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India and England produced the best match of the ongoing World Cup 2011 yesterday night at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. England chasing a mammoth target of 339 finished the match at 338 to force a Tie. Neither of the teams deserved to lose the game especially after Andrew Strauss’ brilliant 158 and Zaheer Khan’s three wickets and in the end the match was registered in history as the fourth tie in World Cups.
India Innings
The crucial toss was won by India and they elected to bat first. There was one change in the line up with leg spinner Piyush Chawla coming in for Sreesanth. England made two changes with Michael Yardy and Ahmed Shahzad replacing the duo of Ravi Bopara and the unwell Stuart Broad. The pitch was expected to be devoid of any seam movement and spinners could have a say in the game as the game progressed.
India got off to a rollicking start from Sehwag and Tendulkar and it was in the 8th over that England found their first breakthrough thanks to Tim Bresnan and Matt Prior. Sehwag after a rapid 35 from 26 balls (with 6 fours) was brilliantly caught by the diving Matt Prior behind the stumps when he was trying to guide Bresnan cheekily to thirdman. The hosts were 46 for 1 when Gautam Gambhir joined Sachin Tendulkar to keep up the earlier momentum going. The pair took India to a solid position of 180 for 2 in the 30th over when Gautam Gambhir (51 from 61 balls with 5 fours) was bowled by Swann after trying to flick all around an off stump delivery.
Tendulkar went beserk in the middle overs striking a couple of big sixes off Swann and also going heavy on Paul Collingwood to get to yet another century. It was in the 39th over that Tendulkar eventually got out when his leading edge off Anderson was caught at extra covers. Tendulkar who departed on 120 from 115 balls (with 10 fours and 5 sixes) had registered what was his 47th ODI hundred and also the 5th hundred in World Cups which became the new record.
Yuvraj Singh came good for India with a 58 from 50 balls with 9 fours and MS Dhoni scored 31 from 25 balls with 3 fours and a six to take India past 300. However both were dismissed in the space of two balls and the final overs were going to be handled by Yusuf Pathan and Virat Kohli. It was at this stage that Tim Bresnan bowled some superb reverse swinging deliveries with blistering speeds to knock out four wickets in this spell. Bresnan finished with terrific figures of 10-1-48-5 and India were bowled out for 338 in 49.5 overs.
England Innings
The visitors were given a breezy start from Strauss and Pietersen and India had no option but to wait for the spinners to change the game. In the 10th over the hosts found their much needed first breakthrough when Munaf Patel took a return catch in the second attempt off a full blooded uppish drive from Pietersen (31 from 22 balls with 5 fours). England had got to 68 on the board by then and the next man in was the in-form Jonathan Trott who was out lbw while going far too back to a leg break from Piyush Chawla in the 17th over.
India was pumped up when it reduced England to 111 for 2 in the 17th over but Andrew Strauss kept on attacking at his end to find the boundaries almost every over and he got to his 6th ODI hundred in the 28th over itself. There was a huge piece of luck when Ian Bell escaped from a close lbw shout despite a referral taken by the Indians. Bell after that moment blossomed very well to help Strauss put up a massive partnership of 170 which only came to an end in the 43rd over. Bell after a 71-ball 69 (with 4 fours and a six) was out slicing Zaheer Khan to covers. England were in the striking distance at 281 for 3 but they lost Andrew Strauss in the very next ball which was a toe crushing yorker from Zaheer which hand him plumb infront. It was a heroic knock of 158 from 145 balls with 18 fours and a six from the English Captain.
Zaheer Khan who picked up two wickets in two balls missed out on a hat-trick but he got the charging Paul Collingwood bowled with a slower one in the 45th over. India was completely on top and England lost Matt Prior as well succumbing to the pressure while even the struggling Harbhajan Singh found a wicket atlast! The next English pair of Michael Yardy and Tim Bresnan added 18 precious runs before the former got out sweeping Munaf to short fine leg. England was out of the equation at 307 for 7 in the 48th over but bounced back in style due to a couple of sixes out of nowhere in the 49th over bowled by Piyush Chawla. They lost the wicket of Bresnan by the end of the 49th over but were now needing 14 to win from the final over!
Munaf who was given the job of bowling the final over was struck for a decisive six by no.10 Ahmed Shahzad over long on and that reduced the equation to 5 runs from 3 balls! In the last ball, England needed 2 runs to win with Swann on strike and he smashed Munaf straight to the diving mid off and could only get a single. The match thus ended in a nail-biting draw! Andrew Strauss quite deservingly got the Man of the Match.