England vs India an ideal one dayer
Richard Dwight
The gripping outcome of the England vs India '50 Over' game which was
left tied on Sunday - was that it set the tone, standard and direction
for other equally competitive teams to follow. This does not suggest
that matches should end in a tie.
On the contrary, we are happily aware that a tie, is a few and far
between occurrence, a rare phenomenon. The thinking is that, all teams
that are highly competitive, must make good use of the 50 deliveries,
with result oriented purpose and meaning, so that the contests will be
very close to end decisively.
As we go over the tied match between two strong teams, India and
England, we stand impressed seeing them relentlessly pursuing each
other, with no quarter asked and no quarter given. India batting first
made a formidable match winning total of 338 (49.5), towards which
Tendulkar, who is synonymous with big scores scored a century, with
Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh scoring half centuries. England has a promising
consistent bowler in, Bresnan, who took 5 wickets for 48.
Chasing 338 in 50 overs was by no means easy for England. Many felt
that India could pull the game around. But little did they contend with,
skipper Andrew Strauss, who scored 158, Ian Bell 69 and Kevin Pietersen
31, for the score to stand at 285 for 5 with Zaheer Khan amongst the
wickets, and 53 runs to get for victory.
The match was evenly poised, with fortunes fluctuating from one side
to the other - with the middle order and tailenders failing on both
sides, England was left to get 2 runs from one ball, but they could only
manage one run and a fantastic everso thrilling match ended in a tie.
Both teams were equally matched, they gave as much as they got and
neither side deserved to lose. The tie seem to be the justifiable way
out.
Sri Lanka though not playing to their true potential, played well
against Pakistan to lose by 11 runs. If the World Cup matches are played
in this vein and tempo, then the crowds will flock in to take in the
excitement and thrills. |
