Rain, India leave England D(hon)isappointed

India made just one change to their playing eleven – Rohit (Shar)made way for Sachin Tendulkar. England made no changes to their playing eleven.

On winning the toss, Pietersen, England’s skipper, (Kev)inserted the hosts, who scored 38. Tendulkar, whose 21-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 11. Forty-seven balls later, Stuart Broad broke the 38-run stand.

India scored 50 off 9.2 overs (57 balls). England had conceded a couple of extras at that point. The second fielding Powerplay of India’s innings was between the 11^th and the 14^th over.

Seventy-seven balls into the match, the first drinks break was taken. India had scored 79 for the loss of a wicket at that point. While Virender Sehwag, the player of the match, was batting on 43, Gautam Gambhir was batting on 22.

Fourteen overs into the match, there was an interruption due to rain. India had scored 82 for the loss of a wicket at that point. While Sehwag was batting on 45, Gambhir was batting on 23.  The match was reduced to a 44-overs-a-side match.

The second fielding Powerplay of India’s innings was between the 14^th and the 17^th over. The second-wicket pair put on 50 off 42 balls. While Sehwag’s contribution to the partnership was 20, Gambhir’s contribution to it was 28. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was a couple.

Sehwag’s half-century – which included eight boundaries and a six – came off 48 balls. India scored 100 off 16 overs (98 balls). England had conceded three extras at that point.

Seventeen overs into the match, there was an interruption due to rain, which resulted in a wet ground. India had scored 106 for the loss of a wicket at that point. While Sehwag was batting on 61, Gambhir was batting on 30.  The match was reduced to a 22-overs-a-side match.

Sehwag, whose 57-ball innings included nine boundaries and three sixes, eventually scored 69. Sixty-two balls after Tendulkar’s dismissal, he was caught by James Anderson. Graeme Swann broke the 79-run partnership.

Gambhir, whose 37-ball innings included seven boundaries, eventually scored 40. Thirteen balls later, he was caught by Anderson. Swann broke the 25-run stand.

India scored 150 off 20.5 overs (129 balls). England had conceded half-a-dozen extras at that point. Yuvraj Singh, whose 11-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 25. He was unbeaten.

Mahendra Singh, India’s skipper, scoreD(ho)nine. His five-ball innings included a six. Nine balls after Gambhir’s dismissal, Samit Patel broke the 18-run stand. Yusuf Pathan, who faced a ball, scored half-a-dozen. He was unbeaten.

England eventually conceded half-a-dozen extras. India scored 166 for the loss of four wickets off 22 overs. Pietersen, who bowled a wicketless over, conceded 17. Anderson and Andrew Flintoff bowled five wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 33, the latter conceded 20.

Samit, who bowled three overs, conceded 24. He picked up a wicket, as was Broad, who bowled half-a-dozen overs, including a maiden. He conceded 49. Swann, who bowled a couple of overs, conceded 21. He picked up a couple of scalps.

England’s target was revised to 198 off 22 overs. Ravi Bopara had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored just a run. Eight balls into the match, he was caught by Ishant Sharma. Munaf Patel broke the one-run stand.

The second fielding Powerplay of England’s innings was between the fifth and the sixth over. Ian Bell, whose 15-ball innings included a boundary, scored a dozen. Thirty-eight balls later, Harbhajan Singh broke the 43-run partnership.

England scored 50 off 8.2 overs (51 balls). India had conceded a couple of extras at that point. Owais Shah’s half-century – which included nine boundaries and a six – came off 35 balls.

Pietersen, whose run-a-ball innings included a boundary, scored five. Sharma had a reason to be in seventh heaven – he broke the eight-run stand.

England scored 100 off 13 overs (80 balls). India had conceded three extras at that point. The fourth-wicket put on 50 off 27 balls. While Shah’s contribution to the partnership was 29, Flintoff’s contribution to it was 22. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was a run.

Sixteen overs into the match, the first drinks break was taken. England had scored 131 for the loss of three wickets at that point. While Shah was batting on 71, Flintoff was batting on 37. The second fielding Powerplay of England’s innings was between the 17^th and the 18^th over.

Shah, whose 48-ball innings included nine boundaries and three sixes, eventually scored 72. Forty-eight balls after Pietersen’s dismissal, he was caught by Tendulkar. Zaheer Khan broke the 82-run partnership.

Flintoff, whose 30-ball innings included three boundaries and a six, eventually scored 41. Five balls later, he was caught by Khan. Needless to say, Sharma was in seventh heaven.

England scored 150 off 18.4 overs (114 balls). India had conceded five extras at that point. Samit, whose nine-ball innings included a boundary, scored 11. Fourteen balls later, he was caught by Gambhir. Khan broke the 20-run stand.

The seventh-wicket pair put on 17. Swann, whose four-ball innings included a boundary, scored five. Ten balls later, Munaf ran him out. The eighth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Paul Collingwood, whose 14-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 22. The next ball, he was caught by Tendulkar off the bowling of Patel.

Matt Prior, who didn’t face a ball, was unbeaten, as was Broad, who faced a ball, failing to open his account. India eventually conceded nine extras. England, who scored 178 for the loss of eight wickets off 22 overs, lost by 19 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Pathan, who bowled an over, conceded 17. He was wicketless, as was Yuvraj, who bowled three overs, conceding 31. Harbhajan, who bowled four overs, conceded 42. He picked up a wicket.

Munaf bowled four overs, including a maiden. He conceded 22, picking up two wickets. Sharma and Khan bowled five overs apiece, picking up a couple of scalps apiece. While the former conceded 41, the latter conceded 20. 

India led the seven-match series 4-0. In fact, they won the series with three matches to spare.