remained to be seen how much these two chances would cost, especially, keeping in mind that it was Pietersen who survived both times.
The right-hander then showed how much India could end up ruing those two dropped chances when he hit Agarkar for two boundaries off the next over.
However, young leg-spinner Piyush Chawla made sure that Pietersen did not stay for long as he cleaned up the right-hander with a peach of a delivery. Pietersen, who scored 25, played for the leg spin but the ball went straight through the gap between the bat and pad onto the stumps.
The wicket seemed to have slowed England's progress as the spin duo of Chawla and Ramesh Powar restricted the batsmen to just singles. Boundaries were becoming a rarity and Paul Collingwood had to take risks in order to hit some to keep the run rate in check.
The England captain did not hold back but every time he stepped out to loft the spinners, he never seemed convincing. His brief stint of 25 from 27 deliveries was cut short when he danced down the wicket to Chawla, but missed the googly and was bowled in the 30th over. His dismissal left England in a spot of bother at 176 for 4.
Andrew Flintoff started off with a bang, a cracking boundary off Chawla. It seemed the bulky all-rounder had come with a clear plan of taking on the bowlers as England's required run rate went up with every over.
He scored 9, inclusive of two boundaries, before he holed out at deep midwicket off Powar. The Mumbai off-spinner kept flighting and tempting Flintoff to have a go, which he did, but straight to Agarkar at the midwicket fence.
Bell continued his rich vein of form as he notched up another half-century. He scored two half-centuries in the third Test at the Oval and then a blazing hundred in the first one-dayer at the Rose Bowl. He reached his half-century off 76 deliveries, inclusive of two boundaries, in the 34th over.
Ravi Bopara also came up short against Munaf's consistent line and length bowling to be dismissed leg before wicket for 17.
Bell tried to take charge as he hit a huge six over mid-off, but Chawla got his revenge off the very next delivery when he had him caught at long on for 64. With his wicket, England slipped to 240 for 7 in the 42nd over and having no real chance of reaching the target of 330.
Dimitri Mascarenhas looked to entertain the crowd with some huge hitting towards the end even though England were never in the hunt. His first six was off Powar over the midwicket fence, but there were more round the corner.
In the next over, he followed it up with two sixes over the midwicket off Chawla to race to 26 off 22 deliveries. He continued his free-flowing shot-making, carting two more sixes off R P Singh and Agarkar in successive overs.
He completed his maiden half-century off 36 deliveries, inclusive of five boundaries and a six in the 49th over, still looking to win the game for England. England needed 34 from 11 deliveries and it remained to be seen whether Mascarenhas could smash another few sixes and lead their team to an unlikely victory.
However, he fell in the same over off Singh when he tried another big shot. For once, Mascarenhas hit it straight to a fielder to Agarkar at midwicket after a delightful knock of 52 from 39 deliveries that included five sixes and a boundary.
But that did not deter England and they continued even in the final over of the match. England needed 30 off the final over and Broad gave it one final shot, even though he knew it was a near impossible task.
Broad used the long handle to good effect as he carted 20 runs in the final over, including two sixes and two boundaries off Patel as England ended up on 320 for 8, nine runs short of the target.
Even though England fell short in their run chase it was a brave effort and gave India a lot to think. Once again the bowling and fielding was way below standards and basic mistakes were repeated.
India will do well to improve their bowling in the next match. With Zaheer Khan expected to be back, it should definitely be better. With the series level at 1-1, India go into the next match with much more confidence, hoping that they can take a 2-1 lead. But before that there is a lot of hard work to be put in the bowling and fielding department by the respective coaches Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh.
