The simplistic way of looking at the result of the fourth One Day International at Old Trafford is that India lost it, while the truth is England won it as they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. At 114 for seven wickets with only Anderson and Panesar to follow, it appeared as if India would win and by a margin too. However, two young men, one aged 22 and the other 21 had different ideas and if ever proof was needed that temperament separates the men from the boys, it was provided by these two boys.
They became men with their calm temperament and icy determination to take their team to a win. In doing so they also showed the more famous men of their team how to approach and attack a small target. The famous guys went for the big, crowd pleasing shots and perished and the youngsters took the kudos with their sensible batting when even within sight of a win and the temptation to try the big glamorous shot to win the game they pushed for the single that got them a thoroughly well deserved win.
Broad got the man of the match award and he sure looks as if he will win many more for his country for he bowls at a brisk pace with good control and bats with good common sense showing the full face of the bat and using his height to stand tall and punch the ball off the backfoot on both sides of the wicket with ease. To have someone like him come in to bat at No. 9 is a big plus for any side and England reaped the benefit of it in this game. Even in the game England lost at Bristol, Broad had kept Mascarenhas good company as they came close to the mammoth total put up by India and just failed by 9 runs to claim an astonishing win.
Ravi Bopara has gone on record that he wants to be the Tendulkar for England. That is a tall order considering he is batting so low down the order at the moment. He has the temperament but not yet the range of shots that makes Tendulkar the most coveted wicket of all international bowlers. He realized that having got into the misunderstanding that cost his captain’s wicket, he had to stay at the wicket for a long time not least to ensure the skipper had cooled down by the time he got back to the dressing room. In the event he would have got a bear hug from his skip for taking the team to a win which looked unlikely when the third umpire gave the signal to mark the end of the fine innings played by Collingwood. The England captain brings a nice composure to the crease even in this frenetic format of the game and there was no sense of panic even as wickets were tumbling around him. He punched superbly off the backfoot with a minimum of backlift and hardly any follow through, but the timing meant the ball raced to the boundary.
India were let down by their lack of athleticism whether batting or bowling. There is little enthusiasm for the sharp single and a seeming disdain to take the extra sum. Then while fielding there is a strange reluctance to dive despite the hotels giving six pieces of clothing laundry free of charge.
There is just a fraction of the intensity that is needed to win matches at this level. Maybe it’s been a long tour, for some of them are looking just a bit jaded. The one-match rest did Ajit Agarkar a power of good for he came roaring to pick four top order batsmen and give his team a real chance for a win.
Sadly, the competitiveness that was seen at that stage evaporated as the eighth wicket pair settled in and started inclining toward the Indian total. The Indians were pretty vocal while fielding maybe because they had received a fair share while batting but at the end of the day its what you do and not what you say that matters. Broad and Bopara certainly did it for England.
