Well , well . The series was termed as 'The Revenge Series' by the Indian Cricket team fans but to their dismay , India lost the Test Series 2-1 and drew the 2 T20I series 1-1.
The First Match was held at Ahemedabad. India won the toss and chose to bat. India got off to a good start with the opening pair adding 134 for the first wicket when Gambhir fell to Swann for a well made 45. Pujara and Sehwag added to England's woes with Sehwag scoring a century. Sehwag was bowled by Swann for 117 which included 15 fours and a six. Sachin Tendulkar was the next to go. Pujara who played patiently got his maiden double century . Yuvraj Singh who made his Test Comeback scored 74 with 2 huge sixes and 6 fours.India amassed 521 for the loss of 8 wickets. England in reply were bundled out for a mere 140 with Ojha picking up 5 wickets and Ashwin picking up 3 wickets. Cook made 41. India enforced the follow on. Cook played a blinder (176) so did Prior (91) but they couldn't give England a huge lead. England were all out for 406 with Ojha yet again among the wickets picking up 4 and Yadav picked up 3. India needed 77 to win and India won the match quite easily and convincingly by 9 wickets. Pujara was awarded the Man of the Match.
The second match was held at Mumbai. India won the toss and chose to bat. India lost wickets at regular intervals. Pujara batted beautifully and made 135. Ashwin made 68 and gave Pujara a good support. India were bundled out for 327 with Panesar picking 5 wickets and Swann picking up 4 wickets. In reply England made 413 with Cook scoring 122 and Kevin Pietersen scoring 186. Ojha again was among the wickets picking up 5 crucial wickets. In reply the Indian batsmen came a cropper. India were bundled out for a mere 142 with only Gambhir and Ashwin getting into a double digit score. Gambhir scored 60. Panesar picked up 6 wickets and Swann picked up 4 wickets. England scored the required 57 runs quite easily. Though Panesar got a 10 wicket match haul, Pietersen for his 186 was adjudged the Man of the Match.
The third match was held at Kolkata. India yet again won the toss and got off to a good start befor Sehwag was dismissed in a bizarre way , running himself out while looking out for the 3rd run. India were dismissed for 316 runs with Gambhir scoring 60, Tendulkar scoring 76 and MS Dhoni scoring 52. England amassed 523 with Cook scoring 190 who was also run out in a very very bizarre manner. Kevin Pietersen had nudged the ball to square leg. Virat Kohli attempted a run out at the bowler's end. Cook trying to get away from the throw,just lifted his bat at the final moment. Compton made 57,Trott made 87,Pietersen made 54. Indian batsmen yet again came a cropper. India could manage only 247 with Ashwin scoring 91*. It was an awesome resistance shown by Ashwin! England needing 41 to win got there with some hiccups. But Ian Bell ensured there was no further hiccups. Cook was adjudged the Man of the Match .
The fourth match was held at Nagpur. Cook finally won the toss and chose to bat.England made 330 with debutant Root and Pietersen scoring 73.Chawla who made a Test comeback picket up 4 wickets and debutant Jadeja picked up 2 wickets. In reply India declared their innings at 326 for the loss of 9 wickets. V Kohli and and MS Dhoni put on a 198 run partnership for the 5th wicket. Kohli scored a magnificient 103 and MS Dhoni was run out when he was on 99 . I WAS HEART-BROKEN at that time. But MS Dhoni walked away quietly . That amazed me! England in reply lost quick wickets which gave some hope for India for leveling the series . But it was Bell again with Trott , rescued England and got centuries. The match ended in a tame draw.Anderson was adjudged the Man of the match for his awesome bowling.
Cook was waiting for the moment . So was the whole English team for that final moment. England had won a test series in India after 28 years. People and many news channels blamed Dhoni for the loss. Seriously people still don't know that cricket is a team game.! :/ . Being a die-hard fan of MS Dhoni , I just had to argue with my friends that he is still the best.
In the T20 series, Eoin Morgan lead the England team. Stuart Broad was injured which forced him to fly back home. The first match was held at Pune, the first international match held at the venue. India won the toss and chose to field . England made 157 for the loss of 6 wickets with Hales scoring 56 and Wright scored 34. Buttler gave the finishing touch with 33 * of 21 balls. Yuvraj bowled very well picking up 3 wickets and giving away 19 runs. India chased it down quite easily with Yuvraj scoring 38. He was awarded the Man of the Match.
In the second T20I , India were asked to bat first. India scored 177 runs for the loss of 8 wickets with MS Dhoni scoring 38 off 18 balls and Raina scoring 33 off 20 . In reply , England won the match with 6 wickets remaining and NO BALLS to spare. It came down towards the last ball. 3 runs were required off the final delivery and Morgan did it in style hitting a 92 m six straight over the bowler's head. Awana's fieliding(dropped a catch of Hales) and Gambhir's slow start (17 off 27) added to India's woes which I felt was the turning point of the game.
It was a good series. England deserved to win the Test series. And the T20 series was awesome. The ODI series will start in mid January 2013. Don't forget the India-Pakistan series which is the mother of all clashes in cricket according to a page on Facebook!
The First Match was held at Ahemedabad. India won the toss and chose to bat. India got off to a good start with the opening pair adding 134 for the first wicket when Gambhir fell to Swann for a well made 45. Pujara and Sehwag added to England's woes with Sehwag scoring a century. Sehwag was bowled by Swann for 117 which included 15 fours and a six. Sachin Tendulkar was the next to go. Pujara who played patiently got his maiden double century . Yuvraj Singh who made his Test Comeback scored 74 with 2 huge sixes and 6 fours.India amassed 521 for the loss of 8 wickets. England in reply were bundled out for a mere 140 with Ojha picking up 5 wickets and Ashwin picking up 3 wickets. Cook made 41. India enforced the follow on. Cook played a blinder (176) so did Prior (91) but they couldn't give England a huge lead. England were all out for 406 with Ojha yet again among the wickets picking up 4 and Yadav picked up 3. India needed 77 to win and India won the match quite easily and convincingly by 9 wickets. Pujara was awarded the Man of the Match.
The second match was held at Mumbai. India won the toss and chose to bat. India lost wickets at regular intervals. Pujara batted beautifully and made 135. Ashwin made 68 and gave Pujara a good support. India were bundled out for 327 with Panesar picking 5 wickets and Swann picking up 4 wickets. In reply England made 413 with Cook scoring 122 and Kevin Pietersen scoring 186. Ojha again was among the wickets picking up 5 crucial wickets. In reply the Indian batsmen came a cropper. India were bundled out for a mere 142 with only Gambhir and Ashwin getting into a double digit score. Gambhir scored 60. Panesar picked up 6 wickets and Swann picked up 4 wickets. England scored the required 57 runs quite easily. Though Panesar got a 10 wicket match haul, Pietersen for his 186 was adjudged the Man of the Match.
The third match was held at Kolkata. India yet again won the toss and got off to a good start befor Sehwag was dismissed in a bizarre way , running himself out while looking out for the 3rd run. India were dismissed for 316 runs with Gambhir scoring 60, Tendulkar scoring 76 and MS Dhoni scoring 52. England amassed 523 with Cook scoring 190 who was also run out in a very very bizarre manner. Kevin Pietersen had nudged the ball to square leg. Virat Kohli attempted a run out at the bowler's end. Cook trying to get away from the throw,just lifted his bat at the final moment. Compton made 57,Trott made 87,Pietersen made 54. Indian batsmen yet again came a cropper. India could manage only 247 with Ashwin scoring 91*. It was an awesome resistance shown by Ashwin! England needing 41 to win got there with some hiccups. But Ian Bell ensured there was no further hiccups. Cook was adjudged the Man of the Match .
The fourth match was held at Nagpur. Cook finally won the toss and chose to bat.England made 330 with debutant Root and Pietersen scoring 73.Chawla who made a Test comeback picket up 4 wickets and debutant Jadeja picked up 2 wickets. In reply India declared their innings at 326 for the loss of 9 wickets. V Kohli and and MS Dhoni put on a 198 run partnership for the 5th wicket. Kohli scored a magnificient 103 and MS Dhoni was run out when he was on 99 . I WAS HEART-BROKEN at that time. But MS Dhoni walked away quietly . That amazed me! England in reply lost quick wickets which gave some hope for India for leveling the series . But it was Bell again with Trott , rescued England and got centuries. The match ended in a tame draw.Anderson was adjudged the Man of the match for his awesome bowling.
Cook was waiting for the moment . So was the whole English team for that final moment. England had won a test series in India after 28 years. People and many news channels blamed Dhoni for the loss. Seriously people still don't know that cricket is a team game.! :/ . Being a die-hard fan of MS Dhoni , I just had to argue with my friends that he is still the best.
In the T20 series, Eoin Morgan lead the England team. Stuart Broad was injured which forced him to fly back home. The first match was held at Pune, the first international match held at the venue. India won the toss and chose to field . England made 157 for the loss of 6 wickets with Hales scoring 56 and Wright scored 34. Buttler gave the finishing touch with 33 * of 21 balls. Yuvraj bowled very well picking up 3 wickets and giving away 19 runs. India chased it down quite easily with Yuvraj scoring 38. He was awarded the Man of the Match.
In the second T20I , India were asked to bat first. India scored 177 runs for the loss of 8 wickets with MS Dhoni scoring 38 off 18 balls and Raina scoring 33 off 20 . In reply , England won the match with 6 wickets remaining and NO BALLS to spare. It came down towards the last ball. 3 runs were required off the final delivery and Morgan did it in style hitting a 92 m six straight over the bowler's head. Awana's fieliding(dropped a catch of Hales) and Gambhir's slow start (17 off 27) added to India's woes which I felt was the turning point of the game.
It was a good series. England deserved to win the Test series. And the T20 series was awesome. The ODI series will start in mid January 2013. Don't forget the India-Pakistan series which is the mother of all clashes in cricket according to a page on Facebook!
