Photo: AP
In the virtual semifinal in the Carlton Mid triangular series England triumphed over India by 3 wickets to seal their berth in the finals. James Taylor and Jos Buttler made sure that England chased down the small target set by India and set up a date with Australia in the final to be played within a couple of days time.
In the sixth and final league game of the triangular series at the WACA in Perth, England won the toss and put India into bat. It was a solid start by India provided by Dhawan and Rahane. They put up 83 runs for the first wicket. But as Dhawan went out for 38, India’s innings collapsed badly. In the end they managed to put up exactly 200 on the board thanks to a late surge from number eleven Mohammad Shami. Ajinkya Rahane yet again showed his class in his innings of 72 but none was there to give him support.
Photo: Allsports
And it was the lack of support eventually brought about his downfall for pressure on him rose as others became just mere visitors in the middle. Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Stuart Binny and Ravindra Jadeja- India’s coveted middle order collapsed like house of cards in front of disciplined English bowling on a Perth pitch that had variable bounce. Shami’s late blow with the bat enabled India to reach the 200-run mark. James Anderson yet again bowled excellently as he was well supported by Steve Finn and Moeen Ali at the other end.
England made a poor start as they came on to chase down the target set by India. And at one point they were down to 66-5, thanks to disciplined bowling from Stuart Binny, Mohammad Shami and Mohit Sharma. However India lacked a fourth bowler who could have kept the pressure on the English batsmen. And James Taylor and Jos Buttler took advantage of that and took England close to the finishing line. Both reached their before they had got out with less than 20 runs needed to win. In the end, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes steered England to victory with 3 wickets in hand and 19 balls to spare.
Photo: AFP
It was yet another dismal performance from the Indian batsmen that cost India the match and a place in the final. With this defeat India has now failed to register a single victory in the ODIs in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, yet they are the number 2 in the ICC rankings which is really surprising. India has now more questions and problems than what they had before the triangular series had started. And there is very little time before the start of the World Cup to solve all those as India will be up against Australia in the warm-up game at Adelaide on the February 8.
Tags: Cricket news England india
