Monday, November 24, 2008

India win by 16 runs in fading light
India made heavy work of an under-par England total in the first evenly-contested match between the two sides, but edged ahead thanks to a superior run-rate under the Duckworth/Lewis method when bad light curtailed their chase after 40 overs.
Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh produced some fireworks during India's chase, and that ultimately proved crucial as the umpires were forced to stop play in murky conditions, with India ahead by 16 runs. The toss, scheduled at 8:30 am local, had been put back 45 minutes because of the thick haze and overcast conditions in smoggy Kanpur, but only one over was docked from each innings, and to top it off, the lunch interval was not shortened.
The win could not have been possible without India's spinners, who had made the most of the pitch with 22 tidy overs that derailed England after a strong start. Harbhajan Singh picked up 3 for 31, his best returns since April 2006, which incidentally also came against England at home.

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