Tuesday, July 15, 2008

BBC SPORT | Cricket | England | India hold nerve to level series

low back pain treatment Second one-day international, Bristol:
India 329-7 (50 ovs) bt England 320-9 (50 ovs) by nine runs



India beat England by nine runs to level the one-day international series.

Sachin Tendulkar struck 15 fours and a six in an epic 99, his 80th ODI fifty and Rahul Dravid hit an unbeaten 92 as India scored 329-7 after opting to bat.

England raced to 76 within 11 overs but lost both openers in two balls. Piyush Chawla ousted Kevin Pietersen with his second ball but Ian Bell hit a calm 64.

Dimitri Mascarenhas fired five sixes in 52 off 39 balls and Stuart Broad hit 20 in the last over in a frantic finale.

Interview: England one-day captain Paul Collingwood Interview: India captain Rahul Dravid

After the arctic conditions at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday evening, the weather was much more to the liking of the Indian team and their many followers.

While the tourists added another spinner to their ranks in Ramesh Powar, England omitted Monty Panesar and picked another seamer, Chris Tremlett.

Dravid had little hesitation in batting first and it quickly became apparent there was little assistance in the pitch for the bowlers.

For a brief period the attacking shots found the fielders but it did not last and Tendulkar began to play in virtuoso fashion, finding the gaps to the small boundaries.

Paul Collingwood elected to take the final powerplay but Ganguly launched Tremlett back over his head for six in an over costing 17.

Tremlett also spilled a tough chance when Tendulkar was on 57, but was perhaps the only man tall enough to have got his hands to a rasping aerial drive.

The next ball produced a wicket, Collingwood taking an excellent catch running backwards at point when Ganguly carved a drive.

Tremlett returned and was promptly despatched for another six, Tendulkar stepping down the pitch to fizz the ball over long-off.

The only obstacle to Tendulkar reaching three figures appeared to be injury and the maestro received lengthy treatment to his hands, wincing at the sharp pain.

He had another reprieve on 93 when he glanced Collingwood but Matt Prior could not hold a sharp chance down the leg-side.

But when Tendulkar was on 99 Andrew Flintoff produced a magnificent bouncer that reared up from the unresponsive pitch and surprised the icon, who fended the ball away.

Prior leapt superbly to snare the catch diving to his left and Tendulkar was denied a 42nd ODI century, much to the dismay of his adoring fans.

Another neat Collingwood catch, this time low at point, accounted for Yuvraj Singh for 49, but that merely allowed Mahendra Dhoni the chance to cut loose in nine overs.

Dravid reached fifty from 43 balls and was the dominant partner in a stand of 59 from 38 deliveries to which Dhoni contributed 21.

Tremlett, moved to backward square-leg after some lax fielding on the boundary improved his wretched day somewhat when he took a fine catch when Dhoni paddled a slower ball.

Even more worrying news for England was a scare to Flintoff, who crashed into the advertising boards in pursuit of the ball and suffered pain behind his knee.

There was still time for more fireworks, Dravid firing a square drive off Anderson for six and guiding a late cut for four, Flintoff with two wickets in the final over to take his first one-day five-wicket haul.

Because of the length of time taken to bowl the overs, there were barely 10 minutes between innings, but although the floodlights were on there was bright sunshine when England began their quest for a record total.

It was an electrifying start, Alastair Cook and Prior with some fluent strokes, Ajit Agarkar conceding 41 from his first four overs.

Prior was caught off a no-ball but two balls later drove wildly at Munaf Patel and Dravid held a spiralling chance at mid-off.

The batsmen crossed and Patel produced a good one next up to take Cook's edge.

In the next over Bell, on one, played an upper cut straight to third man but the portly Powar spilled the chance.

Still the chances came - and went. In Ganguly's first over, Dhoni juggled with a routine Pietersen edge at the stumps and the bowler himself then failed to take a low return catch.

But teenage leg-spinner Chawla made another key breakthrough, squeezing his second delivery between an incredulous Pietersen's bat and pad.

Chawla and Powar then bowled in tandem, with clever variations, and the rate slipped over seven, Collingwood having made a typically enterprising 27 deceived by Chawla's googly.

Flintoff started in superb fashion, thumping his first ball through the covers and pulling his third delivery for another lusty boundary.

But once again he picked out a fielder with a lofted stroke, Agarkar not having to move at deep mid-wicket.

Ravi Bopara added 35 in seven overs with Bell in calm fashion but when he was plumb lbw to Patel, 110 were still needed from 73 balls and only four wickets remained.

As he demonstrated in his century at the Rose Bowl, Bell danced down the wicket to hit an imperious first six, but attempting to repeat the stroke next ball he could not connect with the middle of the bat and the stroke went straight to Patel on the long-on fence.

Mascarenhas hit the spinners for three sixes to reduce the requirement to 65 from the final six overs and added two more, sending one shot into the guttering of the stand, before mis-cueing to mid-wicket in the penultimate over.

Patel bowled the final over with the cushion of 30 to play with.

Left-hander Broad swung the first ball to mid-wicket where Powar took the ball over the ropes, and two bottom edges for four plus another maximum left 10 needed from the final ball and Patel ensured he did not over-step.


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