India vs Eng: A tie to remember

India,England finish at 338 each in Bangalore Humdinger.

Andrew Strauss had said before the match that he would love to silence the crowd in Bangalore. He had his wish for most of the chase,until he decided to take the wretched batting powerplay. With the scoreboard reading 280/2 at the end of the 42nd over,Strauss looked around at the quietest 40,000 spectators he had probably ever seen,before he took strike to Zaheer Khan.

Having constructed one of the greatest comeback centuries in World Cup history,Strauss,batting on 157,had made Indias target of 339 seem easy. At the other end,a cramping Ian Bell had given his skipper more than able support with 69 important runs. As Zaheer steamed in,the England skipper danced down the track and ran a single off the second ball. After that,the crowds roared back with a vengeance.

Zak attack

As four wickets fell during the field-restricted spell of five overs including Strauss,Bell and their 170-run second wicket stand off consecutive balls in Zaheers first powerplay over for just 25 runs,India bounced back from the brink of defeat. But their weak bowling options ensured that they wouldnt win it either.

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With 29 runs required from the last two overs and just three wickets in hand,England needed another miracle to come back into a match they should have comfortably won. Piyush Chawla,playing in his first one-day game on Indian soil,would provide just the miracle required,with his juicy and predictable long hops in the penultimate over.

Tim Bresnan,having already done his job with the ball (5/48) smashed the Indian leggie for two sixes,milking 15 runs and simultaneously reducing the target to 14 needed off the final Munaf Patel over. Munaf had been the best bowler of the night,before Zaheers ferocious comeback spell in the powerplays,but it didnt look that way when Ahmad Shahzad smashed him for a straight six off the third ball of the 50th over. The target was now five runs off three balls,and Shahzad and Swann sneaked away four of them. The tied result fourth in World Cups so far was probably meant to be,for it would have been hard to digest either Strausss best one-day knock,or Sachin Tendulkars 120 in the first innings (his record breaking fifth World Cup ton) ending up for a losing cause. Tendulkars 47th ODI ton and 98th including Tests came at greater than a run-a-ball,aided by two fifties by southpaws Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh. But from 305/3,India lost their last seven wickets for 23 runs to end up all out for 338 atleast 30 runs short of what they looked good for.

Right from the beginning of the second innings,Strauss irritated the Indian bowlers with his precise footwork and ability to meet the ball with the middle of his bat. He scored in front of the wicket mostly,while reserving those deft touches,sweeps and reverse sweeps for the spinners. Strauss reached his century from 99 balls for his first World Cup hundred,and to his credit never looked to throw his wicket away or run out of ideas to keep the scoreboard ticking,just under the required seven an over rate. His partnership with Bell flourished at an alarming rate.

It was a stand that should have never happened,though,if Bells walk back to the pavilion while on 17 is anything to go by. The TV replays showed that Yuvrajs lbw appeal against the right-hander was correct,as the ball was crashing onto the stumps. But umpire Billy Bowden though stuck with his original Not out decision,and Bell welcomed himself back with open arms. He would eventually walk back to the hut at the beginning of the batting powerplay after having added 52 more runs with his bat. But in a match that neither team deserved to lose,Bells hoick gone wrong ensured that neither would win either.