4th ODI: Ind v. WI: Rain Abandons final ODI, India win ODI Series!

The fourth and final ODI match between India and West Indies in St. Lucia was abandoned due to rain. The match was delayed for few minutes due to rain and the overs were reduced to 49 overs a side.

It was a crucial match for West Indies as they were struggling 1-2 in the 4 match series. The rain played the spoil sport as the match did not continue after 7.3 overs.

This gave India 2-1 win in the series.

Scoreboard:

Match # 4
Date: Sunday July 5, 2009
Teams: India v. West Indies
Captains: Dhoni and Gayle
Toss: India, decided to field
Venue: Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Result: Match Abandoned due to Rain
Series Result: India win the series 2-1
Man of the Match: -
Man of the Series: MS Dhoni off India

West Indies Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Gayle	c Dhoni b I Sharma	0	2	0	0
RS Mortan	not out	12	22	0	0
R Sarwan	not out	12	22	0	0
Extras	(lb 1, w 1, nb 1)	3	-	-	-
Total	for 1 wkts in 7.3 overs	27	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Gayle, 0.2 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
I Sharma	4	0	17	1
A Nehra	3.3	1	9	0

5th ODI: Ind v. NZ: Consolation Win for NZ!

Finally the Kiwis tasted victory in the ODI series, though they have won the T20 series 2-0. In the 4th ODI presentation ceremony, Vettori said, a win in the final ODI would equal the 3-3 though they are different versions of the game--T20 (2 win for NZ) and ODI (3 win for India and 1 win for NZ).

It happened as he wished and he could pat his back for this victory, but as per statistics and records, India have won the series 3-1 with one match abandoned. This is the first series win for Indian against New Zealand in New Zealand soil.

India have never won an ODI series in New Zealand. The best they've managed are draws in 1993-94 and 1998-99.

Winning the toss and batting first, Sehwag and Gambhir opened the innings. Sachin did not play in the match due to his stomach injury. India just made 149 in 36.3 overs. The batsmen were not able to consume the full quota of 43 overs.

Rohit Sharma was the top scorer with 43 runs off 74 balls. He completely turned the match in favor of the kiwis when he ran out both Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh. Though they were not professional batters, at that stage it was important to retain wickets to ensure that India bat the full 43 overs. The attempted run was indeed not required because they went straight to fielders.

Though Praveen Kumar picked McCullum for 2 in the third over, Ryder and Guptill made it easy for the kiwis. They played good shots and both of them scored 50. Ryder was bowled by Ishanth Sharma in the 15th over for 63. It came off just 49 balls with 6 fours and four sixes. Guptill made unbeaten 57 off 50 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes.

Scoreboard:

Tour: India to New Zealand
Series: ODI
Match #: 5
Date: Saturday March 14, 2009
Venue: Auckland
Captains: Daniel Vettori (NZ) and MS Dhoni (Ind)
Umpires: GAV Baxter and RE Koertzen; EA Watkin-third umpire
Toss: India won the toss and decided to bat
Match: New Zealand won by 8 wickets with 19.4 overs remaining
Man of the Match: Ryder off New Zealand
Additional Information: Match was reduced to 43 overs a side due to rain and delayed start.

India 149 all out in 36.3 overs (Gambhir caught McGlashan bowled Mills 5, V Sehwag caught McCullum bowled Oram 40, Raina caught Styris bowled Oram 8, Rohit Sharma not out 43, Yuvaraj caught McGlashan bowled Ryder 11, Dhoni bowled Ryder 9, Yousuf Pathan bowled Ryder 0, Harbhajan Singh run out (Vettori/Oram) 1, Zaheer Khan run out (Oram/Vettori) 5, Praveen Kumar caught McGlashan bowled O'Brien 6, Ishanth Sharma caught Taylor bowled O'Brien 3, Extras--18 (lb 9, w 9), KD Mills 7-0-27-1, IE O'Brien 7.3-0-43-2, JPD Oram 9-0-22-2, JD Ryder 9-0-29-3, DL Vettori 4-0-19-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-30 (Gambhir, 4.5 ov), 2-65 (Raina, 9.4 ov), 3-69 (Sehwag, 11.5 ov), 4-88 (Yuvraj Singh, 18.5 ov), 5-110 (Dhoni, 24.2 ov), 6-111 (Pathan, 24.6 ov), 7-116 (Harbhajan Singh, 27.3 ov), 8-131 (Khan, 31.2 ov), 9-143 (Kumar, 34.4 ov), 10-149 (I Sharma, 36.3 ov)

New Zealand 151 for 2 in 23.2 overs (JD Ryder bowled Ishanth Sharma 63, BB McCullum bowled Praveen Kumar 2, MJ Guptill 57 not out, LRPL Taylor 28 not out, Extras--1 (w 1), Praveen Kumar 4-0-22-1, Zaheer Khan 8-0-51-0, Ishanth Sharma 7.2-1-63-1, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-15-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-9 (McCullum, 2.2 ov), 2-93 (Ryder, 14.6 ov)

4th ODI: Ind v NZ: Sehwag demolishes Kiwis! India Wins First ODI Series Win!

Firing century by Sehwag help India seal the series 3-0 in the 5-match series. This was the fastest century by Indian. His century came off 60 balls with a huge six off Vettori over long-off.

This is one of the peculiar wins in cricket history. Normally, the team batting first win by runs and the team batting second win by wickets and balls remaining. In this case, batting second, India beat New Zealand by 84 runs using D/L method.

Ryder and McCullum put a 102-run first wicket partnership with McCullum scoring half-century. Two quick break-throughs provided by Ishanth Sharma created chance for India to come back. Going at good run rate at 114 for 23 overs, they stumbled to 175 for 5 in 37 overs.

McGlashan and Elliott played beautifully which helped NZ to add 95 runs in the last 10 overs. McGlashan scored unbeaten 56 off 42 balls with 6 fours and a six. Elliott scored 35 off 27 balls with 3 fours and a six.

Ishanth Sharma came back in place of Munaf Patel. Sachin was rested due to stomach injury and Rohit Sharma was given a chance.

India were set a target of 281 in 47 overs based on D/L method. Though the kiwis scored only 270, as per Duckworth-Lewis method, India had all the 10 wickets in hand full 47 overs.

But India had a firing start with Sehwag punishing every bowler. He reached his 50 in 31 balls with 8 fours and a six. O'Brien went for 37 runs in 3 overs and Thompson went for 42 in his 4 overs.

Gambhir scored unbeaten 63 in 67 balls with 6 fours. Sehwas reached his 100 in 60 balls with 13 fours and 4 sixes. India were 201 for no loss in 23.3 overs when rain stopped play. India has to score 117 to be in par but were 201. So, India beat NZ by 84 runs.

No discussion in deciding the man of the match--the sole winner of the match Sehwag was given the award.

Scoreboard:

Tour: India to New Zealand
Series: ODI
Match #: 4
Date: Wednesday March 11, 2009
Venue: Hamilton
Captains: Daniel Vettori (NZ) and MS Dhoni (Ind)
Umpires: GAV Baxter and RE Koertzen; EA Watkin-third umpire
Toss: NZ won the toss and decided to bat
Match: India won by 84 runs
Man of the Match: Virendra Sehwag off India
Series: India lead the 5 match series 3-0 with one match abandoned
Additional Information: Match was reduced to 47 overs when rain interrupted twice in NZ innings. India was set 281 (11 runs higher than what NZ scored) in 47 overs. When rain stopped play, India needed 117 to be at par but India were 201 for no wicket.

New Zealand 270 for 5 in 47 overs (JD Ryder caught Raina bowled Yuvaraj Singh 46, BB McCullum LBW Z Khan 77, LRPL Taylor caught Rohit Sharma bowled Yousuf Pathan 5, MJ Guptill caught sub Karthik bowled I Sharma 25, JDP Oram caught Dhoni bowled I Sharma 1, PD McGlashan 56 not out, GD Elliott 35 not out, Extras--25 (lb 9, w 13, nb 3), Zaheer Khan 10-0-49-1, Praveen Kumar 7-0-51-0, Ishanth Sharma 8-0-57-2, Yuvaraj 9-0-40-1, Yousuf Pathan 5-0-14-1, Harbhajan Singh 8-0-50-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-102 (Ryder, 19.1 ov), 2-114 (Taylor, 22.5 ov), 3-155 (McCullum, 33.4 ov), 4-156 (Oram, 34.1 ov), 5-175 (Guptill, 36.5 ov)

India 201 for no loss in 23.3 overs (Gambhir 63 not out, V Sehwag 125 not out, Extras--13 (lb 9, w 4), KD Mills 5-0-29-0, EP Thompson 4-0-42-0, IE O'Brien 3-0-37-0, DL Vettori 5-0-32-0, JPD Oram 4.3-0-43-0, GD Elliott 2-0-9-0)

5th ODI: Ind v. Eng: Sehwag put India 5-0 Up!

In the 5th ODI played in Kanpur, India beat England one more time and lead the series 5-0. With two more matches to go, England has to find some tactics to handle the Indians.

Kevin Pietersen was surprised when Dhoni elected to field and expressed it during the interview after the toss.

Cook replaced Bell and opened the innings with Bopara. England started slowly and also lost wickets in between. Kevin Pietersen played a captain's innings and scored an unbeaten 111 off 128 balls with 10 fours and a six. He built a good 89-run partnership of with Collingwood and took the score to 157 at the end of 30 overs. Flintoff out for a duck on the third ball he faced. He was caught by Tendulkar of Ishanth Sharma. Pietersen then built another partnership with with Shah (66 not out) took the score to 270.

Once though to be a 300+ score was restricted by the Indian bowlers who really bowled well. The spinners curtailed and in the later overs, the pace bowlers helped India to have a reasonable target.

Chase started with Sehwag and Tendulkar opening the innings. Gambhir was given rest and replaced by Rohit Sharma. Tendulkar and Sehwag added another 100-run partnership to their list of partnership. They added 136 runs for the first wicket with Sachin bowled one more time between the bat and pad. He scored his 90th fifty.

Sehwag was smashing the ball to boundaries at the other end. He reached his 33rd ODI fifty in just 41 balls with 10 fours and a six. He hit 20 runs of Swann's first over which included 3 fours, a six and a two.

Yuvaraj was promoted to No. 3, but could not stay in the crease for long. He checked his shot of the ball pitched on middle and gave a return catch to Bopara. Sehwag got out in the next next ball, unlucky to be given leg before. The ball was clearly missing the leg stump but Broad was lucky to get the wicket.

Dhoni and Rain scored fifty each and took the score closer to the target. Dhoni was leg before to Swann, but Rain and Rohit completed the formalities with 6.2 overs to spare.

Sehwag was declared man of the match for his swashbuckling innings of 91 in 72 balls with 15 fours and a six.

Scoreboard:

Match: 5th ODI
Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
Teams: India and England
Captains: MS Dhoni and Kevin Pietersen
Toss: India won the toss and decided to field
Match Result: India won by 6 wickets with 38 balls remaining
Series Result: India leading by 5-0
Man of the Match: Virendera Sehwag (India)

England 270 for 4 in 50 overs (RS Bopara 24, AN Cook 11, KP Pietersen 111 not out, PD Collingwood 40, A Flintoff 0, OA Shah 66 not out, Extras--18 (lb 14, w 4), Irfan Pathan 10-1-57-0, Zaheer 10-1-60-2, Ishanth Sharma 10-0-54-1, Harbahajan 10-0-47-1, Yuvaraj Singh 10-0-38-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-33 (Cook, 5.5 ov), 2-68 (Bopara, 9.5 ov), 3-157 (Collingwood, 29.6 ov), 4-158 (Flintoff, 30.4 ov)

India 273 for 4 in 43.4 overs (Sehwag 91, Tendulkar 50, Yuvaraj Singh 6, Dhoni 50, Raina 53 not out, Rohit Sharma 8 not out, Extras--15 (lb 5, w 8, nb 2), Harmison 10-1-50-1, Broad 8.4-0-54-1, Flintoff 9-0-43-0, Patel 3-0-23-0, Swann 7-0-56-1, Bopara 6-1-42-1)

Fall of Wickets: 1-136 (Tendulkar, 19.5 ov), 2-156 (Yuvraj Singh, 22.6 ov), 3-156 (Sehwag, 23.1 ov), 4-250 (Dhoni, 40.6 ov)

4th ODI: Ind v. Eng: India win series, up 4-0!

India beat England in the crucial 4th ODI by 19 runs and lead the 7-match series by 4-0. England has to play for pride in the next three ODI matches as the result has no impact on the series.

The weather forecast indicated rain though the match was started on time. India opened with Sehwag and Sachin after put into bat by Pietersen.

Sachin was bowled through a beauty by Broad. The ball pitched on the off, came in, Tendulkar missed the line and the off stump was knocked out.

The rain stopped play at the end of 14 overs. At the time, India were 82 for 1 with Sehwag on 45 and Gambhir on 23. After bowling one more over, the confusion started with the power play overs that should be decided by India. As per D/L method, the power play was over for India and they couldn't chose their powerplay overs. What a stupid logic? The match was reduced by 6 overs.

Again at the end of 17 overs, rain intervened when India were 106 for 1. The play was stopped for almost 3 hours. When the play resumed, the match was reduced to 22 overs a side.

If India scores another 38 runs in the 5 remaining overs, regardless of the wickets lost by India, England's target would be 181 in 22 overs as per D/L method.

In the last 5 overs, India scored 60 runs and set a target of 198 in 22 overs. Yuvaraj Singh hammered 25 off just 11 balls with 3 sixes. While Pathan hit a six off the last ball. Sehwag was out for 69 in the 18th over. He consumed just 57 balls and hit 9 fours and 3 sixes.

What a strange rule? The batting team scores 166 and set a target of 198!

England did not do well in the power play. At the end of 6 overs, they were 38 for 1. The Indian bowlers restricted England very well.

Shah tried from one end to take England closer to the target, but the brilliant effort was curtailed by short of overs. He scored 72 off 48 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes before caught by Tendulkar of Zaheer.

Flintoff, though scored 41 off 30 balls which included 3 fours and a six, could not do much except play out the crucial overs in the middle than scoring fours and sixes. His scoring came in the 2 power play overs chose by England.

Sehwag was given the bike for the man of the match award for his firing 69. With this victory, India win the series regardless of what happens in the remaining 3 matches. Sure that India will rest some of the fast bowlers and key players and give chance to others.

Scoreboard:

Match: 4th ODI
Venue: Chinnasamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Teams: India and England
Captains: MS Dhoni and Kevin Pietersen
Toss: England won the toss and decided to field
Match Result: India won by 19 runs by D/L method
Series Result: India leading by 4-0
Man of the Match: Virendera Sehwag (India)
Overs: Match was stopped twice due to rain; first time, the match was reduced by 6 overs and the next time, the match was reduced to 22 overs a side

India 166 for 4 in 22 overs (Sehwag 69, Sachin 11, Gambhir 40, Yuvaraj 25 not out, MS Dhoni 9, Y Pathan 6 not out, Extras--6 (b 1, lb 1, w 4), Anderson 5-0-33-0, Broad 6-1-49-1, Flintoff 5-0-20-0, Patel 3-0-24-0, Swann 2-0-21-2, Pietersen 1-0-17-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-38 (Tendulkar, 7.5 ov), 2-117 (Sehwag, 18.1 ov), 3-142 (Gambhir, 20.2 ov), 4-160 (Dhoni, 21.5 ov)

England 178 for 8 in 22 overs (India won by D/L Method: Target 198 in 22 overs)(Bopara 1, Bell 12, Shah 72, Pietersen 5, Flintoff 41, Collingwood 22, Patel 11, Swann 5, Prior 0 not out, Broad 0 not out, Extras--9 (b 3, lb 2, w 3, nb 1), Zaheer Khan 5-0-20-2, Munaf Patel 4-1-22-2, I Shrama 5-0-41-2, Yusuf Pathan 1-0-17-0, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-42-1, Yuvaraj Singh 3-0-31-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-1 (Bopara, 1.2 ov), 2-44 (Bell, 7.4 ov), 3-52 (Pietersen, 8.5 ov), 4-134 (Shah, 16.5 ov), 5-141 (Flintoff, 17.4 ov), 6-161 (Patel, 19.6 ov), 7-178 (Swann, 21.4 ov), 8-178 (Collingwood, 21.5 ov)

England in India 2008

The England Tour to India between November and December of 2008 is covered here with match analysis, scoreboards, and pictures! Hope you enjoy them!

Match Report of Practice Games:

Practice Game 1: England v. Mumbai XI
Practice Game 2: England v. Mumbai Cricket Association XI

Match Report of ODIs:

ODI 1: India v. England
ODI 2: India v. England
ODI 3: India v. England
ODI 4: India v. England
ODI 5: India v. England
ODI 6: India v. England
ODI 7: India v. England

Still more to come!