#rd ODI ,England’s innings:

England’s innings did not start well as they lost Strauss to a slower delivery from Irfan Pathan who got the batsman to edge a nick to Wicket keeper Dhoni. England think tank sent in Blackwell as the pinch hitter as they tried to score some runs quickly.


Blackwell announced his intentions on his arrival by scoring two quick boundaries but struggled to cope up with Irfan Pathan’s slower deliveries as he brilliantly bowled by Irfan Pathan with his slower delivery.


Shah who came in as next also did not last long as he was once again foxed by Pathan into drive which was brilliantly caught by Yuvraj Singh at point. Flintoff and Prior tried to break the shackles as they added 40 runs for the fourth wicket but a terrible misunderstanding between Flintoff and Prior resulted in Prior losing his wicket.


Flintoff was the next one to follow as he was once again lured into a drive by Powar as Flintoff was caught at deep midwicket by Sehwag. Solanki who came in as next also did not last long as he was caught by Yuvraj at midwicket of Harbhajan Singh.


Jones alongwith Collingwood tried to revive the England’s run chase with a 105 run partnership which included some outstanding shots played by Collingwood ended when Jones tried a big hit of Pathan which was easily pouched by Sehwag.


Collingwood singlehandedly tried to break the shackles but in vain as he was caught of a mishit of Harbhajan’s bowling,As England lost their eight wicket at 223.Agarkar cleaned up the tails with two reverse swinging Yorkers as England were all out for 245 to give India a three nil lead in this series

3 rd ODI,India's innings

Rahul Dravid won a good toss and rightly decided to bat on a good batting wicket.Gautam Gabhir was dropped and the Skipper Rahul Dravid himself came to bat with out of form Virender Sehwag. Sehwag cracked two boundaries as he showed glimpses of his past form .


But he was unable to show his class as he was bowled by Anderson for an individual score of 15 runs.Irfan Pathan was rightly promoted to no:3 as Indians were short of one batsman. Pathan and Dravid made a very sedate start to the innings as they accelerated the scoring rate steadily.

Just when seemed this pair would take India to a good score ,Dravid perished as he was bowled by Collingwood. Pathan also did not lost long as he once again fell to Flintoff.Kaif soon followed Pathan as he fell for a fourth duck in five innings as he was caught by Jones of Pulnkett.


At 130/4 India were in some sort of trouble as they were playing one batsman short with only Dhoni to come besides Yuvraj and Raina. England could had India in more trouble had not Jones missed an easy stumping chance of Raina who was playing for the turn.


Then it was only fours and sixes as Yuvraj Singh and Raina settled down nicely in the beginning and then started to play shots all around the park as the fifth wicket partnership between Raina and Yuvraj Singh added 143 runs between them .

Yuvraj Singh was the main destroyer as he hit 3 sixes and 10 fours in 103 runs knock from just 76 ballls.Raina played a more supporting role as he scored 61 runs from 76 balls which included a huge six of Blackwell.

Dhoni who was next to come was more aggressive as he scored 2 runs of a ball which was defelcted on to stumps by Jones as he run the first run hard as he still saw Jones on his kneeds he went for second run as he completed it neatly.

In the end ,India finished with a score of 294/6 as Indians pounded more than 104 runs from the last 10 overs.

2nd ODI INDIA VS ENGLAND

The second one day international match was played at Faridabad and once again Andrew Flintoff won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch which looked to be a spinners paradise.

England's innings:
England began on a slow note as they scored only 3 runs from the first 3 overs asSreesanth and Pathan bowled superbly to keep England scoring rate very tight.

Prior and Strauss then accelerated the scoring rate as England reached 44 for no loss at the end of ten overs.Harbhajan Singh who was introduced into the attack at the expense of Sreesanth drew the first blood when he trapped Prior LBW for 32.

Owasis was the next one to go as he was caught superbly by Dhoni who took a diving catch to give Ramesh Powar his first wicket in this one day international .


In between Strauss had his luck when Ramesh Powar dropped a sitter of his own bowling to give Strauss a life who was very tentative when the spin bowlers were introduced.

Pietersen also had his share of luck when he was dropped by Suresh Raina at long on when he was on 3.He cashed on it as he and Strauss forged a useful partnership in the middle .

Strauss after scoring his half century was not very careful as he ultimately lost his wicket when he was bowled by Ramesh Powar.

Flintoff who came in as next did not last too long as he was stumped by Dhoni of Ramesh Powar who claimed his third wicket as he finished with his best one day figures of 3 for 34.

Collingwood was the next one to go as he was superbly run out by Dhoni who ran to square leg and hit the stumps with only one wicket to aim as Pietersen watched helplessly from the other end .


Geriant Jones who came in as next provided good support as Pietersen did the bulk of scoring as he scored 13 runs from one over of Gautam Gambhir .

The very next over he thrashed a four and hit a huge six over the midwicket ,but Yuvraj came back superbly as Pietersen was deceived by Yuvraj as he spooned a simple catch to Dravid at Midwicket with the score reading at 193.

Blackwell who joined Jones scored some useful runs as England were dismissed for 226 .

India's innings:

India began the chasing on a good note as Sehwag and Gambhir put on 61 runs for the wicket as Flintoff delayed the second power play .Just when Sehwag looked for a big score he was bowled by Blackwell around the stumps as India lost it’s first wicket .Gambhir was the next one to go as his attemped pull found his top edge which safely carried to Anderson who calimed his first wicket.


Dravid was the next one to go as he was run out superbly by Collingwood as Dravid attempted to steal a single because of Jones direct hit at the stumps.Kaif who was short of confidence was the next one to go as his attemped to pull a ball which ultimately trapped him in the front of the wicket.

Yuvraj looked in good touch as he hit some delightful boundaries was the next one to go as he tried to cut a ball which was coming in as he was bowled by Blackwell who came for his second spell.


With the score at 92/5 the match surely looked to go in England’s way and it would have been more disaster had Anderson held on to difficult chance of his own bowling.Dhoni who came in as next adapted very well to the situation as he stoutly defended and forged a useful partnership as they scored of singles in the initial overs and scored boundaries as they settled in.


When Dhoni lost his wicket for 38 runs after he and Raina took India to Safety as India needed ony 17 runs to win the match with more than 4 wickets in hand.


Suresh Raina was superb as he scored most of his runs in the initial part of the innings in singles and opened up after reaching his fifty as finished unbeaten on 81 from 89 balls which also included a huge six of Blackwell over long on.As India reached the target with more than one over to spare.

1st ODI IND Vs ENGLAND

England captain Andrew Flintoff won the toss and decided to field first in the first oneday international match .Indian openers Sehwag and Gambhir began on a good note in their home ground but Sehwag once again got out to a rising delivery to give the initial advantage to England on a pitch which did not assist batting.

Dravid who came in as next was lucky as he was dropped of the very first ball he faced at slips by Owasis
Shah who failed to hold on a easy chance at the slips of Kabir Ali’s bowling.

Gambhir who was given an other chance in one day internationals found his form initially as he hit some beautiful shots on off side and he showed a lot of promise when he pulled a ball from Kabir Ali to Six over mid wicket.

Gambhir once again proved that he is not fit to make big scores when he edged an away going delivery to
Wicket keeper Geriant Jones. Yuvraj Singh who came in as next did not lost long as he dragged on a delivery from outside his off stump on to his stumps as India lost it’s third wicket in quick succession.


Kaif who came in as next also lost his wicket due to negligence as he was guilty of watching the ball as he responded to quick call from his captain for a quick single as it caught Kaif just short of his crease.

Dravid who was in very good touch and just when he set for a big score he was bowled as he responded late to a incoming delivery from Kabir Ali. As Dravid lost his wicket at the individual score of 33 ,as India looked in dire straits with the score on 92/5 with only Raina ,Dhoni,Pathan to come.

Pathan and Raina were involved in a fruitful partnership as just when they were looking set for a big score Raina chipped a shot to Pietersen at cover as India lost his sixth wicket. Dhoni who came in as next adapted very well to the situation as he did not look for big shots in his initial part of the innings.

Pathan who scored a delightful 28 also his lost wicket as he played a rash shot to leave India struggling .As Dhoni and Harbhajan came together to forge a partnership which took India to score of 200 with Harbhajan playing some superb shots much to the delight of crowd .Kabir Ali once again came good as he claimed two quick wickets in the end to dismiss India for the score of 203 with more than four overs remaining.

England's innings:

England began the chase of 203 on a very distratrous note as they lost Strauss to the first of the ball of the innings as Irfan Pathan deceived him with an away swinger.Shah who came in as next cracked a boundary of the very first ball he faced as looked in good form ,but Pathan striked back as he trapped Shah with an in swinger as England lost his second wicket in the very first over.

Prior and Pietersen who came in as next did the rescue attack as they played some attacking shots to force
Dravid to delay the second power play .Mathew Prior was unlucky to get out as he top edged a sweep to be only caught at Deep Square leg by Gambhir of Harbhajan Singh.

Flintoff who came in as next joined Pietersen in the middle to force India on a back foot as they attacked Indian bowlers with some brute force as England raised to 117 in 19 overs . Pietersen who was in very good
Form just when he looked well set for a half century a full toss from Yuvraj Singh did the trick as topedged a delivery to be caught at Deep Square leg by Gautam Gambhir.

The very next over Bhaji got into form as he trapped Flintoff in front of wicket as Once again an England batsman got out to sweep shot. Geriant Jones was the next one to go as he was bowled by an Harbhajan off spinner which spun sharply to hit Jones middle stump.

Collingwood who was the last recognized batsman also lost his wicket when Mohammed Kaif caught an absolute reflex catch to get rid of Collingwood .Blackwell was the next one to go as he was caught at deep midwicket near the boundary line by Gambhir.

Kabir Ali was the next one to go as he was trapped by Yuvraj in front of the wicket as India raised away to victory.Anderson and Plunkett tried to forge a partnetnership but it was too much late as the England innings folded at 164 when he edged a delivery from Pathan to Dhoni.