India surrenders to England cheaply

India faced their second successive defeat in the Carlton Mid One day series as England beat India by 9 wickets. It was a horrible performance from the Indian batting line-up which needed a bit of re-shuffling due to few injury concerns.

Winning the toss India decided to bat first. Rohit Sharma was left out due to an injury which he suffered while fielding in the match against Australia. Dhawan’s poor run in Australia continued for he got out for a duck this time. Ambati Rayudu (23) who came in place of Rohit failed to make much of an impact although he was one of the four Indian batsmen who went past the double digit. Rahane (33) was the only man who looked in a bit of control while he was batting as he came on to open the innings for India. But he again gave it away at a crucial stage. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina failed to make proper contributions as India slumped to 67-5 in the 19^th over. Dhoni and Stuart Binny tried to make amends and took India’s total over the 100-run mark. But as Dhoni (34) got out it was a task too heavy for the Indian tail-enders to handle the English pace bowlers. India got bowled out for a paltry 153 with Stuart Binny scoring 44 of those. Steven Finn was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up 5 wickets giving away only 33 runs. Jimmy Anderson picked up 4 wickets but and gave just 18 runs in his 8 overs. It was simply an outstanding performance from the English bowlers as they made use of the bowling friendly condition in Brisbane.

England chased down the target of 154 runs in just 27.3 overs with Ian Bell and Taylor both scoring half centuries. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar provided the early wicket of Moeen Ali but the target was too small to put any pressure on the English batsmen. Bell remained not out on 88 while Taylor was unbeaten on 56.

With this defeat India is now placed at the third place in the triangular series with Australia sitting pretty on the top with two wins, one with a bonus point. England also now has a win with a bonus. Things are not looking too good for India as they now find themselves in a must-win situation. India next face Australia on January 26 and India needs to win that.

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About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.