English cricket team in India in 2005-06
Encyclopedia
The English cricket team toured India during February, March and April 2006. The English cricket team
was aspiring to maintain the form that took them to second place in the ICC Test Championship
before their disastrous spell against Pakistan, and which helped win the 2005 Ashes series at home to Australia
. This goal was substantially hindered by the usual stomach complaints which nearly always dog the English team in the opening weeks of Indian tours, and a recurrence of an injury to the captain Michael Vaughan
; the swing bowler Simon Jones
and the absence of Ashley Giles
who missed the tour for an operation. As well as this, stand-in captain Marcus Trescothick
flew home for "personal reasons", not wishing to divulge further, leaving Andrew Flintoff
, who missed the birth of his son, to take on the title of skipper for the first time having to captain two maiden international cricketers on the English side: Alastair Cook
and Monty Panesar
as well as Shanthakumaran Sreesanth
, Piyush Chawla
and Munaf Patel
for the home team.
India
started the series looking to climb up to the second place spot in the ICC Test Championship which England recently pushed them out of.
Three Test matches
and seven One Day Internationals were planned. One ODI (in Guwahati
) was washed out because of rains. The Test series was drawn 1-1 while India won the ODI series 5-1.
England 1st Innings
299 all out (89.3 overs)
Cricket Club of India 1st Innings
251 all out (79.3 overs)
England 2nd Innings
265 all out (61.5 overs)
Cricket Club of India 2nd Innings
75 all out (26.2 overs)
England 1st Innings
238 for 9 (62.2 overs)
President's XI 1st Innings
348 for 8 (103.4 overs)
England 2nd Innings
158 for 9 (65.0 overs)
President's XI 2nd Innings
58 for 2 (17.0 overs)
Note: Munaf Patel
took two five-wicket hauls at a combined total of 10-91 for the President's XI and subsequently gained a Test match debut in the Second Test against England
.
The first test at Nagpur, despite being a draw, proved to be an intense game of cricket with positive performances from both sides. This was encouraging as the perception of the tour was that England would struggle, especially given the number of injuries they had suffered just before the series began.
Both Alistair Cook
and Monty Panesar
made international debuts in this Test for England
, as well as a Test debut for ODI veteran Ian Blackwell
. On the Indian team Shanthakumaran Sreesanth
was the only debutant.
England won the toss and batted first, and scored at a decent enough rate on the first day, but also lost regular wickets in the process to end the day on 246/7. Alastair Cook
made a promising debut scoring 60, and Paul Collingwood
was 53 not out by the close of play. On day 2, England’s lower order batsman assisted Collingwood to reach his maiden test century and frustrate India who would have hoped to bowl England out promptly. England eventually reached a score of 393, with Collingwood unbeaten on 134 not out.
India lost Virender Sehwag
early in their reply, but then Wasim Jaffer
and Rahul Dravid
batted out the day without further loss to take the hosts to 136/1 by the end of day 2. The match was very nicely balanced.
On day 3, England’s seam bowlers, in particular Matthew Hoggard
, produced an inspired performance to engineer a middle order collapse. India slumped from 140/1 to 190/7 just after the lunch break. Hoggard took 5 wickets, and Monty Panesar
dismissed Sachin Tendulkar
to claim his maiden test wicket amid dramatic scenes.
However, Mohammad Kaif and Anil Kumble
fought back for India, putting on 128 for the eighth wicket. The day ended with Kaif being clean bowled by Panesar with a spectacular delivery that span out of the rough and just clipped the off stump.
England wrapped up India’s first innings very early on day 4 for 323, and began their second innings in a positive way. Alastair Cook
scored a century on debut, and Kevin Pietersen
scored an aggressive 87, despite a caught and bowled appeal being turned down by the third umpire early in his innings. This incident distracted the Indians who dropped 3 further catches during the day. England closed the day with a lead of 367 runs, and Cook was unbeaten on 104.
Andrew Flintoff
declared overnight to set India a target of 368 to win. India again lost Sehwag early, but Dravid and Jaffer again formed a solid partnership that England were unable to break for two sessions. Scoring was very slow, and it looked like the match was heading for an uneventful draw.
Jaffer reached 100 shortly after tea but was dismissed soon after making the milestone. India then injected some life into the game by making a sudden charge at the target, despite the fact they still needed 170 runs to win. Irfan Pathan
and Mahendra Singh Dhoni
were promoted up the order to accelerate the scoring, and England had to quickly adopt to a one-day scenario to protect boundaries and try and vary the bowling.
Both these batsmen fell after cameos, and Sachin Tendulkar
, who had also played some shots, was then trusted with seeing out the remaining overs. Although India scored 129 in 22 overs, they were still 108 runs short of the target, and eventually an offer for bad light was made with the score on 260/6.
Matthew Hoggard
was awarded man of the match for his first innings effort of 6/57. England overall were pleased to hold a strong Indian team to a draw despite several of their key players missing, and went into the second test with renewed confidence.
Munaf Patel
and the 17 year old Piyush Chawla
made their Test debuts for the Indian
side.
Following their second test defeat, England suffered a further injury blow when Alastair Cook
developed an upset stomach on the morning of the match. Owais Shah
made his debut for the tourists, and Shaun Udal
was also called into the side to replace Liam Plunkett
.
England’s chances of success in this match were perceived to be low, but they were immediately boosted by Rahul Dravid’s curious decision to ask England to bat on winning the toss. It was believed that this decision was based on the perceived weakness of England’s spin attack, who would not be able to exploit conditions on the final day of the match.
Andrew Strauss
scored 128 to end a run of low scores on the sub continent, and the debutant Owais Shah
compiled a good half century before retiring hurt at the tea interval with cramps. England closed day 1 on 272/3 – a promising position.
On day 2, England continued to accumulate runs, but the Indian attack found more consistency than they were able to the previous day. Sri Sreesanth took 4 wickets and triggered a mini collapse, and Munaf Patel
also bowled well. Owais Shah
returned to continue his innings and reached 88 before being dismissed by Harbhajan Singh
. He showed promise as a test player, and was confident enough to engage in dialogue with the Indian bowlers while compiling his innings. The most notable point was Shah visibly laughing having just lofted Harbhajan for a big six. England were eventually all out for 400.
India’s reply started badly, with Virender Sehwag
, Wasim Jaffer
and Sachin Tendulkar
all being dismissed cheaply to leave the hosts on 28/3. Tendulkar in particular was a concern for the Indians, looking nervous and tentative at the crease, taking a long time to score a solitary run and eventually being dismissed after facing 21 deliveries for that single. Rahul Dravid
and Yuvraj Singh
engineered a recovery to finish the day on 89/3.
On day 3, England’s bowlers continued their good work despite finding the hot and humid conditions difficult. They eventually bowled India out for 279, with Geraint Jones
taking 5 catches as wicketkeeper. James Anderson
took 4 wickets in the innings, including the vital ones of Tendulkar and Dravid. The India total could have been much less were it not for a late order partnership between Anil Kumble
and Sreesanth.
England lost two wickets early in their second innings to close day 3 on 31/2. It was clear that the pitch was deteriorating fast, making Dravid’s initial decision to field first even more unusual.
Day 4 proved to be a day of traditional style Test cricket, with immensely slow scoring rates achieved throughout. Barely 2 runs per over were managed, and England lost regular wickets as most batsmen struggled to adapt to the conditions. Andrew Flintoff
scored a very patient 50, and Paul Collingwood
and Owais Shah
scored 32 and 38 respectively, which would prove to be important contributions.
Andrew Flintoff
had stressed to his batsmen before the match the importance of going on and making a big innings once a half century had been reached. It was to some amusement that he scored exactly 50 in both innings of this match.
England were bowled out for 191 late in the day, and some commentators believed the opportunity for them to force a win had perhaps been lost. For the Indian bowlers, the spinners were the main performers, with Kumble and Harbhajan taking 6 wickets between them. India started their second innings needing 313 to win, a large target given the conditions of the pitch.
The final day started off with India on 18/1 (having lost Irfan Pathan
late in the previous day) and the first session was seen out relatively safely, with only 2 wickets falling, one of those being that of the nightwatchman Kumble. Scoring was very slow, and Dravid had faced over 50 deliveries for 9 runs by the lunch interval. Tendulkar had scored more freely, but overall the score at lunch was 75/3.
The next session was nothing short of remarkable, as the Indian batting order collapsed in a dramatic fashion. Dravid edged a ball from Flintoff to the wicketkeeper off the third delivery after the lunch break, and Tendulkar was caught at short leg off the bowling of Shaun Udal
next over. The Indian batsmen struggled immensely with Udal’s bowling, who obtained significant help from the pitch, and he would go on to take 4 wickets in the second innings at a cost of just 14 runs.
Sehwag had been suffering from a back injury and was forced to bat at no 7. He was unable to cope with conditions and was dismissed for a duck by James Anderson
. The next dismissal, that of Mahendra Singh Dhoni
, was nothing short of bizarre. Dhoni skied a ball off Udal, only for Monty Panesar
to miss the chance as it landed around 10 feet from where he was, despite having ample time to position himself to take it. Unbelievably, Dhoni attempted a similar shot two balls later, and Panesar this time successfully held the chance. Some television commentators were actually confused by events believing the second shot by Dhoni to have been a replay of the original incident. Dhoni left the field to a chorus of boos by the crowd, stunned by England’s strikes. At this point, the score was 92/7.
Harbhajan Singh was dismissed next, attempting to slog sweep Udal for six, and Yuvraj Singh edged Flintoff into the slips. With the score on 99/9, the last man Munaf Patel managed a single to bring up the India 100, but he too then fell attempting to slog Udal out of the park. India were bowled out for 100, and had lost 7 wickets in 16 overs, for the addition of 25 runs. England won the match by 212 runs, and had levelled the series.
England regarded the victory to be as great as reclaiming the Ashes, with winning in India always perceived to be a difficult task. It was considered even more incredible, given the loss of key players due to injuries prior to and during the series. India, on the other hand, came under extreme criticism for the loss and questions were asked of Dravid’s decision to field first, as well as the batsmen’s technique and application during the second innings when they collapsed from 75/3 to 100 all out.
Overall, the test series had been competitive and demonstrated many opportunities of emerging talent on both sides which would hopefully benefit these two sides, as well as world cricket in general in the coming years.
Rajasthan President's XI 260-6 (50 overs)
England 255 (49.5 overs)
Notes: England
captain Andrew Flintoff
was replaced as captain by Vikram Solanki
, as he was at home visiting his newly born baby.
tied West Indian
Viv Richards
' record as the quickest to reach 1,000 runs in ODIs (21 innings). Suresh Raina, with his maiden ODI half-century, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni
set a new record for the sixth wicket partnership for India in One-day Internationals.
The fall of the third wicket provided a talking point: Yuvraj Singh
swept Ian Blackwell
's delivery behind the stumps only for wicket keeper Geraint Jones
to make a diving stop and throw the ball at the wicket, dislodging the leg stump and bail. With Singh still in his crease he was given not out, but Indian
captain Rahul Dravid
decided to take a quick run in the confusion as the ball ricocheted away; Paul Collingwood
acted quickly though, and grabbed the ball and ran it into the remaining two stumps and bail just as Dravid made it to the crease. The TV umpire was called for the decision and after much deliberation Dravid was given out.
made his debut in ODI cricket.
, who made a disastrous start to their innings, slipping to 76-5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
(96) and Ramesh Powar
(54) lifted the home team to a more respectable total with a century stand for the sixth wicket. Harbhajan Singh was clean bowled by Kevin Pietersen for 4, although Harbhajan did not walk, waiting for the third umpire to be called in to adjudicate on the dismissal before finally swearing at Pietersen as he left the ground. Acting skipper Andrew Strauss
(the third acting captain on this tour with Andrew Flintoff
resting as 12th man) led England from the front with 74, before retiring hurt with cramp, and they strolled to victory with 43 balls to spare. Ian Blackwell
hit a no-ball from Powar for six to reach the target.
wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni
was replaced by Dinesh Karthik
. English
captain Andrew Flintoff
was again replaced by Andrew Strauss
.
Debut of Robin Uthappa
as the Indian
opener saw him hit 12 fours and one six before being run out by Geraint Jones
after James Anderson
dived for a ball to stop a boundary and threw it back to the wicket keeper. The batsman, sharing a 166 partnership for the first wicket with skipper Rahul Dravid
had all but won the match until he chanced a lazy second run; his score of 86 is the highest for any Indian debutant in a limited overs match. With this win, India extended its World Record of successive wins while batting second to 16.
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
was aspiring to maintain the form that took them to second place in the ICC Test Championship
ICC Test Championship
The ICC Test Championship is an international competition run by the International Cricket Council in the sport of cricket for the 10 teams that play Test cricket...
before their disastrous spell against Pakistan, and which helped win the 2005 Ashes series at home to Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
. This goal was substantially hindered by the usual stomach complaints which nearly always dog the English team in the opening weeks of Indian tours, and a recurrence of an injury to the captain Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan OBE is a retired cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England. A classically elegant right-handed batsman and occasional off-spinner, Vaughan was ranked one of the best batsmen in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes, in which he scored 633 runs, including three centuries...
; the swing bowler Simon Jones
Simon Jones (cricketer)
Simon Philip Jones MBE is a Welsh cricketer, who played internationally for England. Formerly playing his county cricket for Glamorgan County Cricket Club and then Worcestershire before moving in September 2009 to Hampshire. He is currently on a month's loan with his first county, Glamorgan...
and the absence of Ashley Giles
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles MBE is a retired English cricketer. Giles played the entirety of his 14-year first-class career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club where he is now employed as Director of Cricket...
who missed the tour for an operation. As well as this, stand-in captain Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick MBE is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. A left-handed opening batsman, he made his first-class debut for Somerset in 1993 and quickly established...
flew home for "personal reasons", not wishing to divulge further, leaving Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
, who missed the birth of his son, to take on the title of skipper for the first time having to captain two maiden international cricketers on the English side: Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
and Monty Panesar
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009...
as well as Shanthakumaran Sreesanth
Shanthakumaran Sreesanth
Sreesanth , is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler and a right-handed tail-ender batsman. In first class cricket, he plays for Kerala and in the Indian Premier League, he plays for Kochi Tuskers Kerala...
, Piyush Chawla
Piyush Chawla
Piyush Pramod Chawla is an Indian cricketer who has played for the India U-19 team and the Central Zone. His Hometown is Moradabad,. He is seen as a leg-spinning allrounder in domestic cricket, but has not fired as a batsman in the One Day International format...
and Munaf Patel
Munaf Patel
Munaf Musa Patel Urdu:مناف موسی پٹیل is an Indian cricketer who has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team....
for the home team.
India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
started the series looking to climb up to the second place spot in the ICC Test Championship which England recently pushed them out of.
Three Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and seven One Day Internationals were planned. One ODI (in Guwahati
Guwahati
Guwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India...
) was washed out because of rains. The Test series was drawn 1-1 while India won the ODI series 5-1.
Schedule
| Date | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| February | ||
| 18-20 | vs Cricket Club of India | Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million... |
| 23-25 | vs President's XI | Baroda |
| March | ||
| 1-5 | 1st Test | Nagpur Nagpur Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune... |
| 9-13 | 2nd Test | Mohali Mohali Mohali is a city adjacent to Chandigarh, 18th District in Punjab, India. It is officially named after the eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh, Sahibzada Ajit Singh . It, along with Chandigarh and Panchkula, form a part of the Chandigarh Tricity... |
| 18-22 | 3rd Test | Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million... |
| 25 | vs RCA President's XI | Jaipur Jaipur Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million.... |
| 28 | 1st ODI | Delhi Delhi Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census... |
| 31 | 2nd ODI | Faridabad Faridabad Faridabad is a city in the south-east of Haryana state in northern India, in Faridabad district. It lies at 28º 25' 16" N Latitude and 77º 18' 28" E Longitude. The district shares its boundaries with the National Capital and Union Territory of Delhi to its north, Gurgaon district to the west and... |
| April | ||
| 3 | 3rd ODI | Goa Goa Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its... |
| 6 | 4th ODI | Kochi Kochi (India) Kochi , formerly Cochin, is a major port city on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea. Kochi is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. Kochi is often called by the name Ernakulam, which refers to the western part of the mainland Kochi... |
| 9 | 5th ODI | Guwahati Guwahati Guwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India... |
| 13 | 6th ODI | Jamshedpur |
| 16 | 7th ODI | Indore Indore Indore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631... |
Squads
| England | India |
|---|---|
|
Rahul Dravid Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers... (c) Mahendra Singh Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC... (wk) Virender Sehwag Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler... Wasim Jaffer Wasim Jaffer is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed opening batsman and an occasional right arm off-break bowler.-Early years:... Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket... Anil Kumble Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches... Harbhajan Singh Harbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.... Piyush Chawla Piyush Pramod Chawla is an Indian cricketer who has played for the India U-19 team and the Central Zone. His Hometown is Moradabad,. He is seen as a leg-spinning allrounder in domestic cricket, but has not fired as a batsman in the One Day International format... Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team... Shanthakumaran Sreesanth Sreesanth , is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler and a right-handed tail-ender batsman. In first class cricket, he plays for Kerala and in the Indian Premier League, he plays for Kochi Tuskers Kerala... Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008... Munaf Patel Munaf Musa Patel Urdu:مناف موسی پٹیل is an Indian cricketer who has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team.... Piyush Chawla Piyush Pramod Chawla is an Indian cricketer who has played for the India U-19 team and the Central Zone. His Hometown is Moradabad,. He is seen as a leg-spinning allrounder in domestic cricket, but has not fired as a batsman in the One Day International format... Gautam Gambhir Gautam Gambhir is an Indian cricketer, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since 2003 and 2004... (ODI only 1-3) Venugopal Rao Yalaka Venugopal Rao is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed middle order batsman and right arm off-break bowler. He is the first "super sub" in ODI cricket. He represents Andhra Pradesh in first class cricket, and Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League... (ODI only) Ajit Agarkar Ajit Bhalchandra Agarkar is an Indian international cricketer, who has been on the fringes of the Indian side in both tests and one day matches since his debut in 1998... (ODI only) Ramesh Powar Ramesh Rajaram Powar is an Indian cricketer. He is an alumnus of Ruparel College of Science, Commerce and Arts in Matunga, Mumbai. He is a useful lower order batsman and off spinner who plays in the Indian ODI team... (ODI only) Robin Uthappa Robin Venu Uthappa is an Indian cricketer. His father is Venu Uthappa, an international hockey referee from Kodagu, Karnataka, mother Roselyn is a home maker and hails from Kozhikode, Kerala and his sister Sharon is a business owner. He studied at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore... (ODI only 4-) Dinesh Karthik Krishna Kumar Dinesh Karthik is a wicketkeeper-batsman who has made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004 and has been a regular member of the team for varying periods since then, including a stint in 2007 as a specialist opening batsman and non-wicket-keeper... (ODI 7) |
Tour match v Cricket Club of India (18–20 February)
England beat Cricket Club of India by 238 runsEngland 1st Innings
299 all out (89.3 overs)
Cricket Club of India 1st Innings
251 all out (79.3 overs)
England 2nd Innings
265 all out (61.5 overs)
Cricket Club of India 2nd Innings
75 all out (26.2 overs)
Tour match v President's XI (23–25 February)
President's XI beat England by 8 wicketsEngland 1st Innings
238 for 9 (62.2 overs)
President's XI 1st Innings
348 for 8 (103.4 overs)
England 2nd Innings
158 for 9 (65.0 overs)
President's XI 2nd Innings
58 for 2 (17.0 overs)
Note: Munaf Patel
Munaf Patel
Munaf Musa Patel Urdu:مناف موسی پٹیل is an Indian cricketer who has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team....
took two five-wicket hauls at a combined total of 10-91 for the President's XI and subsequently gained a Test match debut in the Second Test against England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
.
First Test: India v England (1–5 March)
 EnglandEnglish cricket team The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end... |
393 | & | 287-3dec. | Match Drawn |
PD Collingwood Paul Collingwood Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting... 134* AN Cook Alastair Cook Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003... 60 S Sreesanth Shanthakumaran Sreesanth Sreesanth , is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler and a right-handed tail-ender batsman. In first class cricket, he plays for Kerala and in the Indian Premier League, he plays for Kochi Tuskers Kerala... 4-95 IK Pathan Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team... 3-92 |
A Cook Alastair Cook Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003... 104 K Pietersen Kevin Pietersen Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey... 87 IK Pathan Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team... 2/48 A Kumble Anil Kumble Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches... 1/101 |
Vidharba C.A. Ground, Nagpur Nagpur Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune... , India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... Umpires:Aleem Dar Aleem Dar Aleem Sarwar Dar is a retired Pakistani first-class cricketer and a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel. He won three consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards 2009, 2010 and 2011, after being nominated twice in 2005 and 2006. Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel are the only umpires to have received the... (Pak Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... ) and IL Howell Ian Howell Ian Lester Howell is a South African cricket umpire. As a player he played first-class cricket for Border and Eastern Province in South Africa. A left-hand batsman and a left-arm medium bowler he played 119 first-class games scoring 3767 runs with 5 hundreds and 13 fifties and a batting average of... (Rsa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... ) Man of the Match:Matthew Hoggard Matthew Hoggard Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of... |
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 IndiaIndian cricket team The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status.... |
323 | & | 260/6 | |
M Kaif 91 W Jaffer Wasim Jaffer Wasim Jaffer is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed opening batsman and an occasional right arm off-break bowler.-Early years:... 81 M Hoggard Matthew Hoggard Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of... 6/57 M Panesar Monty Panesar Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009... 2/73 |
W Jaffer Wasim Jaffer Wasim Jaffer is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed opening batsman and an occasional right arm off-break bowler.-Early years:... 100 R Dravid Rahul Dravid Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers... 71 SJ Harmison Steve Harmison Stephen James Harmison MBE is an English cricketer. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODI's, and 2 T20's. He also plays county cricket for Durham.... 2/48 A Flintoff Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top... 2/78 |
The first test at Nagpur, despite being a draw, proved to be an intense game of cricket with positive performances from both sides. This was encouraging as the perception of the tour was that England would struggle, especially given the number of injuries they had suffered just before the series began.
Both Alistair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
and Monty Panesar
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009...
made international debuts in this Test for England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
, as well as a Test debut for ODI veteran Ian Blackwell
Ian Blackwell
Ian David Blackwell is an English cricketer. A left-arm orthodox spinner and powerful middle-order batsman, he has played for England in one-day and Test sides, and plays county cricket for Durham, having left Somerset at the end of the 2008 season.-Career:Blackwell was called up for the England...
. On the Indian team Shanthakumaran Sreesanth
Shanthakumaran Sreesanth
Sreesanth , is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler and a right-handed tail-ender batsman. In first class cricket, he plays for Kerala and in the Indian Premier League, he plays for Kochi Tuskers Kerala...
was the only debutant.
England won the toss and batted first, and scored at a decent enough rate on the first day, but also lost regular wickets in the process to end the day on 246/7. Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
made a promising debut scoring 60, and Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
was 53 not out by the close of play. On day 2, England’s lower order batsman assisted Collingwood to reach his maiden test century and frustrate India who would have hoped to bowl England out promptly. England eventually reached a score of 393, with Collingwood unbeaten on 134 not out.
India lost Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
early in their reply, but then Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed opening batsman and an occasional right arm off-break bowler.-Early years:...
and Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
batted out the day without further loss to take the hosts to 136/1 by the end of day 2. The match was very nicely balanced.
On day 3, England’s seam bowlers, in particular Matthew Hoggard
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of...
, produced an inspired performance to engineer a middle order collapse. India slumped from 140/1 to 190/7 just after the lunch break. Hoggard took 5 wickets, and Monty Panesar
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009...
dismissed Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
to claim his maiden test wicket amid dramatic scenes.
However, Mohammad Kaif and Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
fought back for India, putting on 128 for the eighth wicket. The day ended with Kaif being clean bowled by Panesar with a spectacular delivery that span out of the rough and just clipped the off stump.
England wrapped up India’s first innings very early on day 4 for 323, and began their second innings in a positive way. Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
scored a century on debut, and Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
scored an aggressive 87, despite a caught and bowled appeal being turned down by the third umpire early in his innings. This incident distracted the Indians who dropped 3 further catches during the day. England closed the day with a lead of 367 runs, and Cook was unbeaten on 104.
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
declared overnight to set India a target of 368 to win. India again lost Sehwag early, but Dravid and Jaffer again formed a solid partnership that England were unable to break for two sessions. Scoring was very slow, and it looked like the match was heading for an uneventful draw.
Jaffer reached 100 shortly after tea but was dismissed soon after making the milestone. India then injected some life into the game by making a sudden charge at the target, despite the fact they still needed 170 runs to win. Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team...
and Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC...
were promoted up the order to accelerate the scoring, and England had to quickly adopt to a one-day scenario to protect boundaries and try and vary the bowling.
Both these batsmen fell after cameos, and Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
, who had also played some shots, was then trusted with seeing out the remaining overs. Although India scored 129 in 22 overs, they were still 108 runs short of the target, and eventually an offer for bad light was made with the score on 260/6.
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of...
was awarded man of the match for his first innings effort of 6/57. England overall were pleased to hold a strong Indian team to a draw despite several of their key players missing, and went into the second test with renewed confidence.
Second Test: India v England (9–13 March)
| England English cricket team The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end... |
300 | & | 181 | India beat England by 9 wickets |
A Flintoff Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top... 70 KP Pietersen Kevin Pietersen Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey... 64 A Kumble Anil Kumble Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches... 5-76 Munaf Patel Munaf Patel Munaf Musa Patel Urdu:مناف موسی پٹیل is an Indian cricketer who has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team.... 3-72 |
IR Bell 57 A Flintoff Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top... 51 Munaf Patel Munaf Patel Munaf Musa Patel Urdu:مناف موسی پٹیل is an Indian cricketer who has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team.... 4-25 A Kumble Anil Kumble Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches... 4-70 |
Punjab C.A. Stadium Punjab Cricket Association Stadium The Punjab Cricket Association Stadium is located at Mohali, just outside the city of Chandigarh. It is popularly referred to as the Mohali Stadium. The stadium is home to the Punjab team. Punjab's second international cricket stadium has been approved by BCCI in Bathinda, Punjab. The... , Mohali Mohali Mohali is a city adjacent to Chandigarh, 18th District in Punjab, India. It is officially named after the eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh, Sahibzada Ajit Singh . It, along with Chandigarh and Panchkula, form a part of the Chandigarh Tricity... , India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... Umpires:Darrell Hair Darrell Hair Darrell Bruce Hair is an Australian former Test match cricket umpire, from New South Wales. He stood on the Emirates International panel of umpires from 2002 to 2003, before he, along with fellow Australian Simon Taufel, and New Zealander Billy Bowden, was appointed to the ICC Elite umpire panel... (Aus Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... ) and Simon Taufel Simon Taufel Simon James Arthur Taufel, , is an Australian cricket umpire who is a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel... (Aus Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... ) Man of the Match: Anil Kumble Anil Kumble Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches... |
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| India Indian cricket team The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status.... |
338 | & | 144-1 | |
R Dravid Rahul Dravid Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers... 95 IK Pathan Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team... 52 A Flintoff Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top... 4-96 MJ Hoggard Matthew Hoggard Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of... 2-55 |
V Sehwag Virender Sehwag Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler... 76* R Dravid Rahul Dravid Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers... 42* MJ Hoggard Matthew Hoggard Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of... 1-24 |
Munaf Patel
Munaf Patel
Munaf Musa Patel Urdu:مناف موسی پٹیل is an Indian cricketer who has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team....
and the 17 year old Piyush Chawla
Piyush Chawla
Piyush Pramod Chawla is an Indian cricketer who has played for the India U-19 team and the Central Zone. His Hometown is Moradabad,. He is seen as a leg-spinning allrounder in domestic cricket, but has not fired as a batsman in the One Day International format...
made their Test debuts for the Indian
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
side.
Third Test: India v England (18–22 March)
| England English cricket team The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end... |
400 | & | 191 | England beat India by 212 runs |
A Strauss Andrew Strauss Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots... 128 O Shah Owais Shah Owais Alam Shah is an English cricketer. A middle-order batsman, he played for Middlesex between 1996-2010, before joining Essex CCC in the winter of 2010. He has represented England in all forms of the games.Between 2001 and 2009, he played 71 ODIs and 17 Twenty20 Internationals... 88 S Sreesanth 4-71 H Singh Harbhajan Singh Harbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.... 3-90 |
A Flintoff Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top... 50 O Shah Owais Shah Owais Alam Shah is an English cricketer. A middle-order batsman, he played for Middlesex between 1996-2010, before joining Essex CCC in the winter of 2010. He has represented England in all forms of the games.Between 2001 and 2009, he played 71 ODIs and 17 Twenty20 Internationals... 38 A Kumble Anil Kumble Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches... 4-50 H Singh Harbhajan Singh Harbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.... 2-40 |
Wankhede Stadium Wankhede Stadium The Sheshrao Krushnarao Wankhede Stadium is a cricket stadium in the Indian city of Mumbai. This ground was built after disputes between the Cricket Club of India, which owns the Brabourne Stadium, and the Mumbai Cricket Association over the allocation of tickets for cricket matches... , Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million... , India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... Umpires:Darrell Hair Darrell Hair Darrell Bruce Hair is an Australian former Test match cricket umpire, from New South Wales. He stood on the Emirates International panel of umpires from 2002 to 2003, before he, along with fellow Australian Simon Taufel, and New Zealander Billy Bowden, was appointed to the ICC Elite umpire panel... (Aus Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... ) and Simon Taufel Simon Taufel Simon James Arthur Taufel, , is an Australian cricket umpire who is a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel... (Aus Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... ) Man of the Match:Andrew Flintoff Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top... |
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| India Indian cricket team The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status.... |
279 | & | 100 | |
MS Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC... 64 R Dravid Rahul Dravid Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers... 52 J Anderson James Anderson (cricketer) James Michael "Jimmy" Anderson is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club and since bursting onto the scene in 2002/03, before his first full season of county cricket, Anderson has represented England in over 50 Test matches and over 100 One Day... 4-40 MJ Hoggard Matthew Hoggard Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of... 2-54 |
S Tendulkar Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket... 34 Y Singh Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008... 12 S Udal Shaun Udal Shaun David Udal is an English cricketer. An off spin bowler and lower-middle order batsman, he was a member of England's Test team for their tours to Pakistan and India in 2005/06.-International career:... 4-14 A Flintoff Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top... 3-14 |
Following their second test defeat, England suffered a further injury blow when Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
developed an upset stomach on the morning of the match. Owais Shah
Owais Shah
Owais Alam Shah is an English cricketer. A middle-order batsman, he played for Middlesex between 1996-2010, before joining Essex CCC in the winter of 2010. He has represented England in all forms of the games.Between 2001 and 2009, he played 71 ODIs and 17 Twenty20 Internationals...
made his debut for the tourists, and Shaun Udal
Shaun Udal
Shaun David Udal is an English cricketer. An off spin bowler and lower-middle order batsman, he was a member of England's Test team for their tours to Pakistan and India in 2005/06.-International career:...
was also called into the side to replace Liam Plunkett
Liam Plunkett
Liam Edward Plunkett is an English cricketer, who plays for Durham and England. In the 2005 season he was Durham's leading first-class wicket-taker, with 51 wickets at a bowling average of 30.84, including eight for 88 in his first game of the season against Leicestershire.-Test cricket:Plunkett...
.
England’s chances of success in this match were perceived to be low, but they were immediately boosted by Rahul Dravid’s curious decision to ask England to bat on winning the toss. It was believed that this decision was based on the perceived weakness of England’s spin attack, who would not be able to exploit conditions on the final day of the match.
Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
scored 128 to end a run of low scores on the sub continent, and the debutant Owais Shah
Owais Shah
Owais Alam Shah is an English cricketer. A middle-order batsman, he played for Middlesex between 1996-2010, before joining Essex CCC in the winter of 2010. He has represented England in all forms of the games.Between 2001 and 2009, he played 71 ODIs and 17 Twenty20 Internationals...
compiled a good half century before retiring hurt at the tea interval with cramps. England closed day 1 on 272/3 – a promising position.
On day 2, England continued to accumulate runs, but the Indian attack found more consistency than they were able to the previous day. Sri Sreesanth took 4 wickets and triggered a mini collapse, and Munaf Patel
Munaf Patel
Munaf Musa Patel Urdu:مناف موسی پٹیل is an Indian cricketer who has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team....
also bowled well. Owais Shah
Owais Shah
Owais Alam Shah is an English cricketer. A middle-order batsman, he played for Middlesex between 1996-2010, before joining Essex CCC in the winter of 2010. He has represented England in all forms of the games.Between 2001 and 2009, he played 71 ODIs and 17 Twenty20 Internationals...
returned to continue his innings and reached 88 before being dismissed by Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan....
. He showed promise as a test player, and was confident enough to engage in dialogue with the Indian bowlers while compiling his innings. The most notable point was Shah visibly laughing having just lofted Harbhajan for a big six. England were eventually all out for 400.
India’s reply started badly, with Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
, Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed opening batsman and an occasional right arm off-break bowler.-Early years:...
and Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
all being dismissed cheaply to leave the hosts on 28/3. Tendulkar in particular was a concern for the Indians, looking nervous and tentative at the crease, taking a long time to score a solitary run and eventually being dismissed after facing 21 deliveries for that single. Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
and Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
engineered a recovery to finish the day on 89/3.
On day 3, England’s bowlers continued their good work despite finding the hot and humid conditions difficult. They eventually bowled India out for 279, with Geraint Jones
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones MBE is an England cricketer of Welsh extraction but raised in Australia. Until August 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for England in both Test and One-day cricket, but fell behind Chris Read, Paul Nixon, Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose...
taking 5 catches as wicketkeeper. James Anderson
James Anderson (cricketer)
James Michael "Jimmy" Anderson is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club and since bursting onto the scene in 2002/03, before his first full season of county cricket, Anderson has represented England in over 50 Test matches and over 100 One Day...
took 4 wickets in the innings, including the vital ones of Tendulkar and Dravid. The India total could have been much less were it not for a late order partnership between Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
and Sreesanth.
England lost two wickets early in their second innings to close day 3 on 31/2. It was clear that the pitch was deteriorating fast, making Dravid’s initial decision to field first even more unusual.
Day 4 proved to be a day of traditional style Test cricket, with immensely slow scoring rates achieved throughout. Barely 2 runs per over were managed, and England lost regular wickets as most batsmen struggled to adapt to the conditions. Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
scored a very patient 50, and Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
and Owais Shah
Owais Shah
Owais Alam Shah is an English cricketer. A middle-order batsman, he played for Middlesex between 1996-2010, before joining Essex CCC in the winter of 2010. He has represented England in all forms of the games.Between 2001 and 2009, he played 71 ODIs and 17 Twenty20 Internationals...
scored 32 and 38 respectively, which would prove to be important contributions.
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
had stressed to his batsmen before the match the importance of going on and making a big innings once a half century had been reached. It was to some amusement that he scored exactly 50 in both innings of this match.
England were bowled out for 191 late in the day, and some commentators believed the opportunity for them to force a win had perhaps been lost. For the Indian bowlers, the spinners were the main performers, with Kumble and Harbhajan taking 6 wickets between them. India started their second innings needing 313 to win, a large target given the conditions of the pitch.
The final day started off with India on 18/1 (having lost Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team...
late in the previous day) and the first session was seen out relatively safely, with only 2 wickets falling, one of those being that of the nightwatchman Kumble. Scoring was very slow, and Dravid had faced over 50 deliveries for 9 runs by the lunch interval. Tendulkar had scored more freely, but overall the score at lunch was 75/3.
The next session was nothing short of remarkable, as the Indian batting order collapsed in a dramatic fashion. Dravid edged a ball from Flintoff to the wicketkeeper off the third delivery after the lunch break, and Tendulkar was caught at short leg off the bowling of Shaun Udal
Shaun Udal
Shaun David Udal is an English cricketer. An off spin bowler and lower-middle order batsman, he was a member of England's Test team for their tours to Pakistan and India in 2005/06.-International career:...
next over. The Indian batsmen struggled immensely with Udal’s bowling, who obtained significant help from the pitch, and he would go on to take 4 wickets in the second innings at a cost of just 14 runs.
Sehwag had been suffering from a back injury and was forced to bat at no 7. He was unable to cope with conditions and was dismissed for a duck by James Anderson
James Anderson (cricketer)
James Michael "Jimmy" Anderson is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club and since bursting onto the scene in 2002/03, before his first full season of county cricket, Anderson has represented England in over 50 Test matches and over 100 One Day...
. The next dismissal, that of Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC...
, was nothing short of bizarre. Dhoni skied a ball off Udal, only for Monty Panesar
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009...
to miss the chance as it landed around 10 feet from where he was, despite having ample time to position himself to take it. Unbelievably, Dhoni attempted a similar shot two balls later, and Panesar this time successfully held the chance. Some television commentators were actually confused by events believing the second shot by Dhoni to have been a replay of the original incident. Dhoni left the field to a chorus of boos by the crowd, stunned by England’s strikes. At this point, the score was 92/7.
Harbhajan Singh was dismissed next, attempting to slog sweep Udal for six, and Yuvraj Singh edged Flintoff into the slips. With the score on 99/9, the last man Munaf Patel managed a single to bring up the India 100, but he too then fell attempting to slog Udal out of the park. India were bowled out for 100, and had lost 7 wickets in 16 overs, for the addition of 25 runs. England won the match by 212 runs, and had levelled the series.
England regarded the victory to be as great as reclaiming the Ashes, with winning in India always perceived to be a difficult task. It was considered even more incredible, given the loss of key players due to injuries prior to and during the series. India, on the other hand, came under extreme criticism for the loss and questions were asked of Dravid’s decision to field first, as well as the batsmen’s technique and application during the second innings when they collapsed from 75/3 to 100 all out.
Overall, the test series had been competitive and demonstrated many opportunities of emerging talent on both sides which would hopefully benefit these two sides, as well as world cricket in general in the coming years.
Tour match vs. Rajasthan President's XI (25 March)
Rajastan President's XI win by five runsRajasthan President's XI 260-6 (50 overs)
England 255 (49.5 overs)
Notes: England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
captain Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
was replaced as captain by Vikram Solanki
Vikram Solanki
Vikram Singh Solanki is an Indian-born English cricketer, who plays county cricket for Worcestershire. In 2007, he became the 24th Worcestershire batsman to pass 10,000 career runs for the county. He also captained Worcestershire from 2005 to 2010, before resigning mid-season...
, as he was at home visiting his newly born baby.
First ODI: India v England (28 March)
Second ODI: India v England (31 March)
In the first innings England batsmen Kevin PietersenKevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
tied West Indian
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
Viv Richards
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
' record as the quickest to reach 1,000 runs in ODIs (21 innings). Suresh Raina, with his maiden ODI half-century, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC...
set a new record for the sixth wicket partnership for India in One-day Internationals.
The fall of the third wicket provided a talking point: Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
swept Ian Blackwell
Ian Blackwell
Ian David Blackwell is an English cricketer. A left-arm orthodox spinner and powerful middle-order batsman, he has played for England in one-day and Test sides, and plays county cricket for Durham, having left Somerset at the end of the 2008 season.-Career:Blackwell was called up for the England...
's delivery behind the stumps only for wicket keeper Geraint Jones
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones MBE is an England cricketer of Welsh extraction but raised in Australia. Until August 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for England in both Test and One-day cricket, but fell behind Chris Read, Paul Nixon, Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose...
to make a diving stop and throw the ball at the wicket, dislodging the leg stump and bail. With Singh still in his crease he was given not out, but Indian
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
captain Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
decided to take a quick run in the confusion as the ball ricocheted away; Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
acted quickly though, and grabbed the ball and ran it into the remaining two stumps and bail just as Dravid made it to the crease. The TV umpire was called for the decision and after much deliberation Dravid was given out.
Third ODI: India v England (3 April)
Munaf PatelMunaf Patel
Munaf Musa Patel Urdu:مناف موسی پٹیل is an Indian cricketer who has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team....
made his debut in ODI cricket.
Fourth ODI: India v England (6 April)
Fifth ODI: India v England (9 April)
The game was washed out. Heavy rain poured in the day before, and the ground could not be dried sufficient enough for the game to start. Finally the game was called off by the Umpires' decisions without a ball being bowled due to a soggy outfield, an outcome that angered the fans who had been waiting for the game to start for five hours and they eventually started showing their frustration by hurling stones and setting fire to objects in the stands.Sixth ODI: India v England (12 April)
Twenty-one-year-old V. R. V. Singh made his debut for IndiaIndian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
, who made a disastrous start to their innings, slipping to 76-5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC...
(96) and Ramesh Powar
Ramesh Powar
Ramesh Rajaram Powar is an Indian cricketer. He is an alumnus of Ruparel College of Science, Commerce and Arts in Matunga, Mumbai. He is a useful lower order batsman and off spinner who plays in the Indian ODI team...
(54) lifted the home team to a more respectable total with a century stand for the sixth wicket. Harbhajan Singh was clean bowled by Kevin Pietersen for 4, although Harbhajan did not walk, waiting for the third umpire to be called in to adjudicate on the dismissal before finally swearing at Pietersen as he left the ground. Acting skipper Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
(the third acting captain on this tour with Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
resting as 12th man) led England from the front with 74, before retiring hurt with cramp, and they strolled to victory with 43 balls to spare. Ian Blackwell
Ian Blackwell
Ian David Blackwell is an English cricketer. A left-arm orthodox spinner and powerful middle-order batsman, he has played for England in one-day and Test sides, and plays county cricket for Durham, having left Somerset at the end of the 2008 season.-Career:Blackwell was called up for the England...
hit a no-ball from Powar for six to reach the target.
Seventh ODI: India v England (15 April)
Note: IndianIndian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC...
was replaced by Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik
Krishna Kumar Dinesh Karthik is a wicketkeeper-batsman who has made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004 and has been a regular member of the team for varying periods since then, including a stint in 2007 as a specialist opening batsman and non-wicket-keeper...
. English
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
captain Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
was again replaced by Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
.
Debut of Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa
Robin Venu Uthappa is an Indian cricketer. His father is Venu Uthappa, an international hockey referee from Kodagu, Karnataka, mother Roselyn is a home maker and hails from Kozhikode, Kerala and his sister Sharon is a business owner. He studied at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore...
as the Indian
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
opener saw him hit 12 fours and one six before being run out by Geraint Jones
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones MBE is an England cricketer of Welsh extraction but raised in Australia. Until August 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for England in both Test and One-day cricket, but fell behind Chris Read, Paul Nixon, Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose...
after James Anderson
James Anderson (cricketer)
James Michael "Jimmy" Anderson is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club and since bursting onto the scene in 2002/03, before his first full season of county cricket, Anderson has represented England in over 50 Test matches and over 100 One Day...
dived for a ball to stop a boundary and threw it back to the wicket keeper. The batsman, sharing a 166 partnership for the first wicket with skipper Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
had all but won the match until he chanced a lazy second run; his score of 86 is the highest for any Indian debutant in a limited overs match. With this win, India extended its World Record of successive wins while batting second to 16.