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| October 16, 2006 | Monday | Ramazan 22, 1427 |
India struggle for win in low-scoring clash
JAIPUR, Oct 15: Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan shared five wickets in their incisive opening spells to set up India's four-wicket win over a fighting England in the ICC Champions Trophy match on Sunday.
Fast bowler Patel grabbed three wickets and left-arm seamer Pathan two as England crashed to their lowest-ever total of 125 against India after being put in to bat in the opening Group-A league match.
England's previous lowest against India in One-day Internationals was 149 in a World Championship match at Sydney in 1985.
England then bowled brilliantly to make India struggle to achieve a modest 126-run target, with pacemen Steve Harmison and James Anderson, and off-spinner Jamie Dalrymple grabbing two wickets apiece.
Anderson removed pinch-hitter Pathan and skipper Rahul Dravid in the space of four balls and Dalrymple dismissed Mahendra Dhoni and Suresh Raina in the space of three balls to give a few anxious moments to India.
The hosts eventually emerged winners with 20.3 overs to spare, with Yuvraj Singh (27 not out) completing the job under lights to the delight of a sizeable holiday crowd.
Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, making a record 368th appearance in One-day Internationals, made a 41-ball 35 before being trapped leg-before to become Harmison's second victim.
“We lost a couple of wickets in the end unnecessarily, but we are happy to start the tournament with a victory under our belt,” said Dravid.
A dismal batting performance sealed England's fate, with none crossing the 40-mark. All-rounder Paul Collingwood top-scored with 38, followed by Ashes hero Kevin Pietersen (27) and Dalrymple (24).
Man-of-the-Match Patel and Pathan needed less than 13 overs of disciplined pace to put pressure on a new-look England batting order, reducing the tourists to 27-4 to ensure their team did not chase a stiff target.
“My aim was to bowl in the right areas and it paid off. But I must admit that I got good support from Pathan at the other end,” said Patel.
England could never recover from a hat-trick of lbws, with Ian Bell, skipper Andrew Flintoff and Michael Yardy failing to reach double-figures.
Patel finished with a career-best haul of 3-18, while left-arm seamer Pathan bagged 2-20 after being out of form since the West Indies tour in May.
Off-spinner Ramesh Powar grabbed three of the last five wickets to finish with 3-24, his best in One-day Internationals.
“We have got to learn from today and come back stronger in the remaining two games. I am pleased with the way we bowled and pegged them back in the end,” said Flintoff.
India, under pressure after winning just two of their last nine one-dayers, were fortunate to run into an England side struggling in the shorter version of the game in recent months.
England had caved in even before Dravid introduced his spinners, who were expected to play a key role in the contest. Off-spinners Harbhajan Singh and Powar came in to bowl after England were wobbling at 55-5.
England, missing key batsmen Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick, were jolted in the fourth over when make-shift opener Bell was trapped leg-before by Patel. The tourists suffered a big blow when Flintoff fell for a duck in his first match in six months due to an ankle injury. The England skipper promoted himself in the batting order, but could last just seven balls.
Scoreboard
ENGLAND:
A.J. Strauss c Dravid b Pathan 10
I.R. Bell lbw b Patel 4
A. Flintoff lbw b Pathan 0
M.H. Yardy lbw b Patel 4
K.P. Pietersen c Tendulkar b Patel 27
P.D. Collingwood c Dhoni b Powar 38
J.W.M. Dalrymple c Dravid b Powar 24
C.M.W. Read c Pathan b Harbhajan 2
S.I. Mahmood c Harbhajan b Powar 8
S.J. Harmison not out 2
J.M. Anderson run out 1
EXTRAS (LB-2, W-2, NB-1) 5
TOTAL (all out, 37 overs) 125
FALL OF WKTS: 1-10, 2-11, 3-17, 4-27, 5-55, 6-104, 7-107, 8-119, 9-124.
BOWLING: Irfan Pathan 8-3-20-2 (1w); Munaf Patel 8-2-18-3; Agarkar 5-0-34-0 (1w); Harbhajan Singh 8-0-27-1 (1nb); Powar 8-1-24-3.
INDIA:
V. Sehwag c Strauss b Harmison 9
S.R. Tendulkar lbw b Harmison 35
Irfan Pathan c Pietersen b Anderson 19
R. Dravid c Strauss b Anderson 4
Yuvraj Singh not out 27
M.S. Dhoni c Collingwood b Dalrymple 7
S.K. Raina b Dalrymple 0
Harbhajan Singh not out 6
EXTRAS (LB-7, W-11, NB-1) 19
TOTAL (for six wkts, 29.3 overs) 126
FALL OF WKTS: 1-18, 2-68, 3-72, 4-98, 5-119, 6-119.
DID NOT BAT: A.B. Agarkar, R.R. Powar, Munaf Patel.
BOWLING: Anderson 7-1-40-2 (1w); Harmison 6-0-34-2 (1nb, 8w); Mahmood 8.3-0-30-0 (2w); Yardy 4-0-10-0; Dalrymple 4-0-5-2.
RESULT: India won by four wickets.
UMPIRES: D.J. Harper and S.J.A. Taufel (both Australia).
TV UMPIRE: B.F. Bowden (New Zealand).
MATCH REFEREE: J.J. Crowe (New Zealand).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Munaf Patel.
NEXT MATCH: South Africa v New Zealand at Mumbai on Monday.—AFP
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