In my earlier column, I wrote about England giving the impression of having more than one captain on the field whenever they were in trouble. But nothing of that sort happened in the decider at Lord’s. To say that Paul Collingwood led from the front would be an understatement. His captaincy played a big role in England’s 4-3 win in the one-day series against India. His body language was positive, especially in the decider at Lord’s. His field-placements were precise and most of his bowling changes timely and appropriate.
Then, there was his own batting and fielding. He batted like a champion, and was outstanding in the infield. Mahendra Singh Dhoni paid a tribute of sorts to the England skipper’s fielding capabilities by turning down singles while batting with the tail-enders in the last game, although Collingwood was off-balance on a couple of occasions and a run could have easily been taken.
The Indians will be disappointed after the final game, but the fact remains that they displayed remarkable fortitude to level the series after being 1-3 down. With their fielding problems being all too obvious, it was important that the batters came good. Click they did in most of the games, save the final encounter.
The veterans batted well at the top, and they were complemented by the likes of Yuvraj and Dravid. Robin Uthappa’s audacious innings at the Oval will be remembered for years to come, and if he carries on in the same vein, he will be the Indian player to watch out for in the Twenty20 World Championship. India’s gains from the series will be the performances of Uthappa, and the spin twins Chawla and Powar. Very rarely do you see two specialist spinners bowl in tandem in limited-overs cricket. And that was the reason the England batsmen were taken by surprise. They did give away their fair share of fours and sixes, but no England batsman managed to subjugate them. That is a tremendous achievement for a seven-match series.
The spinners left the England batsmen with no option but to put their heads down and apply themselves to the task to accumulating runs. Ian Bell, the Player of the Series, did this to perfection. It is a treat to watch him when he is in full flow — with the bat. One England player who won’t be thrilled with his batting form is Kevin Pietersen. He did get fifties in the last two games, but didn’t fare too well in the preceding five. His problems against Piyush Chawla might well prompt him to spend some time with his Hampshire skipper Shane Warne in the nets, whenever he gets the opportunity. A lot was expected of Powar, and it has to be said that he lived up to expectations. It takes confidence and guts to toss the ball up in modern times, wherein the boundary-ropes have been pulled inside to ensure more boundaries and sixes and thereby, more ‘entertainment.’ But the Indian spinners entertained in their own way by teasing and tormenting the England batsmen.
He may be struggling with his ankle, but Andrew Flintoff remains England’s talisman. England won three of the four games that he played, and he wasn’t exactly a passenger in any of them. He made all the difference in the final one-dayer with the prized scalps of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. It was decidedly unfortunate that the little champion, who has been India’s talisman for more than a decade, could not end the series with a crucial contribution.
England will be heartened by the lion-hearted efforts of James Anderson. With Harmison and Hoggard absent and Flintoff a doubtful starter, England needed someone who could keep things tight against India’s formidable top order.
He capped a splendid series with a magnificent display in the final one-dayer at Lord’s. In Stuart Broad, England have unearthed an all-rounder for the future. His incisive bowling apart, his pragmatic approach as a batsman in the fourth one-dayer, wherein all India needed was one wicket, indicates that he has it in him to have a distinguished career.
It can be said that the one-day series was won by the side that fielded and ran better. They did finish the tour with several positives, but the Indian players certainly have a lot of work to do.
