Captain Morgan wins thriller for England
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They don't come as smooth as Captain Morgan. As MS Dhoni and his senior
associates debated the field for the final delivery of the chase, off
which England needed three to win, Eoin Morgan was calm, had a word with
his partner and then waited. Jos Buttler had tried to be cheeky and
didn't succeed the previous ball, but Morgan put an end to the game in
the only way an expectant crowd sensing victory could have been silenced
in disbelief - a deathly blow over the sightscreen when there seemed to
be enough room in the field to squeeze a couple and take the game to a
Super Over.
With a Test series won and a T20 series drawn, England rounded off their
first leg of this tour of India on a happy note. The victory was also
their highest successful chase in T20 internationals.
Ashok Dinda, who bowled that last over, had tried hard to get his
yorkers on target, with nine needed. The first five deliveries yielded
just six runs, thanks to some good outfielding, even though Dinda didn't
quite find his mark each time. When Buttler first shaped up for a scoop
off the penultimate ball before trying to guide it past Dhoni's right,
only to miss it and steal a bye, it seemed his more enterprising
instincts may have backfired. But it brought Morgan on strike, and when
Dinda overpitched, he launched him straight over his head, dispatching
the ball above the press box, 92 metres into the stands.
Smart stats |
Butler's contribution, too, was significant. He joined Morgan with
England needing 29 off 13, and the partnership kicked off with Morgan
immediately pulling Dinda for six over deep midwicket. Up against the
inexperienced Parvinder Awana in the penultimate over, Buttler drove a
low full toss through extra cover before hammering the bowler for a
flat, straight six off the final ball to bring it down to nine off six.
And Morgan completed the job.
Yuvraj Singh produced another excellent spell, picking up three wickets
and conceding just 17 from his four overs, helping India recover from an
opening partnership that threatened to take the game away from them.
Michael Lumb produced his best performance in England colours, timing
the ball superbly and showing plenty of intent, combining power play
with some adept footwork that fetched him a lovely, straight six off R Ashwin. Lumb helped score 62 off the Powerplay and added 80 in 50 balls
with Alex Hales, who impressed again with another productive hand.
Lumb's stumping, Luke Wright's lbw and Hales - who was dropped by Awana
on 7 - holing out, all to Yuvraj, put the pressure back on England
before Morgan and Buttler turned the tables. India had done the same in
their innings towards the death, smashing 63 in the last five overs
thanks to Suresh Raina and Dhoni stepping up, but England were
outstanding in their groundfielding.
They threw themselves around in the outfield, the fast bowlers included,
cutting off boundaries, often restricting the hosts, despite their good
running between wickets, to twos. Though Raina and Dhoni's late assault
threatened to undermine that, the runs saved by England, which kept
India to a challenging but gettable 177, played an influential role in
the outcome. India put down two chances - Piyush Chawla let off Samit
Patel when was yet to score - and there was a fumble that cost four runs
from the first ball of England's chase. In a game decided on the last
ball, each lapse or incidence of brilliance had a magnified impact.
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