Story India's Journey To World Cup 2011 [Commonwealth Bank Series 2010]

[Aditya]

India v England
1st T20 Match
Played At : Headingly

Indian innings - 19 to 20 overs update​

The crowd was at the edge of their seats. 21 runs were required of 2 overs. The 19th over was given to Tim Bresnan. 1st ball of the 19th over was a dot ball, it was a good bounce to start the over with and Yusuf tried to smash it on leg side but missed it. 2nd ball was straight to the block hole and Yusuf just managed to stop the ball from hitting the stumps. On the 3rd ball of the 19th over, Yusuf lost his wicket. Bresnan bowled it on a good length, with 2 dot balls the pressure was building on Indian team so as expected Yusuf went for a big shot but mistimed the ball and the ball went straight up in the air. High?.Very High?In the air but the fielder at square leg, Paul Collingwood didn?t make any mistake in taking the catch. Next batsman who came to bat was Harbhajan Singh.

Yuvraj crossed the half of the pitch so he was on the strike now. 4th ball of the over was a full length ball on off stump and Yuvraj managed to hit the ball through the off side field for 2 runs. 5th ball of the over was played by Yuvraj on leg side for 2 runs. 6th ball of the over was a no ball; Yuvraj smashed the ball straight to mid off but took off for a single, the fielder at mid off didn?t manage to hit the stumps and the single was completed. And now Harbhajan was facing the free hit ball. It was a full length ball on off stump by Tim Bresnan and Harbhajan didn?t manage to hit it, dot ball.

15 runs were required of the last over. Senior members of the team - Collingwood, Pietersen and Anderson got together and discussed the tactics for the last over. Last over as expected was given to James Anderson. 1st ball of the over was played by Yuvraj on leg side for 2 runs. 2nd ball was smashed by Yuvraj on leg side but the fielder at boundary, Ravi Bopara did well to stop the ball from going to the boundary, Yuvraj had the chance of taking the 3rd run but he didn?t as it was the last over of the match and he couldn?t depend on Harbhajan to smash 11 runs off 4 balls. 3rd ball of the 20th over was smashed by Yuvraj on leg side for SIX RUNS. Yuvraj completely whacked the ball through the leg side. Indian fans in the crowd went crazy.

5 runs were needed now off 3 balls. 4th ball of the over was played through the off side field by Yuvraj for 4. Everyone in the crowd said ?TREMENDOUS SHOT?! 1 run was needed now off 2 balls. Yuvraj decided to end the match in style and smashed the 5th ball of the over on leg side for 4. Fantastic shot to finish off the match. Whole Indian team came to the ground to celebrate. England team was very disappointed because they knew that the match was so close and they had the chance of winning the match but that man Yuvraj was just too good for them.

Coming Up Next ? Post match presentation ceremony with ? Michael Atherton​

 

[AkshayS]

As I expected India to win, they did it. The difference was I expected Yusuf to finish in style but Yuvraj does. Doesn't matter.
Tremendous slog from Yuvito complete it in style. Great performance by India in a thrilling contest.

 

[Aditya]

Post match presentation with - Michael Atherton​

What a great match we?ve had. Both the teams played exceptionally well but in the end one team can win and today it was India.

Firstly, I would like to call England captain, Paul Collingwood.

Paul bad luck so close from winning but yet so far.

Ah yeah. Yuvraj was just excellent today. He took the game away from us. Each and every shot he hit was excellent. Yeah?Yeah..It was India?s day today?

Now It?s time for the ODI?s. With the world cup just 1 year away your team will be looking forward to do well in the odi series.

Yes Michael..We are looking forward to the ODI series..We need to perform well in the ODI series..World cup is just 1 year away and we need to make sure that we perform well in the series? we are having before the world cup.

Bad luck today, best of luck for the ODI series.

Thanks Michael!

Now I would like to call Indian captain, MS Dhoni to come forward and have few words.

Great victory for India wasn?t it?

Yeah, it was a great victory for us. Yuvraj played really well today. When Yuvraj went to the crease we were in a bit of trouble and we needed a really good innings from him and he succeeded in playing a good innings. Well played Yuvi.

Looking forward to win the ODI series as well now, after winning the test series and t20 series as well.

Obviously the whole team is looking forward to the ODI series. We will try and continue the good performance in the ODI series as well.

OK MSD best of luck for the ODI series.

Thanks a lot!

We (the commentary team) got the chance to select the man of the match for this match and the man of the match award goes to Yuvraj Singh for his brilliant 57 runs off 35 balls.

Well played Yuvraj. Extra noshing performance from you! When you came to the crease what were your tactics?

: I was not trying to smash every ball for boundary. At the start of my innings I had the tactics of rotating the strike and let the scoreboard ticking but once I got my eye settled in the middle I went for the big shots.

15 runs were needed off the last over what were you thinking in the next over?

It was not easy. I knew that 2 good balls and the match was over for us. The six I smashed on the 3rd ball of the over really got me going. It was a good game of cricket.

Yeah, it certainly was a good game of cricket! Well played Yuvi.

Thanks Michael!

Before I conclude the post match presentation ceremony the members who guessed the correct team to win the match are Yudi, Akshay_S and Yashwanth Kumar. All 3 of them get 300 vcash each. That?s all from the post match presentation ceremony.

 

[Roofrom50]

So India took the victory. Guess there's no surprise there. Good innings from Yuvraj played really well.
Bad luck for the Poms, but we now look forward to the ODI's. It's going to be a good series.

Lovely updates mate, look forward to the next

 

[Gaurav_7]

India won the match? Aditya, scorecards. That post match thing can be improved vastly.

 

[Aditya]

India won the match? Aditya, scorecards. That post match thing can be improved vastly.

Lol. I lost the scorecard of the match. I just have the match summary card left with me. Here is the match summary card.

I'll update the index with the match summary card as well.

 

[Aditya]

Natwest Triangular Series, 1st ODI
LIVE from Cardiff
Bangladesh v England
Weather forecast, pitch Report, toss and team line ups

Welcome to Cardiff cricket stadium for the 1st natwest triangular series odi. After an exciting test series and a thrilling t20 match now it's time for odi's. With world cup 1 year away the 3 teams, India, Bangladesh and England will be desperate to do well in this odi series. The 1st odi of this natwest triangular series is between Bangladesh and England. England surely look stronger than Bangladesh on paper but we have seen Bangladesh in past beating good sides. The only thing Bangladesh lack is consistency. If they play as a unit in today's match then we might see a upset in this match. Let's have a look at the weather forecast for the match.

Weather Forecast​

The weather will be clear throughout the day. So, we will be having a full odi match. The temperature will be cool and around 14c. It's a day match so as the match will progress the ground will start to fill up. It's a great day for cricket with the temperate cool and the sky clear. Let's now head away to Ian Botham for the pitch report and then Michael Atherton for the toss.

Pitch Report by Ian Botham​

The pitch has some grass which can help the bowlers. There are some cracks opening up which will help the spinners. As it's a early start we might see the team batting first struggling in the first few overs of the match but as the match progresses the pitch will get better for batting.

The first few overs of the match should be played safely by the team which will bat first. The team batting first should safely negotiate the first 10 overs of the match because after 10 overs the pitch will dry out and will turn out to be a good one for the batsman's. Now it's time for the all important toss

Toss with Michael Atherton​

It's time for the all important toss. I have with me Andrew Strauss, England team captain, Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh team captain and match referee, Chris Broad.

Shakib al hasan will spin the coin, Strauss to call....Strauss calls heads...and it's heads

Strauss has won the toss. So Strauss what are England going to do bat first or bowl first?

We will bat first, Michael.

First 10 overs of the match are really crucial. If England safely negotiate first 10 overs then it should be a little easier to bat in the next 40 overs. What are your thoughts?

Yeah, the first 10 overs of the match are really crucial. Bangladesh have got really good bowlers in their side so we will need to play really carefully in the first 10 overs.

OK Strauss. Best of luck for the match.

Thanks you Michael.

Now I would like to have few words with Shakib al hasan.

So, Shakib if you would have won the toss you would have batted first as well?

Yes....Michael we would have batted first. The pitch looks good for the batting but as we are bowling first we will try and take the advantage of the first 10 overs.

Will chasing at this pitch will be hard according to you?

I don't think so. The pitch should turn out to be good for batting as the match progresses but throughout the match the spinners can prove to be dangerous.

Yeah, best of luck for the match Shakib.

Thanks a lot Michael.

So, the news from the centre is that England have won the toss and have elected to bat first.

Now, let's have a look at the team line ups of England and Bangladesh for this match.

So, both the sides are going into this match with a full strengthen squad. Bangladesh have players like Iqbal, Ashraful, Shakib, Mortaza and Razzak in their side. These 5 players are the most important players of their side. Iqbal is a great top order batsman. Ashraful is a really talented batsman but hasn't been in good form in the recent past but we all know what he is capable of. Shakib and Mortaza are all rounders. So, they are handy with the bat as well as the ball. Razzak has been a great bowler for Bangladesh from the past few years and Shakib will be expecting him to do well in today's match.

England, on other hand, are a very strong side. They certainly look stronger than Bangladesh on paper but how they play on a particular day matters. They can't take Bangladesh lightly for sure. England is a very balanced side. Matt Prior and Strauss will open the batting for England. Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan will strengthen the middle order. Michael Yardy will come to bat at 7th down, he is a really handy all rounder. England pace attack is led by James Anderson. Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad are the two other pace bowlers in the side. Swann has been great with the ball in the recent past and he will hope to continue his good form with the ball in this match.

We are just minutes away from the start of the 1st natwest triangular odi. It's time for a short commercial break. After the break we will take you straight to the live action.

 

[Spoobir]

I can't see Bangladesh pulling this one off, England all the way.

Keep up your good, hard work Aditya!

 

[Roofrom50]

I also believe that Bangladesh don't have what it takes to win this match let alone the series. But i do believe they will be very competitive in all of their matches.

Loving the update mate, it's sensational work. Keep it up.

 

[Gaurav_7]

It is going to be Bangladesh, I'm sure. Tamim and Shakib to rule!

 

[Aditya]

Natwest Triangular Series, 1st ODI
Bangladesh v England
LIVE from Cardiff

Bangladesh v England - First 10 overs of the match​

Players and umpires come to field to start the match​

As expected the 2 opening batsman for England were ? Prior and Strauss. The 2 umpires for this match were Ian Gould and Steve Davies. Prior had a good look at the pitch and then took his stance. Shakib Al Hasan gave the opening over of the match to Mashrafe Mortaza. Shakib quickly discussed the tactics with Mortaza and then we were all set to start the match. Umpire Ian Gould set PLAY!

Prior disappoints, out for 9​

The tactic from England team was to rotate the strike and not to take any risk. Prior and Strauss were rotating the strike well. But when Prior was on 9 he tried to got for a big shot on straight but mistimed the ball and gave away his wicket. Prior tried to hit the ball over mid on fielder, Shuvo but wasn?t able to clear the mid on fielder and the ball went straight to Shuvo. Prior went back to the pavilion after making 9 runs off 11 balls.

Strauss looking in good touch​

Next batsman who came to bat was Jonathan Trott. As usual Trott took some time to take his stance. Trott had a look at the pitch, then took his stance, had a good look at the field and finally was ready to face the 1st ball of his innings. After Prior?s wicket England didn?t change their tactic and continued taking singles on regular basis. 4th over of Mashrafe Mortaza was expensive, 8 runs came of the over. Singles on the first 4 balls of the over, 5th ball was a dot ball and the last ball of the over was smashed by Strauss through the leg side field finding the gap to perfection!

4th over of Shafiul Islam proved to be expensive as well. 10 runs came off Islam?s 4th over. 1st ball was played by Strauss for 2 runs, Strauss defended the next 3 balls and the last 2 balls of the over were smashed for 4 by Strauss. One through leg side and one straight! After 2 expensive overs from the fast bowlers, Shakib decided to bring spinners into the bowling attack. Razzak replaced Mortaza. Razzak gave away 4 runs in his first over, 4 singles. First ball and the last ball of the over were dot balls and the rest balls were played for singles by Strauss and Trott. Shuvo replaced Islam. Shuvo?s 1st over was a maiden. Strauss took no risk in this over and the 10 overs were bowled.

ENG : 42/1 after 10 overs
A.Strauss 19*(36)
J.Trott 8*(19)
Last Wicket : M.Prior 9(11)
A.Razzak 1-0-4-0
S.Shuvo 1-1-0-0

 

[hedger_14]

Go Shuvo. 7-5 off 9 overs for him

 

[Spoobir]

I think England will score around 260-270.

 

[AkshayS]

Yeah 260-70 looks like the score at this position.
But Bangladeshi spinners are good now, they are better than ever and I think England may feed them in middle overs.

 

[AbhishekS]

Strauss to reach the three figures!