India's big guns silence England

The moment of this one-sided Indian romp came soon after Kevin Pietersen was dismissed with England still more than 200 short of an unattainable target. Run-outs can be infuriating, even more so when you've proceeded serenely to 63, but as Pietersen climbed the steps to the pavilion and made his way towards the English viewing area, he briefly reached out to ruffle Yuvraj Singh's hair. After having pulled a muscle in his back while flailing the bowlers for an unbeaten 138 from just 78 balls, Yuvraj was having a rest, but the little gesture meant a lot after the bad blood, malice and petty sniping that had soured the Australian tour. It was a reminder that, as seriously as we sometimes take it, it's only a game.

That doesn't mean, however, that Pietersen won't be livid with the manner in which England bowled and batted. On a ground with boundaries as short as a '60s-skirt, the bowlers were never going to escape pitching both sides of the wicket, certainly not against batsmen who strike the ball as cleanly as Yuvraj, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

It had been a good toss for England to win, with encouragement for the quick bowlers, but once Gambhir and Sehwag settled after relatively sedate progress during the first 10 overs (53 runs), the field resembled a colander with leaks all over the place. Only the formidable Andrew Flintoff escaped harsh punishment, and even he wasn't spared when Yuvraj started to free his arms at the end of the innings.

Not since Greenidge and Haynes has an opening partnership been so at ease in both forms of the game. Gambhir set the tone, walking down the pitch nonchalantly to hit over the infield. And once Sehwag found his groove, it would have made little difference even if the rope was 20 yards deeper. For a man who makes such big hundreds in Test cricket though, he appears to have a problem with patience in ODIs. A century was there for the taking when he went across the line once too often.

A couple of quick wickets then and England might have been back in the game, but Suresh Raina and Yuvraj played superbly to ensure that no momentum was lost. Raina struck some glorious sixes, and allowed Yuvraj to ease himself into the game. Perhaps Pietersen should have brought on a spinner as soon as Yuvraj arrived. Once he got his eye in, it just didn't matter.

This is a Rubicon series for Yuvraj. After a wretched two Tests in Australia, he lost his place in the side, and he struggled horribly against Ajantha Mendis in the one-day games in Sri Lanka. A second-innings hundred against Australia in a warm-up game apart, he hasn't been his fluent self lately. This was a reminder of what he can do, at a time when India's selectors are trying to identify the best man to replace Sourav Ganguly in the middle order. As a statement, the eighth-fastest century ever wasn't a bad one to make.

Once India had 387 on the board, there was only going to be one winner, but the bowlers deserve enormous credit for coming out and showing how to bowl on Indian pitches. Munaf Patel did a fair imitation of Glenn McGrath and Zaheer Khan cleaned up at the other end as India wrapped up the game within the first couple of Power Plays. Flintoff got a rough decision, but the rest perished meekly trying to force the pace against accurate bowling.

On these pitches, the English method of shuffling around the crease is nowhere near as effective as stand-and-deliver. They also need to make much better use of the first 10 overs, especially once India start to rotate and rest the likes of Zaheer. Bowling one side of the wicket is also mandatory, else Sehwag and Yuvraj will continue to pummel them into the middle of next week.

Pietersen hinted at better times with a couple of enormous shots out of the ground, but at no stage was there even the hint of a frown on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's face. Peter Moores reckoned yesterday that India might suffer a little as a result of their exertions against Australia, but on this evidence the transition from five-day to one-day has been made pretty seamlessly. And unless England improve their ideas and skills, an almighty thrashing beckons.

Comments

[Punit]

Sandy - what does payment have to do with Monty playing? Selection is not budget based as far as I know.

Re. Sehwag - I think many of us are wary of another false dawn. There's no doubt Sehwag is a destructive and exciting player, but he is also mercurial to put it generously. He can play like a God one day, then like a drain the next. His consistency is far better now, but there is always the suspicion that he will self-destruct any minute. He has some way to go to prove the doubters wrong.

[sandy]

England must send Monty Panesar to India immediately, no matter what they have to pay him!

[joe shah]

I think a lot of the game is to do with belief and at present the younger Indian players believe that they CAN dominate and win almost every game and thus that gives India an advantage.In contrast, the England players' only belief IS that they can be competitive.

[RavBalky]

Because Sehwag is an Indian, some postings here disparage Sehwag - Greenidge is far inferiro to Sehwag - Sehwag mauled Australia in Me;bourne and then a triple hundered in Pakistan and several hammer and tongs innings worldwide

Sehwag is the main tormentor in cricket today - so, shut up - Greenidge is a joke and so is Richards

[Satyam Tandon]

People keep talking about getting Yuvraj in the Test squad. But, for heaven's sake, Cheteshwar Pujara has to be provided a reason if he is not included in the team even after scoring three triple hundreds (yes sir! three triple hundreds) in a month in domestic cricket. That it would be unfair on him, would be a big understatement! Can anybody tell me when a batsman scored three triple centuries in a span of one month in the entire history of the game?

[Kunal]

I think all this talk about India will struggle to make the change from Test cricket to ODI is all rubbish. Only Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni, Bhajji and Zaheer are playing from the test series. Off these only Zaheer and Dhoni may struggle, but they are fit and raring to go. England were completely wrong in their assumptions and it has come back to bite them hard.

This match is a wakeup call to everyone in the world, not to take India lightly. They are battle hardened after a tough series and successful series. The youngsters now have the self belief that they can indeed be the best in the world. England will have to raise their game several notches if they even want to compete in the remaining 6 matches.

[Parth Pala]

Unfortunately reading the comments on the website it seems typical English buffoonery is at play once again.

Just because Yuvraj can't play Mendhis doesn't mean he can't play the English who havent had a great spinner in decades, hell they haven't even got a decent spinner.

Thats why you lost by 153 runs don't kid yourself.

But you are right Rohit Sharma is class.

Also for your information its been one and a half years since Sehwag and Ghambir started topping the runs tables in ODI's and T20's and Tests.

No averages or has scored as much as them.

By the time they retire this partnership will go down as one of the greatest ever.

Only a fool would consider questioning the dominance of India in coming times

[neilsrini]

England will struggle in the ODI's thats for sure. But it is all about momentum and I'm sure with 1 million ODI's still to be played India will tire and England will have some wins too.

The real questions are:

1. How can we expect Dhoni to play 1 million ODI's, keep wicket, bat and captain and then give his best in the test series (where I believe England can be competitive if they get their house in order, especially with flintoff and 2 good spinners).

2. This press chat about who plays well in ODI's should be picked for the Tests.

This argument is nonsense. We all know that Yuvraj can't play spin, never could, never will. England have two spinners who I think are too good for Yuvraj in the longer format. Swann particularly is a class act in my opinion who was not selected at the right times and should have made it big. Yuvraj may emerge as a great ODI player but he has had enough chances in tests to prove he will eventually be found wanting at the highest level.

On the other hand we know there is a guy called Rohit who is a class act and has all the necessary armor to make it big in test cricket. This guy must be selected regardless. Give him a go. If he dosen't swim we can go back to Ranji and come back stronger.

3. If Gambhir and Sewag become Greenidge and Haynes I will eat my hand. The real test of a Test cricketer is when he has had his honeymoon and bowlers start to work him out. It is only then that we can judge a man. Gambhir is still on his honeymoon and only time will tell if he survives the return to reality.