Tuesday, February 14, 2012

England pummel over-confident Pakistan in first ODI

It was Alastair Cook’s first ever ODI against Pakistan and that too, as a skipper. With the drubbing in the Test series, Pakistan were expected to provide the same in this series but Cook led from the front with a magnificent century to lead England to a massive win.

It was going to be a massive test for England against spin. Afghanistan may have seen off the Ajmal threat but the return of Shahid Afridi had certainly bolstered the Pakistan bowling line-up. Alastair Cook called correctly and had no hesitation in choosing to bat.

It was not Craig Kieswetter to open but Kevin Pietersen along with Cook. Misbah-ul-Haq straight away applied pressure by bowling Hafeez in the second over. It was not a one-off scenario. It was a plan to bombard the English with spin.

Cook and Pietersen started off cautiously and slowly the runs started coming. The new ball started losing its effectiveness and Gul lost his line and length. Pietersen then took a couple of calculated risks and by the end of the Quick Start Overs, England had reached 48/0 with the run-rate nearly 5 runs an over.

Misbah then turned to Afridi and he struck in his second over. Not once, but twice. He produced two rippers to dismiss Pietersen and Trott off successive deliveries and England’s woes against spin seemed to re-surface. Ravi Bopara then came out to join Cook in the middle and settled into a partnership.

The duo confidently batted Powerplay 2 out scoring 23 runs in that period. Misbah kept on the spinners from both ends and only in the 23rd over did he bring the other seamer, Wahab Riaz on to bowl. The left-armer failed to impress and was carted around for 18 runs in his opening 2 overs.

Cook delayed Powerplay 3 until the 35th over but finally some luck showed on Pakistan as Bopara and Morgan were dismissed in quick succession by Ajmal. Powerplay 3 resulted in 27/2 and it seemed as if Cook would be stranded in the middle.

England had reached 196/4 in the 40th over and looked good for 280 but they lacked a strong middle order. Pakistan came back extremely well and stifled the flow of runs. That led to the fall of wickets and even Cook succumbed to the pressure, but not before making a flamboyant 137. A few strokes from the lower middle order took England to 260/7 but that was far from where they would have wanted to be, making just 64/3 in the Extreme Performance Overs.

Alastair Cook top scored with 137 and finished with a Batting Momentum of 187 with good support from Bopara who made a fine 50. For Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal came back strongly in his last spell to bamboozle the English batsmen and picked up his maiden ODI 5-wicket haul, ending up with a Bowling Efficiency of 286.

Have a look at the scorecard.

Both teams were pretty confident at the break. England, because they had gone past 250 and Pakistan, because of their comeback in the second half of the innings. Steven Finn, who had spent most of the Test series on the sidelines, was given the new ball and he was raring to go. He came out like a tornado on the Pakistan top order and caused havoc.

He struck twice in 2 balls in his second over to remove Hafeez and Shafiq and then dismissed Younus and Farhat in the space of 7 balls. Pakistan were tottering at 40/4 at the end of the Quick Start Overs and the writing seemed to be on the wall. Misbah and Umar Akmal tried to lead a slow recovery, making 15 runs in Powerplay 2. But Samit Patel struck the jackpot, trapping Misbah LBW in the 15th over and England were well on top. That was the sixth successive time that Misbah was dismissed LBW and Pakistan were in a mire now.

The middle order started to collapse and Afridi came out and played a few shots but it was just a matter of time before England got his wicket. Pakistan were eventually bundled out for 130, suffering a crushing 130-run defeat. Steven Finn finished with career-best figures of 4/34 and ended up with a Bowling Efficiency of 315 while Patel picked up 3 wickets. For Pakistan, Afridi top scored with 28 and finished with a Batting Momentum of 47.

England finished with a much better Castrol Index of 55 to Pakistan’s 28. They won in every department except the Bowling Powerplay where the Pakistanis triumphed.

Alastair Cook was named the Man Of The Match and finished with the best Castrol Index of 70. For Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal earned a value of 64.

The second ODI would be played at this same venue on Wednesday, 15th February, 2012 at 1100 GMT.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Dhoni does it again, helps India win thriller

On a venue where India did not hold a good record, losing 4 out of 4 matches to Australia, skipper MS Dhoni helped the visitors turn the tables staying till the very end to guide India to a thrilling win.

Michael Clarke got the toss going his way on a beautiful batting track and he elected to bat. He informed that Michael Hussey had been rested so that he could spend some time with his family. Also, he promised to make some changes in the batting order. And some changes they were.

Australia sprung up a surprise as Ricky Ponting was sent up to open the innings along with Warner while Wade was pushed down the order. It did not work as Ponting departed quickly and India were well on top. Clarke promoted himself to number 3 and he counter-attacked along with Warner and when the latter was dismissed, Australia had reached 53/2 at the end of the Quick Start Overs.

The Indians were bowling well but the hosts produced some good partnerships too. They managed to keep a good run-rate, scoring 27/1 in Powerplay 2. The debutant Peter Forrest was sent in at number 4 and he settled down into a good partnership with the in-form David Hussey. Forrest went for a well-made 66 but Christian ensured that the pressure was taken off the Indians, adding a fine 56 with Hussey. Powerplay 3 had yielded 37/1 and Australia were looking good for 280.

However, the Indian bowling improved post the Batting Powerplay and they suffocated the Aussies. It had its effects as Hussey was dismissed in the 45th over. The home kept on losing momentum and managed just 57/4 in the Extreme Performance Overs, managing only 269/8 at the end of their innings.

Two half centuries for Australia, with David Hussey earning the best Batting Momentum of 97 for his 72. The bowling was good in intervals for India but they did best in the first 5 and the last 10 overs of the innings. Umesh Yadav, playing his first game of the series, had the best Bowling Efficiency of 143 for his 2/49 in 10 overs with a maiden.

Have a look at the scorecard.

It was a good track to bat on and that was exactly what the Indian openers needed. They matched each other stroke by stroke and added 52, before falling in the last over of the Quick Start Overs. Kohli then had a good stand with Gambhir before falling in the 19th over, with the visitors scoring 25/1 in Powerplay 2.

Rohit Sharma then got to the crease and staged a fine partnership along with Gambhir. But a poor shot saw the dismissal of Rohit while a rough decision saw Gambhir fall for 92 in the 35th over. With 92 needed from 95 balls, it was game on.

Dhoni and Raina then settled into a good stand. First they saw off Powerplay 3, scoring just 18 runs but then slowly started to open up. Doherty bowled ice-cool 47th and 49th overs and the game went down the wire, with India needing 13 runs off the final over.

It seemed Australia were the favourites but Dhoni, who had not hit a single boundary until then, smashed a massive six over long on, identical to the one he finished the 2011 World Cup with. Clint McKay finished with 3/53 earning a Bowling Efficiency of 172. Dhoni finished unbeaten on 44 but the top scorer of the innings was Gambhir with 92 with a Batting Momentum of 113. 

India finished with a Castrol Index of 52 while Australia ended up with 49. They outplayed Australia in every department but it was the shoddy fielding from Australia which came into question, with plenty of misfields and as many as 3 run outs missed.

Gautam Gambhir was named the Man Of The Match and he finished with 45 points on the Index, but it was David Hussey was the top performer with a value of 50.

Both Australia and India now have 2 wins from 3 matches with the Aussies ahead on the table with 9 points to India’s 8 due to their bonus point victory in the first game. The next game will be played between Sri Lanka and India at this very same venue on Tuesday, 14th February, 2012 at 0320 GMT.