India lost the opening match against England by 9 runs. Top order showed some form but that was not enough, Gambhir hits brilliant fifty and Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina made notable contribution in the chasing total.
However, team India fell just 9 runs short of the target. Hope they will do well in the coming four ODIs against England.
The presentation after the India vs England 1st ODI played at Rajkot.
Man of the Match is James Tredwell
England captain Alastair Cook said, “Good toss to win. Very good wicket, and we made the most of it. Proud of the side. Samit and Craig at the end made a difference. Was an excellent wicket throghout, and a quick outfield. It is hard to defend with five men in the circle, India kept getting close, but we got the wickets when it mattered. Tredwell bowled brilliantly. It is pretty much the same attack we had here in 2001, and good to see how we have learned from the experience.”
Indian captain, MS Dhoni said, “It was difficult but we should have got there. It was close to 280 or 290 rather than looking at it as 320-odd. Maybe I should have batted a few more overs. There was a situation in the middle when it looked they would have scored 340, spinners got us back. It is a new batch of bowlers, not experienced in international cricket. You have to make sure someone bats at one end and others rotate around him. I won’t sound arrogant but it seemed easy when I and Raina were in, with five fielders in the circle. But once we fell, it was difficult.”
Man of the Match winner, James Tredwell said, “You try and hit your skills over and over again. If the batsman hits a good shot, so be it. We got wickets at the right time, even at the lower end, it is what helped us get over the line. [New fielding rules] give you an opportunity to play against the spin, sometimes it can play into your hands.”
England: A. Cook c Rahane b Raina 75 (84b, 11 x 4s, 1x 6), I . Bell run out (Rahane) 85 (96b, 9 x 4s, 1 x 6), K.Pietersen c Kohli b Dinda 44 (45b, 4 x 4s, 1 x 6), E.Morgan c & b Dinda 41 (38b, 4 x 4s, 2x 6), C.Kieswetter not out 24 (20b, 1 x 4, 2 x 6), S.Patel not out 44 (20b, 6 x 4s, 1 x 6), Extras (nb2, w10) 12 , Total (for 4 wkts in 50 overs) 325
Fall of wkts: 1-158 (Bell), 2-172 (Cook), 3-248 (Morgan), 4-255 (Pietersen)
India bowling: Kumar 7-0-52-0, Sharma 10-2-86-0, Dinda 8-0-53-2, Ashwin 9-0-61-0, Jadeja 10-0-46-0, Raina 5-0-18-1, Kohli 1-0-9-0
India: A.Rahane c Dernbatch b Tredwell 47 (57b, 6 x 4s), G. Gambhir c Bell b Tredwell 52 (52b, 7 x 4s), V. Kohli c Kieswetter b Bresnan 15 (22b, 1 x 4) , Yuvraj Singh c Dernbach b Tredwell 61 (54b, 8 x 4s, 1 x 6), Suresh Raina c & b Tredwell 50 (49b, 7 x 4s), M. S. Dhoni c Root b Dernbach 32 (25b, 4 x 6s), R. Jadeja b Dernbach 7 (9b), R. Ashwin c Kieswetter b Finn 13 (8b, 2 x 4), B.Kumar not out 20 (16b, 2 x 4s), A.Dinda b Bresnan 3 (4b), I.Sharma not out 7 (5b, 1 x 4), Extras (lb1, nb1,w7) 9, Total (for 9 wkts in 50 overs) 316
Fall of wkts; 1-96 (Rahane), 2-102 (Gambhir), 3-138 (Kohli), 4-198 (Yuvraj), 5-243 (Raina), 6-271 (Dhoni), 7-273 (Jadeja), 8-297 (Ashwin), 9-307 (Dinda)
England bowling: Finn 10-0-63-1, Dernbach 10-0-69-2, Bresnan 8-0-67-2, Tredwell 10-0-44-4, Root 9-0-51-0, Patel 3-0-21-0.
