Monday, November 17, 2008

India's hits, England's misses
Gambhir's first-ball life
The action started with the first ball, from James Anderson. Gautam Gambhir tapped him towards short midwicket and took off for a hard single. Samit Patel fielded and, seeing Gambhir struggle, aimed for the non-striker's end.
Yuvraj gets going
At 29 for 3, India were in trouble and desperately needed a substantial partnership. Yuvraj had faced six balls without scoring when Andrew Flintoff strayed down the legside, allowing Yuvraj to ease it down to the fine-leg boundary.
Pathan's final burst
Steve Harmison began the final over of the innings with India at a gettable 274 for 8. RP Singh swung across the line and was bowled off the first ball, and England's mood lifted. Munaf Patel stole a bye off the second ball, bringing Yusuf Pathan, on 33 off 25, onto strike. Over the next four balls England's target went from gettable to forgettable.
Raina's run-out
England, unsettled by that late burst, lost more momentum in the first over of their chase thanks to one moment of athletic brilliance from Suresh Raina. Ian Bell tapped Zaheer Khan towards cover and took off for a quick single.
Yuvraj's double
England's batting Powerplay had yielded 59 runs and with Pietersen and Flintoff at the crease they looked like winners. Enter Yuvraj for his final over.

No comments: