India complete clean sweep

Dhoni, spinners help avenge drubbing in England as hosts clinch series 5-0

Coming into the five-match one-day series, the talking point was the absence of big names like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan, and of course the dominance of England over India.

It was as if the youngsters didn’t stand a chance to even stretch England, but from Hyderabad they played determined cricket to give a lashing to England that ended with a 95-run win here to bag the series 5-0.

Once again, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (75 n.o, 69b, 3x4, 4x6) led the way with a pragmatic innings as India posted a formidable 271, and despite getting a good start, 129 without loss in the 21st over, England were bundled for 176, 10 wickets falling for a mere 47 runs in a remarkable passage of play.

But it all began with Dhoni. He walked in when India were wobbling at 123 for four. Ajinkya Rahane, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli were dismissed in the space of 10 deliveries without a run being added.

Manoj Tiwary, who came in for Parthiv Patel, and Suresh Raina began the rescue act by putting on 43, after which Dhoni and Raina realised 39 for the firth wicket.
But more than the numbers, the stands steadied the boat, also allowing Dhoni to settle down nicely. During that stand with Raina, Dhoni focused on trademark sharply run singles and doubles, but from the 40th over, a different Dhoni was on view.

He opened his huge shoulders and sent the ball high and long into the stands regularly as 86 runs flowed in the last 10 overs, and the Jharkhandi stayed till the end to ensure that India reached a challenging total.

England have thus failed to dismiss Dhoni, who was rightly adjudged man of the series, in the last seven one-dayers, and his last ODI dismissal was at The Oval during the third one-dayer.

Dhoni amassed 212 runs from four innings in this series to finish the third highest run-getter for India behind Kohli (290) and Gambhir (213).

On a pitch that offered a hint of turn, but nothing more dangerous than that, England needed a good start to scale down the target.

They indeed got off to one as skipper Alastair Cook and Craig Kieswetter added 129 for the opening wicket in a little over 20 overs. It was the finest start to the innings England have made in the whole series, and a victory finally beckoned.

Both Cook, who made his second fifty of the series, and Kieswetter, who made his first fifty to buy himself some more time, looked extremely comfortable, both against spin and pace, and for the first time in the series they looked the dominant force they had been the whole of the last English summer.

Ironically, it was a paceman who changed the scenario on a night when nine wickets fell to spinners. Varun Aaron managed to castle Cook from around the wicket, and England innings fell into a state of anarchy. R Ashwin and man of the match Ravindra Jadeja tormented them with accurate spells, and it was a reflection of England’s travails against the turning ball throughout this series.

Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, who replaced an injured Kevin Pietersen, Jonny Bairstow and Ravi Bopara, who formed the chunk of England’s line-up, succumbed to Ashwin and Jadeja without a modicum of fight.

Fittingly, Dhoni played a part in the end of the England innings, holding on to a catch to dismiss Steven Finn, the visitors’ most outstanding bowler of the day and the series, off Ashwin.

It was a grand triumph for India’s stars of tomorrow, and the motto of a private company building that towered just behind the Eden offered a perfect catch-line for the occasion – Future Safe.

SCORE BOARD

INDIA

Rahane c Kieswetter b Bresnan    42
(61b, 6x4)
Gambhir b Finn    38
(46b, 4x4)
Kohli b Finn    0
(5b)
Tiwary c Kieswetter b Meaker    24
(30b, 4x4)
Raina (run out)    38
(46b, 5x4)
Dhoni (not out)    75
(69b, 3x4, 4x6)
Jadeja c Bell b Patel    21
(21b, 2x4)
Ashwin c Bairstow b Patel    7
(10b)
Praveen c Bairstow b Patel    16
(12b, 1x4, 1x6)
Vinay (not out)    0
(0b)

Extras (B-2, W-8)    10

Total (for 8 wkts, 50 overs)    271

Fall of wickets: 1-80 (Gambhir), 2-80 (Kohli), 3-80 (Rahane), 4-123 (Tiwary), 5-162 (Raina), 6-206 (Jadeja), 7-215 (Ashwin), 8-259 (Praveen).

Bowling: Bresnan 9-0-36-1, Finn 10-2-47-2 (w-4), Meaker 10-0-65-1 (w-4), Patel 9-0-57-3, Swann 8-0-45-0, Bopara 4-1-19-0.

Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 23/0; 10: 41/0; 20: 81/3; 30: 135/4; 40: 185/5; end of innings: 271/8 in 50 overs.

Runs during Power Play 1: 1-10 overs: 41/0; Power Play 2: 16-20 overs: 10/3; Power Play
3 (batting): 36-40 overs: 28/1.

ENGLAND

Kieswetter lbw Jadeja    63
(64b, 9x4, 1x6)
Cook b Aaron    60
(61b, 5x4)
Trott c Kohli b Jadeja    5
(10b)
Bell c Dhoni b Ashwin    2
(6b)
Bopara b Raina    4
(16b)
Bairstow c Rahane b Jadeja    2
(7b)
Patel c Dhoni b Jadeja    18
(33b, 2x4)
Bresnan c Raina b Tiwary    0
(4b)
Swann (not out)    10
(11b, 1x4, 1x6)
Meaker lbw Ashwin    1
(6b)
Finn c Dhoni b Ashwin    2
(4b)

Extras (LB-4, W-5)    9

Total (all out, 37 overs)    176

Fall of wickets: 1-129 (Cook), 2-134 (Kieswetter), 3-137 (Bell), 4-137 (Trott), 5-141 (Bairstow), 6-155 (Bopara), 7-156 (Bresnan), 8-167 (Patel), 9-174 (Meaker).

Bowling: Praveen 5-0-34-0 (w-1), Vinay 3-0-21-0, Ashwin 9-0-28-3, Tiwary 5-0-28-1 (w-2), Jadeja 8-0-33-4, Aaron 3-0-19-1  (w-1), Raina 4-0-9-1 (w-1).

Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 30/0; 10: 62/0; 20: 125/0; 30: 154/5; end of innings: 174 all out in 37 overs.

Runs during Power Play 1: 1-10 overs: 62/0; Power Play 2: 22-26 overs: 10/4; Power Play 3 (batting): 36-40 overs: 9/3.