India and England tie World Cup thriller, share points
India and England set alight the World Cup after a record-breaking run-feast ended with a dramatic tie off the last ball in their Group B ICC Cricket World Cup match at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Sunday.
India appeared to have set a daunting 339-run winning target in the Group B match but England kept cool and were coasting towards victory as they eased to 281-2, thanks largely to a classy 158 from skipper Andrew Strauss.
However, when England opted to play their powerplay from the 42nd over, Zaheer Khan produced a superb bowling spell to take three wickets in six balls to revive the home team’s fortunes.
Needing 14 to win off pace bowler Munaf Patel’s last over, Ajmal Shahzad brought England right back into contention after blasting a huge six that had Strauss leaping off his seat in the pavilion.
The electrifying match went down to the last ball with England two runs short of their victory target. Graeme Swann nudged the ball to mid-off to secure the tie — a result that was loudly cheered by all those lucky enough to witness one of the best ever ODIs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“In some ways we’re happy and in some ways we’re distraught. A great game of cricket,” man-of-the-match Strauss said during the presentation ceremony.
“You back yourself to play better than that (in the powerplay). We lost (Ian) Bell and myself which is the last thing you want and that put pressure on the batsmen coming in.
“In some ways we’re disappointed but in some ways we’re privileged to play in a game like that.
“Some good performances, some less so.”
His India counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni added: “At the end of the day, I’m happy with a tie.
“With just two wickets down (after 42 overs) … it was getting pretty difficult for the bowlers and Zak (Khan) came in and bowled a really good spell and brought us back into the game. Otherwise it would have been done by 48 overs.”
Earlier India’s total revolved largely around Sachin Tendulkar’s (120) 47th one-day international century and a record fifth in World Cups.
In reply, England’s run-chase was set well on its way helped by Strauss’s sweetly-timed knock, the first century by an English captain in a World Cup.
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