2nd ODI at Indore – India vs England

7.00 P.M.

India defeats a colourless England and goes 2-0 up in the 7 match ODI series.

The Indian bowlers ensured the victory by choking the flow of runs and striking blows when the batsmen tried to wrest the initiative.

Though the paying public in Indore may have got their money worth, for others it was as entertaining as watching a python slowly constrict and swallow a large prey.

As expected Yuvraj Singh was declared the man of the match.

1. 00 P.M.

I have to mention the clangers I made in my early morning update. I made a fool of myself by saying that Sidebottom would play. Well he did not. Similarly, I had said that the pitch would be a typical ODI pitch, well; it is not a typical one. I had also said that Yuvraj would sit out, hmm... Thankfully, he did not and was there to save India.

The day started with Broad rattling India with three quick blows. However, Gambhir, who is fast turning out to be a Mr. Reliable and Yuvraj combined to pull India out of danger.

Broad used the slower ones to sucker Sehwag and Raina, whereas the extra bounce accounted for Rohit. Both Raina and Rohit are becoming a headache of Yuvraj proportion. They seem casual and hunker down to the task when their place is in jeopardy.

I had carefully avoided making much of Yuvraj century in the last ODI. However, this must be one of his better ones. It just confirms that the man has talent and the only thing wrong is his attitude.

Finally, Yusuf Pathan came good and some of his hits were awe-inspiring. I particularly liked the way he messed up Harmisons bowling figures.

Having set 293 for a win and a lackadaisical pitch to contend with the India bowlers will have to buckle down to the task. I fear they are no easy pickings.

6.00 A.M.

Let us start with a recap. At Rajkot, India gave England a whipping of their lives. Though much was made of Petersen's decision to put India in, the toss had no bearing on the outcome of the match. On a typical Indian ODI wicket, Indian bowlers bowled with discipline and shut England out.

Now let us move on to Indore. In all probability, the wicket will be similar to the one in Rajkot. ‘The Hindu’ talks about a couple of cracks and suggests that Ojha will be able to exploit it better than Yusuf Pathan will. Including Ojha on this basis is needless as the cracks will come into play only during the second innings and he could turn out to be ineffective if India were to lose the toss.

Yusuf Pathan has failed to repeat his sterling displays in the IPL. His dismissals, mostly caught off a miscued shot indicate he is in unsure. Dhoni should ask him to play his own game and not hold back.

Yuvraj Singh will certainly sit out and unless the Indian think tank decides to throw Murali Vijay into the deep end, Virat Kholi will certainly replace him.

Coming to England, they have played a small mind game for the last two days with Ryan Sidebottom as the principal. They have assiduously built up his injury and talked about not risking him at Indore. Nevertheless, Sidebottom will play at Indore, as the English believe he will add variety to their attack.

Cricket News Online Live on India-England ODI series 2008.

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