Magrat Garlick
Global Moderator
Yeah, yeah. Why do I go on. But there are only two games left now, one being the very important third place play-off:
India v England
At a sunny Tenerife, Mark Trescothick looked to continue on his excellent knocks from before as his England side faced India. However, a greatly turning ball from Zaheer found its way into his off stump with the third ball (4 for 1 after 3 balls). Alec Stewart, who failed to hit the runs when needed against Pakistan, now whacked Zaheer and Harbhajan all over the park with a number of boundaries. After the 2nd over, Harbhajan had figures of 0/25 as Stewart had leisurely moved to 37 runs off just 13 balls. Two more fours and a six in the next over moved the English score to 67/1 in 3 overs, and India looked in tatters. Stewart proceeded to his century in 30 balls, and then made a mark on the Tenerife crowd with five consecutive sixes! At the end of the sixth over, he had punished Harbhajan and Zaheer for a total of 151 runs off just 45 balls, bringing England to the fantastic score of 155 for 1 with four overs left. Four successive boundaries in the 7th over brought the scoreboard to 180, and he put 200 up with the 61st ball of the over after a lovely four. Two balls later, he secured his own double century, still with 17 balls to go of the innings. Harbhajan eventually managed to trap him lbw for 208 two balls later, but the damage was already done. Andrew Flintoff hit a boundary-less 26 from 14 balls to bring the English score to a nearly impenetrable 238 for 2.
Sachin Tendulkar had to risk everything chasing this monumental target, and started out well, hitting a four mostly thanks to Mark Trescothick's poor fielding. The first over consisted of three fours and a further thirteen runs, giving India a glimmer of hope. Another three fours were hit in the second over, one of them a spectacular hook that bounced just before the long on boundary, but Craig White limited him to 22 in that over. Tendulkar's first six came with the 20th ball (60 for 0), and with another six and a four, India were in a position to win this (74 for 0 after 3 overs). Two sixes followed in the next over, but Craig White was clearly the better bowler today as he limited Sachin to 21 in the 4th over. With an edged boundary, Tendulkar made 102 on his 34th ball, and England desperately needed a wicket. Instead, Tendulkar punished them further, hitting 31 off poor Andy Caddick. Five consecutive boundaries started the fifth over, four six and one four, and another six plus some runs brought the Indian score to a towering 164 off 6 overs. A fairly poor 7th over, with only 25 runs, gave England some hope, but the fact remained that India only needed 50 off 24 balls. He made the double century with the 59th ball, only to get a thin outside edge to Stewart off the bowling of Flintoff to stop at 203. Still, India only needed 36 from 20, and Rahul Dravid would be the man to provide this. And so he did, in style, hitting fours and sixes all over the park and winning the bronze for India with a splendid forty off ten balls. India's strike rate was 347 in the 4-wicket win - this corresponds to 278 runs!
Scorecards:
England innings:
M Trescothick................b Zaheer......4(3)
AJ Stewart+*....lbw..........b Harbhajan.208(63)
A Flintoff...............not out..........26(14)
Total (for 2 wickets, 80 balls)..........238
DNB: C White, AR Caddick.
Bowling: Zaheer 32-97-1, Harbhajan 32-96-1, Sehwag 16-45-0
India innings:
SR Tendulkar....c Stewart....b Flintoff..203(60)
R Dravid.................not out..........40(10)
Total (for 1 wicket, 70 balls)...........243
DNB: V Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan.
Bowling: Caddick 32-106-0, White 30-111-0, Flintoff 8-26-1.
India v Pakistan to follow tomorrow if I get time...
India v England
At a sunny Tenerife, Mark Trescothick looked to continue on his excellent knocks from before as his England side faced India. However, a greatly turning ball from Zaheer found its way into his off stump with the third ball (4 for 1 after 3 balls). Alec Stewart, who failed to hit the runs when needed against Pakistan, now whacked Zaheer and Harbhajan all over the park with a number of boundaries. After the 2nd over, Harbhajan had figures of 0/25 as Stewart had leisurely moved to 37 runs off just 13 balls. Two more fours and a six in the next over moved the English score to 67/1 in 3 overs, and India looked in tatters. Stewart proceeded to his century in 30 balls, and then made a mark on the Tenerife crowd with five consecutive sixes! At the end of the sixth over, he had punished Harbhajan and Zaheer for a total of 151 runs off just 45 balls, bringing England to the fantastic score of 155 for 1 with four overs left. Four successive boundaries in the 7th over brought the scoreboard to 180, and he put 200 up with the 61st ball of the over after a lovely four. Two balls later, he secured his own double century, still with 17 balls to go of the innings. Harbhajan eventually managed to trap him lbw for 208 two balls later, but the damage was already done. Andrew Flintoff hit a boundary-less 26 from 14 balls to bring the English score to a nearly impenetrable 238 for 2.
Sachin Tendulkar had to risk everything chasing this monumental target, and started out well, hitting a four mostly thanks to Mark Trescothick's poor fielding. The first over consisted of three fours and a further thirteen runs, giving India a glimmer of hope. Another three fours were hit in the second over, one of them a spectacular hook that bounced just before the long on boundary, but Craig White limited him to 22 in that over. Tendulkar's first six came with the 20th ball (60 for 0), and with another six and a four, India were in a position to win this (74 for 0 after 3 overs). Two sixes followed in the next over, but Craig White was clearly the better bowler today as he limited Sachin to 21 in the 4th over. With an edged boundary, Tendulkar made 102 on his 34th ball, and England desperately needed a wicket. Instead, Tendulkar punished them further, hitting 31 off poor Andy Caddick. Five consecutive boundaries started the fifth over, four six and one four, and another six plus some runs brought the Indian score to a towering 164 off 6 overs. A fairly poor 7th over, with only 25 runs, gave England some hope, but the fact remained that India only needed 50 off 24 balls. He made the double century with the 59th ball, only to get a thin outside edge to Stewart off the bowling of Flintoff to stop at 203. Still, India only needed 36 from 20, and Rahul Dravid would be the man to provide this. And so he did, in style, hitting fours and sixes all over the park and winning the bronze for India with a splendid forty off ten balls. India's strike rate was 347 in the 4-wicket win - this corresponds to 278 runs!
Scorecards:
England innings:
M Trescothick................b Zaheer......4(3)
AJ Stewart+*....lbw..........b Harbhajan.208(63)
A Flintoff...............not out..........26(14)
Total (for 2 wickets, 80 balls)..........238
DNB: C White, AR Caddick.
Bowling: Zaheer 32-97-1, Harbhajan 32-96-1, Sehwag 16-45-0
India innings:
SR Tendulkar....c Stewart....b Flintoff..203(60)
R Dravid.................not out..........40(10)
Total (for 1 wicket, 70 balls)...........243
DNB: V Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan.
Bowling: Caddick 32-106-0, White 30-111-0, Flintoff 8-26-1.
India v Pakistan to follow tomorrow if I get time...