England and India have had a real rollercoaster ride in the past few years, veering from one extreme to the other in the different formats. However, it has been almost one-way traffic in ODIs played in India since 2002. Sixteen defeats, a tie and a solitary win preceded today's match in Rajkot. However, everything seems to be going the way of Alastair Cook these days so it shouldn't really have been a surprise when England racked up 325 and were able to defend it - just!
Joe Root may not have batted on his debut, but the top six all made runs. Ian Bell looked particularly strong, outscoring his captain in an opening partnership of 158. Pietersen, Morgan and Patel also passed 40 as Ishant Sharma took a real pasting during his final stint. India also got off to a good start thanks to Gambhir and Rahane, that supreme first-class cricketer who gets picked only for one-dayers! Yuvraj Singh and Raina each made brisk half-centuries but failed to score quick enough. When they departed there was too much for Dhoni and the tail to do at the death, and they fell nine runs short. Not a huge margin in such a high-scoring match but, needing ninety-odd in the last nine overs, it was a case of too little, too late.
At the end of 2011, India smashed England just as convincingly as they had lost the Test series so dismally on foreign soil. Margins such as 126 runs, 95 runs and eight wickets had made Cook's team look like amateurs. In particular, the visiting batsmen were hopelessly inconsistent and unable to put more than an occasional half-century together. Much of that side remains, with the key exceptions of Trott, Swann, Bopara and Bairstow. Borthwick and Meaker have been replaced by Tredwell and Dernbach and it was the former, the second oldest man in the XI, who won the Man of the Match award with his 4-44.
The only other win in that dreary decade of ODI disasters came on 12th April 2006 at Jamshedpur. Only KP, Bell, MSD, Yuvi and Raina have survived that seven-year gap, but on that occasion, it was Jimmy Anderson and the much-maligned Saj Mahmood who were instrumental in restricting Sehwag's side to a mere 223. Only Dhoni and Ramesh Powar scored more than 15! India's attack featured three Singhs - RP, Munaf and Harbhajan - and only the latter had any real success. Nevertheless, a century opening partnership at more than five an over ensured that the rest need only keep things ticking over without crazy shot selection. This they managed with more than seven overs to spare, Ian Blackwell ending proceedings with a mighty six over long on.
Going back further through the archives, it hasn't always been a home-side success story. When the first ODI in India between the sides took place in Ahmedebad in November 1981, one-day tactics were very different. More like pick your Test team, anchor the innings for forty overs then try and pick it up near the end! India managed barely three an over in their 46 overs, and Willis, Botham and Underwood conceded two an over or fewer. Even with a batting line-up featuring Geoffs Boycott and Cook and Keith Fletcher, England knocked off the 157 quite easily, as Botham showed that it really is not too vulgar to hit sixes in such fixtures.
England won six of their first nine ODIs in India through the 1980s then drew the six-game series in 1993. In 2002, Nasser Hussain's men slumped to 1-3 with two games remaining. At Delhi, Nick Knight's 105 helped England to a useful 271-5. In reply, Sehwag, Tendulkar and Ganguly made a good start but Mongia, Kaif and Badani failed to maintain the early strike rate. Despite some late hitting by Agarkar, Ashley Giles took five wickets and India lost by just two runs.
At Mumbai, it was the same story. Instead of Knight (who was dismissed for a duck), it was Marcus Trescothick who laid the foundation for a 255 total. Sehwag was out too early then, while Ganguly performed admirably for 80, the duo of Mongia and Kaif were again suffocated. Flintoff, Giles and even Michael Vaughan kept the scoring rate down. Needing six from the last three balls, wih two wickets left, any of three results looked possible. However, Flintoff ran out Kumble then bowled Srinath first ball to secure a five-run victory. Two desperately close finishes but England have saved the series.
Eleven years on, can England build on their early success? The Test series triumph has surely consigned historical hoodoos to the dustbin so now it's up to India to turn things around. Coming from behind is not their strength and I wouldn't bet against a 5-0 whitewash!
