January 22, 2025

If a team is not cowed down when the opposition puts up 381 on the board and has the audacity to go after the score, you have to take your hats off to them. And watch the run chase with your mouth open in disbelief. England deserves fulsome praise for making an awesome match out of the Cuttack ODI. It would have been very easy to throw in the towel in the face of the effort required to score close to 8 runs per over. But if England chose not to give in, it was for four specific reasons. One, the pitch was a belter, with little or no purchase for the bowlers. Two, the Indian bowling line-up is not very threatening on these kinds of pitches. Three, England has the firepower in the form of Roy, Root, Morgan and Buttler to dream big. Four, after T20s making even 12 an over look simple, 8 an over seems eminently chaseable nowadays. But reasons often fall by the wayside if a team does not have self-belief and England has shown that they are not lacking in this department.

Before that, India was bailed out of a tricky situation by two prominent members of what is now the old guard. Comeback man Yuvraj Singh played a blazing innings to score 150. It was a vintage Yuvraj innings which saw him execute some breathtaking cricketing shots that proved the selectors and captain Kohli right about his place in the team. With Dhawan, Rahul and Kohli out cheaply, India were in deep trouble. But when Dhoni dropped anchor and played an uncharacteristically sedate innings initially, Yuvraj started taking risks after a brief period of watchfulness. It was a treat for cricket lovers to watch these two go about their task with clinical efficiency. Dhoni started playing freely once Yuvraj was set and he too scored a scintillating hundred. In the process, they entertained the capacity crowd and allowed India to set up a huge total.

That England did not buckle in and made a match of it doubled the pleasure for the crowd. At one time it seemed Morgan would guide them to a historic win. His run out took the winds out of England’s sail. But India must be commended for sticking manfully to the task even as England batsmen were scoring at will. Fielding continued to be India’s bane, with missed run-outs and dropped catches allowing England a near improbable win. The Indians needed to be extra vigilant on the field as they knew that if England were to go after the mammoth total, they would take chances affording India an opportunity to pick wickets. In such a situation, half chances also need to be converted. Despite the exciting win, India will need to tighten up on its fielding in the days ahead.