Sport
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Cricket
England has the last laugh
Harbhajan Singh gladly accepts the return catch offered by Marcus Trescothick who made a gallant 95. The Sardar claimed five wickets.
By G. Viswanath
MUMBAI, FEB. 3. Sourav Ganguly's best effort in a crunch match was not enough to win the sixth and final one-day international and the LG Cup for India. He made his bat talk, but it was the England captain Nasser Hussain who had the last laugh.
England pipped India by five runs in a cracker of a finish at the Wankhede on Sunday night. India required 11 runs off the last over, but did not have the wherewithal to realise it.
The outcome of the match left the scores deadlocked at 3-3, a just reflection of the closeness of the six-match series. Match Referee Denis Lindsay adjudged Marcus Trescothick, who made 95, the `Man of the Match' and Sachin Tendulkar the `Man of the series'.
Ganguly has not often been referred to as the `Prince of Kolkata' or the `Roaring Tiger from Bengal' in recent times, but on the last day of England's tour of India, the Indian captain was determined to play a `guts and glory' knock and regain his reputation. Ganguly's essay was quite calculated after the ninth-over dismissal of hometown boy Sachin Tendulkar. It lasted under the brilliant lights for more than two hours.
When he departed, a specialist batsman and the lower order were left to make 64 runs off 79 balls. But in the end India failed to live up to the task.
Ganguly had struck form in the fifth match at the Kotla, and he continued it at the Wankhede. He appeared to be carrying more than a niggle in his hamstring, but took singles and twos and any extra run that came India's way. He struck four expansive 4s, but what excited the crowd were the four 6s he lifted off Andrew Caddick, Darren Gough, Ashley Giles and Michael Vaughan.
There was the usual pyrotechnical display by Virender Sehwag, who helped his captain raise 52 for the second wicket. Their partnership sustained the tempo. Afterwards Ganguly forged partnerships with Dinesh Mongia (67 for the third) and with Mohammad Kaif (36 for the fourth). After coming down the pitch to hit a few stunning shots, Ganguly was bowled off his body and bat, while trying to sweep Giles. He left the field frustrated at not being able to finish a job he was determined to carry out.
Earlier, Harbhajan Singh, unfairly dropped from the previous skirmish at the Kotla, weaved a magical mid-innings spell to check England's roaring innings. But after the completion of his on-the-trot spell of 10 overs, in which he took his first five-wicket haul in limited-overs cricket, the visitors managed to set a target of 256, with Andrew Flintoff's power-packed shots scripting a splendid rearguard action. England made 255 in five balls short of 50 overs.
The day's play began with a near full house at the Wankhede. Nasser Hussain won the toss and elected to bat and had to come in at the fall of the first wicket off the last ball of the first over delivered by Javagal Srinath. The England captain ought to have come in on the second ball itself, but Hemang Badani failed to complete a catch he appeared to have held.
Trescothick rides his luck
Marcus Trescothick, who was the lucky one, made sure he made the most of the `life'. He hammered a strokeful 95, driving the speedsters and spinners high over the field and cutting and pulling them with disdain.
Hussain enjoyed slices of luck, but then he and Trescothick did not hide their intentions of not inhibiting themselves. After the first-over dismissal of Nick Knight, the second-wicket pair made 87, the left-right combination packing quite a punch in their shots.
Hussain fell to a pull shot off his counterpart, the catch held in the deep by Harbhajan. It was a lucky wicket when the England captain was in full flow. Ganguly picked up another wicket, when wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra, standing up to the stumps, removed the bails to herald the departure of Michael Vaughan.
The dismissals of Hussain and Vaughan was a setback, though Trescothick appeared solid and sure in executing his shots all round the wicket. All the action started after Harbhajan replaced Anil Kumble at the pavilion end.
Harbhajan strikes
In less than a quarter of an hour, England's innings slipped from a formidable 172 for three to 174 for seven with Harbhajan taking the wickets of Graham Thorpe, Paul Collingwood, Marcus Trescothick and Ashley Giles. He completed his fine performance dismissing James Foster.
Flintoff, surprisingly sent in at No. 7, batted sensibly, hitting the ball hard and long whenever the opportunity arose. His 79-minute stay ensured that England would finish at a 250 plus total.
The match was witnessed by nearly 40,000 spectators, including quite a few VVIPs. The Governor, Mr P.C. Alexander, the Chief Minister, Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh, Mr. Sharad Pawar, Union Ministers Mr Pramod Mahajan, Mr Manohar Joshi and Mr Suresh Prabhu, and Laloo Prasad Yadav were notable among those present.
The scores:
England: M. Trescothick c & b Harbhajan 95, N. Knight c Ratra b Srinath 0, N. Hussain c Harbhajan b Ganguly 41, M. Vaughan st. Ratra b Ganguly 16, G. Thorpe st. Ratra b Harbhajan 6, P. Collingwood c Sehwag b Harbhajan 2, A. Flintoff c Agarkar b Srinath 40, A. Giles c Sehwag b Harbhajan 0, J. Foster c & b Harbhajan 13, A. Caddick c Kumble b Tendulkar 7, D. Gough (not out) 16. Extras (b-2, lb-3, w-14): 19. Total (49. 1 overs) 255.
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-88, 3-153, 4-172, 5-173, 6-174, 7-174, 8-205, 9-218.
India bowling: Srinath 7.1-0-37-2, Agarkar 5-0-47-0, Kumble 10-0-43-0, Ganguly 8-0-40-2, Harbhajan 10-1-43-5, Tendulkar 7-0-30-1, Badani 2-0-10-0.
India: V. Sehwag c Thorpe b Caddick 31, S. Tendulkar c Foster b Gough 12, S. Ganguly b Giles 80, D. Mongia st. Foster b Vaughan 35, M. Kaif c Hussain b Flintoff 20, H. Badani (not out) 27, A. Ratra c Giles b Vaughan 8, A. Agarkar c Foster b Caddick 0, Harbhajan Singh c Collingwood b Flintoff 5, A. Kumble (run out) 5, J. Srinath b Flintoff 0. Extras (b-1, lb-10, w-11, nb-5): 27 Total (49.5 overs) 250.
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-88, 3-155, 4-191, 5-206, 6-224, 7-224, 8-238.
England bowling: Caddick 10-1-61-2, Gough 10-0-56-1, Flintoff 9.5-1-38-3, Giles 10-0-47-1, Vaughan 10-1-37-2.
A jubilant England team poses for lensmen after beating India and levelling the series in Mumbai on Sunday. _ Photos: Vivek Bendre
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