Months ago, when the 2011 World Cup schedule was announced, the India V England fixture was billed as the one to watch. Even when transferred from Eden Gardens to Chinnaswamy, this was surely the game to bring the tournament to life and - boy! - it didn't disappoint!
Later on, this blog will bring you the view from someone who witnessed this epic from the stands in Bangalore. Am I jealous? Too right, I am! As for the perspective from England, it must be one of the all-time great World Cup matches, up there with the Australia-South Africa semi-final of 1999. In statistical terms, it was only the fourth tie and boasted the very highest match aggregate of runs in World Cup history: 676. What it must have been like to experience at first hand I can barely imagine.
Even the first over was dramatic. India having won the toss and elected to bat, Sehwag's first ball was spilled by Swann at second slip and rolled on to the boundary. Indeed James Anderson was looking back to his best in the first spell, although he would take a real pounding later on. The stage was left for Sachin Tendulkar to post a 47th ODI hundred. Supported by the ever-willing Gambhir, the Little Master not only produced his usual wristy shots but also some massive sixes, five in all. Two came off Collingwood then in the 27th over, a further brace off successive Graeme Swann deliveries. At 236-2, things were looking ominous for England but when Anderson induced a leading edge from Tendulkar, they at last had something to celebrate. Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni took a while to get going but together carried India above the 300 mark. Both went in successive balls and Tim Bresnan somehow bagged a 'five-for' as the tail failed to wag and then Chawla and Zaheer Khan were run out in the final over charge. They should have scored a run with their last ball but Munaf Patel failed to ground his bat. Oh, how that cost India dear!!
England were by no means daunted by the task facing them. Strauss and Pietersen plundered 68 from the opening Powerplay before KP fell to a fortuitous caught-and-bowled. Chawla trapped Trott LBW fairly cheaply but then it was a case of anything Tendulkar and Gambhir could do, Strauss and Bell could do better. Their third wicket partnership was worth 170 runs, maintaining the required run rate but when Zaheer Khan dismissed both batsmen in consecutive balls in the 43rd over, you felt the match had swung decisively in the home side's favour. Collingwood and Prior failed to pick up the momentum and when they fell, England still needed 50 from only 28 balls. Yardy tried his best in a cameo innings but Patel's slower ball deceived him. Two overs left, 28 behind, three wickets in hand.
Chawla bowled the penultimate over. Swann missed a slog sweep but second ball connected and it went for six. Three deliveries later, Bresnan did the same before missing the next, flatter ball and was bowled. Fourteen needed from the final over. Zaheer Khan would have been the ideal man to bowl it but his allotment was up and it had to be Patel. A brace and single from Swann brought Shahzad to the strike for the first time. Bam! A half-volley straight over the bowler's head for six! A scrambled bye and a streaky inside edge and it was two to win, a single to tie and a dot ball to lose. Who'd be in Munaf Patel's shoes?! He bowled a good line, Swann struck it to mid-off and the scores were equal. Incredible stuff!
In a game which saw a typically brilliant century from Tendulkar, the Man of the Match award nevertheless went deservedly to Andrew Strauss. To score 158 in 145 balls in such a pressure-cooker environment, especially when captain, must have taken nerves of steel, bolstered by chunks of granite and maybe Kryptonite for good measure! After all the moaning about the tournament being devalued by the inclusion of less-talented teams, this was a game to prove the World Cup, and entire 50-over format is very much alive and kicking. Cricket is not just about fours, sixes and wickets. As Pakistan and Sri Lanka also demonstrated this weekend, it's the nervy middle-innings overs, the clever variation of length and pace by bowlers, skilful nudges and flicks that are essential ingredients of the sport. Mind you, to make a match truly memorable, it certainly helps to have a climax as exciting as the one India and England produced today. I thank them both!
