Umpires SJ Davis (Australia) and HDPK Dharmasena (Sri Lanka)
TV umpire BR Doctrove (West Indies)
Match referee RS Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
Reserve umpire Asad Rauf (Pakistan)
Second Match Details (27/02/2011)
Epic encounter ends in thrilling tie
On an evening that simply beggared belief, England tied with India in an incredible finale in Bangalore. Andrew Strauss was England's inspiration, producing an extraordinary 158 from 145 balls, the highest score by an English batsman in World Cup history, as England threatened the unthinkable, and set off in full pursuit of India's seemingly unobtainable total of 338 - a score that had been made possible by a brilliant 120 from Sachin Tendulkar. Such was the clarity of Strauss's strokeplay and the passivity of India's attack, at 280 for 2 in the 43rd over, England were cruising towards an extraordinary triumph. However a late intervention, sparked by a reverse-swinging Zaheer Khan, left them clawing for breath as a silenced Chinnaswamy stadium rediscovered its roar, and when the requirement shot up beyond two runs a ball, there seemed no way back into the contest. However, a ballsy volley of sixes from England's lower order hauled them back from the brink, and with two runs needed from the final delivery of the match, Graeme Swann drilled Munaf Patel to cover to salvage a share of the spoils. The breathless finale was entirely in keeping with a contest that twisted and turned like an insomniac in a mosquito-pit. From the first over of the match, in which Virender Sehwag might have been dismissed three times in five balls, through the sumptuous strokeplay of first Tendulkar and later Strauss, and on through a pair of batting collapses - one apiece for the lower order of both teams - there was scarcely a moment in which normal service was permitted. Tim Bresnan, with 5 for 48 in ten unrelentingly composed overs, was the unsung star of a day that deserves to be remembered as the finest World Cup contest since that semi-final in 1999. For the first 39 overs of the match, and again for the last seven, the Bangalore crowd was as raucous as a monsoon wedding, as Tendulkar ignited India's first home fixture of the World Cup with his 47th ODI century, before Zaheer Khan hauled them back from the brink of ignominy with 3 for 11 in his final three-over spell. But in between whiles, the game belonged to England, as India shipped their last seven wickets in 25 balls to let their opponents regain a toe-hold in the contest, before turning the stage over to Strauss and his magnum opus. A positive start was a pre-requisite as England embarked on their second daunting chase in as many matches, and just as Strauss had soothed his team's anxieties with 88 from 83 balls after their flirtation with humiliation against the Dutch, he was once again in the thick of things right from the start of the innings. Zaheer, who was as poor with the new ball as he was devastating with the old, bowled both sides of the wicket to gift two boundaries in six balls, and Strauss was up and running. He barely dipped below a run a ball at any subsequent stage of his innings.  He required some moments of luck, particularly on 17 when TV replays suggested he had nicked a drive against Zaheer that the Indian fielders were unable to hear against the din of the crowd, but for the most part he was rewarded for his intent and aggression, and a common-sense approach to the three key partnerships that propelled England's challenge. By the end of the batting Powerplay, England were 19 runs to the good, on 77 for 1 compared to India's 10-over total of 58 for 1, and with a stream of easy singles to offset the intermittent boundary balls, they never looked like blinking until the summit was within sight. At the top of the order, Kevin Pietersen's stay was short, sharp and effective. He pounded four fours in eight Zaheer deliveries to rush along to 31 from 22 balls, before dumping Munaf on his backside with a brutally struck drive, only for the ball he had parried from in front of his face to plop into his right hand as he glanced up to regain his bearings. Trott proved an able ally in a 43-run stand for the second wicket before Chawla hurried one through to strike his back pad, whereupon Bell arrived to embark on what should have been the game's decisive stand - a 170-run partnership that spanned 27 overs. Bell, England's best player of spin, was beaten twice in his first two balls as Chawla ripped first his googly then his legspinner to perfection, but his hairiest moment came on 17, when Yuvraj Singh referred an appeal for lbw that Hawkeye suggested met all the criteria for an overturned decision. However, umpire Billy Bowden, applying the letter of the law even if it meant contravening the evidence on a billion TV screens, reprieved Bell on the grounds that he had advanced more than 2.5 metres down the pitch, and that the technology's prediction could not be deemed conclusive. The despondency of the crowd was reflected in India's subsequent bowling, as Strauss motored through to his sixth ODI century, from 99 balls, and on towards his third in excess of 150. Liberated by the match situation, he launched Yuvraj for one of the biggest sixes of his career, straight down the ground, to bring up the hundred partnership, and Bell did likewise to Chawla to rush through to his fifty from 45 balls. It was England's decision to take the batting Powerplay, at 280 for 2 in the 43rd over, that triggered the devastating late reversal of momentum. India's last chance appeared to have gone begging when Bell, on 68, was dropped by Virat Kohli at slip off Chawla, but Kohli made amends 10 balls later, when Bell miscued a tired slog off Zaheer to extra cover. With the crowd alive to the contest once again, Zaheer then put himself on a hat-trick with an unplayable late-swinging yorker that crushed Strauss's toe in front of leg stump. With the pressure proving smothering and Chawla's variations now illegible to the new batsmen, Paul Collingwood missed a wipe across the line to be bowled for 1 from five balls, before Prior gave up all hope of threading the gaps and took a huge top-edged heave at Harbhajan to be caught for 4 from 8. Michael Yardy chipped and chivvied before dinking an attempted boundary shot straight to Sehwag at short backward square, but it was Swann's flat six off Chawla, with 29 needed from two overs, that reawakened England's challenge. Three balls later, Bresnan also put Chawla into the stands, and though he was bowled having a mow in the same over, Ajmal Shahzad sent his first ball, from Patel, in the same direction, to set up the grandstand finish. If England felt that they'd let a golden opportunity go, then at least it could be said that they proved themselves equal to one of the best performances of a legendary career. Even by Tendulkar's matchless standards, his was a vintage performance, and a masterful example of how to pace an innings. He was a casual bystander in the day's opening exchanges, while Sehwag ran amok, before picking up his tempo throughout a second-wicket stand of 134 with Gautam Gambhir, without ever needing to take risks to make his mark. The high point of his innings came when he belted consecutive sixes at the start of Swann's second spell, a calculated show of class that undermined England's trump bowler, and left Strauss floundering for alternatives as his tactics were picked apart. In all Tendulkar stroked 10 fours and five sixes in what was, somewhat curiously, his first one-day hundred against England for nine years. By the time he was dismissed with 11 overs of the innings remaining, caught off a leading edge at cover (to give James Anderson his first one-day wicket in India for 53 overs dating back to 2006, on a day in which he conceded the most expensive analysis in England's World Cup history), India's total stood at an imposing 236 for 3, and it was a measure both of Tendulkar's brilliance and of England's dogged refusal to give in, that Yuvraj and MS Dhoni were unable to cut loose to quite the extent they might have expected. The omens for England had not been exactly positive going into the start of this match. Eleven defeats in their last 12 away matches against India underlined their status of underdogs, as did the two team's respective performances in their opening fixtures of the tournament - England's laboured victory over the Netherlands compared distinctly unfavourably to India's crunching win against Bangladesh in Dhaka, and when Stuart Broad, their best and most aggressive seamer, was ruled out with a stomach complaint before the start of the match, a vast swathe of England's gameplan went down with him. Nevertheless, they thought on their feet and showed precisely the pluck that was in stasis throughout their one-day campaign in Australia. Two of the best teams in the world were on show in Bangalore, and what a show they produced.
Score Card
| India innings (50 overs maximum) | R | M | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
 | V Sehwag | c †Prior b Bresnan | 35 | 34 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 134.61 |
| 7.5 Bresnan takes out Sehwag, with a little bit of help from Prior. It was a back of length delivery outside off, it came pretty slowly off the track, Sehwag thought ok then, I see some width, let me steer it through the vacant slips. Mistake. The ball wobbled off the face of the bat to right of Matt Prior who dived to take a good one-handed catch. Sehwag tucks the bat under his arm and walks off. The crowd... you know what they would have done, don't you... 46/1 |
| SR Tendulkar | c Yardy b Anderson | 120 | 170 | 115 | 10 | 5 | 104.34 |
| 38.2 135.8 kph, Tendulkar falls! He was looking to the leg side once again, but went a touch too early at the ball and a leading edge loops gently to cover. Anderson strikes, no doubt with great relief! What an innings that was for Tendulkar, he's set his team up for a massive total 236/3 |
| G Gambhir | b Swann | 51 | 95 | 61 | 5 | 0 | 83.60 |
| 29.4 87.2 kph, gone! Against the run of play Swann has got the breakthrough. It was a good ball, biting into the pitch and spinning past what was another very lazy nurdle from Gambhir. It looked like he was trying to get it down to third man, but the feet went nowhere. Poor shot, and it's got England back into the game 180/2 |
| Yuvraj Singh | c Bell b Yardy | 58 | 76 | 50 | 9 | 0 | 116.00 |
| 45.6 108.5 kph, and gone. Stadium goes quiet for a moment, just a moment. Short and Yuvraj just got it off the bottom of the bat out to deep midwicket where Bell held a simple catch. No great celebration from England, hardly surprising really. Good work from Yuvraj and crucially for India as the tournament goes on, he's found his form 305/4 |
| MS Dhoni*† | c sub (LJ Wright) b Bresnan | 31 | 38 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 124.00 |
| 46.1 138.3 kph, Dhoni falls now! Two in two for England. Shortish ball that Dhoni swung hard at but straight to Luke Wright at deep midwicket. 305/5 |
| YK Pathan | c Swann b Bresnan | 14 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 175.00 |
| 48.1 99.7 kph, Swann gets this one right, Pathan again swinging wildly but the slower ball meant he mistimed it and it looped out to mid-off 327/6 |
| V Kohli | b Bresnan | 8 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 160.00 |
| 48.2 139.3 kph, and another! Bresnan getting good reward for being England's best bowler. Yorker length, Kohli gives himself room, too much room in fact and it thuds into the base of off stump. Here comes Zaheer 327/7 |
| Harbhajan Singh | lbw b Bresnan | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 48.4 139.7 kph, Three in four for Bresnan to give him his 5th wicket! Full, swinging in late and striking Harbhajan on the back boot right in front of the stumps. Harbhajan reviewed but it was still very out. That's also Bresnan's career-best ODI figures. England finishing well, just the first 46 overs that cost them 328/8 |
| Z Khan | run out (Bresnan/†Prior) | 4 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
| 49.5 from Anderson, India innings ends with a whimper, but there was plenty of bang for most of it. England ended up bowling India out as Zaheer tries to steal a second after pulling the ball to midwicket. And Munaf Patel has not placed the bat inside the crease during the first run. One short. And hence no runs this ball 338/10 |
| PP Chawla | run out (Anderson) | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| 49.4 from Anderson, free hit ends underwhelmingly as Chawla bunts straight back to Anderson, sets off for a run that would never happen and Anderson takes the bails off 338/9 |
| MM Patel | not out | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
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| Extras | (lb 3, w 7, nb 5) | 15 |
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| Total | (all out; 49.5 overs; 233 mins) | 338 | (6.78 runs per over) |
| Fall of wickets1-46 (Sehwag, 7.5 ov), 2-180 (Gambhir, 29.4 ov), 3-236 (Tendulkar, 38.2 ov), 4-305 (Yuvraj Singh, 45.6 ov), 5-305 (Dhoni, 46.1 ov), 6-327 (Pathan, 48.1 ov), 7-327 (Kohli, 48.2 ov), 8-328 (Harbhajan Singh, 48.4 ov), 9-338 (Chawla, 49.4 ov), 10-338 (Khan, 49.5 ov) |
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| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ |
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| JM Anderson | 9.5 | 0 | 91 | 1 | 9.25 | (1nb, 1w) |
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| 38.2 to Tendulkar, 135.8 kph, Tendulkar falls! He was looking to the leg side once again, but went a touch too early at the ball and a leading edge loops gently to cover. Anderson strikes, no doubt with great relief! What an innings that was for Tendulkar, he's set his team up for a massive total 236/3 |
| A Shahzad | 8 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 6.62 | (2w) |
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| TT Bresnan | 10 | 1 | 48 | 5 | 4.80 |
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| 7.5 to Sehwag, Bresnan takes out Sehwag, with a little bit of help from Prior. It was a back of length delivery outside off, it came pretty slowly off the track, Sehwag thought ok then, I see some width, let me steer it through the vacant slips. Mistake. The ball wobbled off the face of the bat to right of Matt Prior who dived to take a good one-handed catch. Sehwag tucks the bat under his arm and walks off. The crowd... you know what they would have done, don't you... 46/1 46.1 to Dhoni, 138.3 kph, Dhoni falls now! Two in two for England. Shortish ball that Dhoni swung hard at but straight to Luke Wright at deep midwicket. 305/5 48.1 to Pathan, 99.7 kph, Swann gets this one right, Pathan again swinging wildly but the slower ball meant he mistimed it and it looped out to mid-off 327/6 48.2 to Kohli, 139.3 kph, and another! Bresnan getting good reward for being England's best bowler. Yorker length, Kohli gives himself room, too much room in fact and it thuds into the base of off stump. Here comes Zaheer 327/7 48.4 to Harbhajan Singh, 139.7 kph, Three in four for Bresnan to give him his 5th wicket! Full, swinging in late and striking Harbhajan on the back boot right in front of the stumps. Harbhajan reviewed but it was still very out. That's also Bresnan's career-best ODI figures. England finishing well, just the first 46 overs that cost them 328/8 |
| GP Swann | 9 | 1 | 59 | 1 | 6.55 | (2w) |
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| 29.4 to Gambhir, 87.2 kph, gone! Against the run of play Swann has got the breakthrough. It was a good ball, biting into the pitch and spinning past what was another very lazy nurdle from Gambhir. It looked like he was trying to get it down to third man, but the feet went nowhere. Poor shot, and it's got England back into the game 180/2 |
| PD Collingwood | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 6.66 |
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| MH Yardy | 10 | 0 | 64 | 1 | 6.40 | (2w) |
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| 45.6 to Yuvraj Singh, 108.5 kph, and gone. Stadium goes quiet for a moment, just a moment. Short and Yuvraj just got it off the bottom of the bat out to deep midwicket where Bell held a simple catch. No great celebration from England, hardly surprising really. Good work from Yuvraj and crucially for India as the tournament goes on, he's found his form 305/4 |
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| England innings (target: 339 runs from 50 overs) | R | M | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| AJ Strauss* | lbw b Khan | 158 | 188 | 145 | 18 | 1 | 108.96 |
| 42.5 141.8 kph, this match is alive! Zaheer has flipped it on its head again. What a delivery! Searing yorker, swinging in late and it's crashed into Strauss's boot in front of middle. Ends an innings of the highest highest quality but will it be in vain? 281/4 |
| KP Pietersen | c & b Patel | 31 | 45 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 140.90 |
| 9.3 137.4 kph, Hello Hello! This is a Youtube moment from Munaf. KP had smashed a full delivery back to Munaf, who put his hands out, to catch and more to save his face i reckon, even as he slipped to the ground. The ball popped up of his palm and gravity took it right back to Munaf, now sitting on the ground, who puts his left hand up and pouches it very calmly. KP can't believe it. The crowd love it. And for some reason, Munaf even throws in an appeal! 68/1 |
| IJL Trott | lbw b Chawla | 16 | 30 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 84.21 |
| 16.4 83.2 kph, Chawla strikes! It was so plump Trott pretty much walked. Went back to play across the line, should have been forward, missed it and India have their second 111/2 |
| IR Bell | c Kohli b Khan | 69 | 108 | 71 | 4 | 1 | 97.18 |
| 42.4 139.8 kph, Powerplays always cause trouble and Bell has gifted his wicket away! Struggling with cramp perhaps, he's tried to clear the field with a real heave, skews it off the edge and it loops to mid-off. Wild celebrations, this is far from over 281/3 |
| PD Collingwood | b Khan | 1 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| 44.3 119.7 kph, Zaheer is the man! Collingwood down the track to try and swing to leg but Zaheer slipped it in slower, such smart bowling, gripped off the pitch as well and pegged back off stump. Incredible spell this. India are favourites again! Is there are influential player than Zaheer? Take him out the India attack and it's threadbare. Good luck Michael Yardy... 285/5 |
| MJ Prior† | c sub (SK Raina) b Harbhajan Singh | 4 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| 45.2 86.0 kph, The crowd erupts! Harbhajan has Prior now, the light fading for England. Prior tried to mow this out of the ground over midwicket, Harbhajan always gets that extra bounce though and it found an edge and soared high in the air for midwicket to pouch 289/6 |
| MH Yardy | c Sehwag b Patel | 13 | 17 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 130.00 |
| 47.3 124.9 kph, Yardy is out, and England must be as well now. Strauss has his head in his hand, he deserved more. Yardy tried to flip this over short fine leg but couldn't get enough on the slower ball and it spooned straight to the man 307/7 |
| TT Bresnan | b Chawla | 14 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 155.55 |
| 48.6 Chawla strikes back! One way and another this match is going! Bresnan tried again to to find the boundary, he had to, but it's quicker and flatter and through him onto off stump 325/8 |
| GP Swann | not out | 15 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 166.66 |
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| A Shahzad | not out | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 300.00 |
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| Extras | (b 1, lb 7, w 3) | 11 |
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| Total | (8 wickets; 50 overs; 229 mins) | 338 | (6.76 runs per over) |
| Fall of wickets1-68 (Pietersen, 9.3 ov), 2-111 (Trott, 16.4 ov), 3-281 (Bell, 42.4 ov), 4-281 (Strauss, 42.5 ov), 5-285 (Collingwood, 44.3 ov), 6-289 (Prior, 45.2 ov), 7-307 (Yardy, 47.3 ov), 8-325 (Bresnan, 48.6 ov) |
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| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ |
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| Z Khan | 10 | 0 | 64 | 3 | 6.40 | (1w) |
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| 42.4 to Bell, 139.8 kph, Powerplays always cause trouble and Bell has gifted his wicket away! Struggling with cramp perhaps, he's tried to clear the field with a real heave, skews it off the edge and it loops to mid-off. Wild celebrations, this is far from over 281/3 42.5 to Strauss, 141.8 kph, this match is alive! Zaheer has flipped it on its head again. What a delivery! Searing yorker, swinging in late and it's crashed into Strauss's boot in front of middle. Ends an innings of the highest highest quality but will it be in vain? 281/4 44.3 to Collingwood, 119.7 kph, Zaheer is the man! Collingwood down the track to try and swing to leg but Zaheer slipped it in slower, such smart bowling, gripped off the pitch as well and pegged back off stump. Incredible spell this. India are favourites again! Is there are influential player than Zaheer? Take him out the India attack and it's threadbare. Good luck Michael Yardy... 285/5 |
| MM Patel | 10 | 0 | 70 | 2 | 7.00 | (1w) |
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| 9.3 to Pietersen, 137.4 kph, Hello Hello! This is a Youtube moment from Munaf. KP had smashed a full delivery back to Munaf, who put his hands out, to catch and more to save his face i reckon, even as he slipped to the ground. The ball popped up of his palm and gravity took it right back to Munaf, now sitting on the ground, who puts his left hand up and pouches it very calmly. KP can't believe it. The crowd love it. And for some reason, Munaf even throws in an appeal! 68/1 47.3 to Yardy, 124.9 kph, Yardy is out, and England must be as well now. Strauss has his head in his hand, he deserved more. Yardy tried to flip this over short fine leg but couldn't get enough on the slower ball and it spooned straight to the man 307/7 |
| PP Chawla | 10 | 0 | 71 | 2 | 7.10 | (1w) |
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| 16.4 to Trott, 83.2 kph, Chawla strikes! It was so plump Trott pretty much walked. Went back to play across the line, should have been forward, missed it and India have their second 111/2 48.6 to Bresnan, Chawla strikes back! One way and another this match is going! Bresnan tried again to to find the boundary, he had to, but it's quicker and flatter and through him onto off stump 325/8 |
| Harbhajan Singh | 10 | 0 | 58 | 1 | 5.80 |
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| 45.2 to Prior, 86.0 kph, The crowd erupts! Harbhajan has Prior now, the light fading for England. Prior tried to mow this out of the ground over midwicket, Harbhajan always gets that extra bounce though and it found an edge and soared high in the air for midwicket to pouch 289/6 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 7 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 6.57 |
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| YK Pathan | 3 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7.00 |
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| Match details |
Toss India, who chose to bat
Points India 1, England 1 |
| Player of the match AJ Strauss (England) |
Umpires BF Bowden (New Zealand) and M Erasmus (South Africa)
TV umpire RJ Tucker (Australia)
Match referee RS Mahanama (Sri Lanka)
Reserve umpire Aleem Dar (Pakistan)
Third Match Details(06/03/2011)
All-round Yuvraj stars in Indian win
Yuvraj saved the blushes for India, allowing them to hide the ordinary effort from other spinners, by picking his maiden five-for to restrict Ireland to 207 before he hit an unbeaten fifty to settle India's nerves in a hard-fought win in Bangalore. Ireland enhanced their reputation by defending the target with disciplined bowling and excellent fielding and made India huff and puff to the victory line.
On a dry pitch, where the ball came on slowly, the Indian batsmen preferred to play within themselves and tried to play risk-free cricket but kept losing wickets at regular intervals to keep Ireland interested in the chase. India were 24 for 2 in the sixth over, reached 100 for four at the fall of Virat Kohli in the 24th over, and recovered to 167 for 5 when MS Dhoni exited in the 41st over before Yusuf Pathan flexed his muscles to hasten the end. Ireland could have done far better had they not stumbled against Yuvraj's bowling. They were eyeing a 250-plus target after a 113-run third-wicket stand between William Porterfield and Niall O'Brien but a run-out opened a window for Yuvraj to trigger a collapse. The most significant moment of the innings came in the 27th over, with Ireland sitting pretty on 122 for 2, when a set Niall O'Brien couldn't make it in time to beat the throw from Virat Kohli in the covers. Dhoni did well to collect the slightly wayward throw and flick it onto the stumps. It was the beginning of the end. As ever, Yuvraj ambled in like a Sunday-park bowler and as always proved to be street-smart. His art is very simple: he turns the ball slightly but his USP is the variation in pace, using a scrambled seam. He is usually slow and slower but surprises the batsmen with a quicker one. Today, too, he struck to his regular staple diet of slower ones; some were delivered with a round arm, some from higher straighter arm, and some with a crouched bent-knee release to get the ball to skid on. If you just catch the highlights of his wickets, most would seem like soft dismissals. To an extent they were, but that's the illusion of nothingness he provides the batsmen, who then make seemingly silly mistakes. Andrew White was sucked into edging a flighted delivery to Dhoni, Kevin O'Brien tapped one softly back, Porterfield swatted a short ball straight to cover and John Mooney and Alex Cusack were trapped by skidders that came in with the arm. When White fell in the 30th over, Ireland were 129 for 4 and by the time Yuvraj got Cusack, Ireland had slid to 184 for 8 in the 44th over. Until then, India were looking really ragged in the field. Only Zaheer Khan bowled well to take two early wickets and Porterfield and Niall O'Brien played risk-free cricket to lay a good platform. Their case was helped by some ordinary bowling from the spinners. Harbhajan Singh looked off-key, straying on to the pads once too often, Yusuf Pathan erred on length, often dragging them short, and Piyush Chawla hit the wrong lines. None of that profligacy was seen in Ireland's bowling effort. Trent Johnston, who is the top wicket taker for Ireland, struck two vital blows early, getting Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to ensure India wouldn't waltz to an easy win. Almost immediately, Porterfield brought in the teenaged left-arm spinner George Dockrell, who turned in a pleasing opening spell that read 4-0-14-0. He rarely gave anything to cut, always bowled slow through the air and was never afraid to flight. He had Kohli mistiming a few shots and made Tendulkar bat cautiously. Success came in his second spell, when he struck in his first delivery of the 21st over, trapping Tendulkar with a delivery that went past the attempted sweep. He could have got the wicket of Kohli, too, in his next over but Niall O'Brien, the keeper, couldn't hold on to an edge. Later, he trapped Dhoni lbw with a delivery that straightened on middle and leg to give a window of hope for Ireland but Yusuf Pathan shut it very quickly with two monstrous sixes in the same over.
| Ireland innings (50 overs maximum) | R | M | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| WTS Porterfield* | c Harbhajan Singh b Yuvraj Singh | 75 | 146 | 104 | 6 | 1 | 72.11 |
| 37.1 81.3 kph, the drinks break strikes. Porterfield is gone to one of Yuvraj's poorer balls today. He is turning things around for India here, and this performance could force Dhoni to rethink whether he needs two specialist spinners. This, though, was a shoddy delivery. Short and turning away slowly, Porterfield rocks back and spanks it hard. Sadly, he finds Harbhajan at cover. 160/6 |
| PR Stirling | b Khan | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 0.4 134.0 kph, that's a Zaheer special, and Stirling has lost his stumps. 134 kph, angles across the batsman at a good length, inviting the drive and then zipping inwards of the track to crash into the pitch. Stirling went for the check-drive without moving his feet across or forward and the ball gladly snaked through the bat-pad gap. 1/1 |
| EC Joyce | c †Dhoni b Khan | 4 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 |
| 2.3 133.1 kph, this is stupendous from Zaheer. He's been moving them away like a charm all along, and then just for fun, he gets one to jag back off the seam. Joyce was obviously expecting another one that moved away, and in an attempt to cover the deviation was groping outside the line. Too bad. Zaheer got it to go the other way and kiss the inside edge on the way to Dhoni 9/2 |
| NJ O'Brien† | run out (Kohli/†Dhoni) | 46 | 93 | 78 | 3 | 0 | 58.97 |
| 26.5 Harbhajan Singh to Porterfield, and is that a run-out? the bowling has looked limp, but Virat Kolhi's fielding has brought the breakthrough, Porterfield pushed the ball towards cover, where Kohli swooped on the ball and fired in the throw, it was a bit wide but MS Dhoni breaks the stumps in a jiffy to catch O'Brien short, that was great work from Dhoni, and a stubborn stand is finally broken 122/3 |
| AR White | c †Dhoni b Yuvraj Singh | 5 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| 29.1 Yuvraj Singh strikes, gives the ball loads of air, pitching on a length and it turns away, well outside off, White reaches for it and gets the outside edge and a regulation catch for Dhoni, who throws the ball up in delight 129/4 |
| KJ O'Brien | c & b Yuvraj Singh | 9 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 69.23 |
| 33.4 82.0 kph, a massive cheer from the crowd as Kevin O'Brien departs, a soft, soft dismissal, an innocuous length ball is patted back to the bowler, who accepts the gift, Yuvraj gets his second, and Ireland have lost a huge wicket 147/5 |
| AR Cusack | lbw b Yuvraj Singh | 24 | 49 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 80.00 |
| 43.4 92.1 kph, India have called for a lbw review here. Has Yuvi bagged a five-for? Lands back of a length on off stump and straightens, but the batsman is well down the track, his backfoot is a foot outside the crease and his front foot is well down the track. Will the 2.5 metres come into the picture? According to (a potentially inaccurate) HawkEye, since he is more than 2.5 m forward, it was hitting off and middle at a comfortable height. Right, on replays, umpire Tucker has reversed his decision and Yuvraj has five. Bangalore roars. Yuvraj puts out his hand, with all five fingers spread out. Dhoni just smiles. Good stuff this. 184/8 |
| JF Mooney | lbw b Yuvraj Singh | 5 | 19 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 29.41 |
| 41.5 Mooney reviews an lbw appeal upheld by umpire Tucker. Yuvraj continues to impress - this is not part-time stuff. Looped up just outside off, and turning in sharply as Mooney presses half forward to defend. He did not get his pad out of the line, and was struck in front of off. Only height could have saved him, but the tracker predicts this to be clipping the top of middle. On your way, Mooney. 178/7 |
| DT Johnston | lbw b Patel | 17 | 38 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 85.00 |
| 47.5 137.3 kph, Given lbw, and Johnston reviews it immediately. Munaf got some prodigious inward dip on this, it landed on middle and you could see Johnston's middle and off stumps as he went for the flick and missed. The predictive path of HawkEye says that is hitting leg stump. The umpire's call stays, and Ireland have been bowled out. 207/10 |
| GH Dockrell | c †Dhoni b Khan | 3 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 30.00 |
| 46.6 Dhoni may not be considered among the better keepers in the game, but he's been stunning today. Full delivery outside off, it was there for the drive and Dockrell went for the off side with a flamboyant carve. He ended getting a very thick outside edge that seemed headed for third man. Someone forgot to inform the horizontal Indian captain. He was fully stretched to the right and pouched it inches above the ground. And he doesn't celebrate. Calm as always, flicks the ball away and heads to Zaheer for the celebrations. 201/9 |
| WB Rankin | not out | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
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| Extras | (lb 4, w 8, nb 6) | 18 |
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| Total | (all out; 47.5 overs; 205 mins) | 207 | (4.32 runs per over) |
| Fall of wickets1-1 (Stirling, 0.4 ov), 2-9 (Joyce, 2.3 ov), 3-122 (NJ O'Brien, 26.5 ov), 4-129 (White, 29.1 ov), 5-147 (KJ O'Brien, 33.4 ov), 6-160 (Porterfield, 37.1 ov), 7-178 (Mooney, 41.5 ov), 8-184 (Cusack, 43.4 ov), 9-201 (Dockrell, 46.6 ov), 10-207 (Johnston, 47.5 ov) |
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| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ |
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| Z Khan | 9 | 1 | 30 | 3 | 3.33 | (1w) |
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| 0.4 to Stirling, 134.0 kph, that's a Zaheer special, and Stirling has lost his stumps. 134 kph, angles across the batsman at a good length, inviting the drive and then zipping inwards of the track to crash into the pitch. Stirling went for the check-drive without moving his feet across or forward and the ball gladly snaked through the bat-pad gap. 1/1 2.3 to Joyce, 133.1 kph, this is stupendous from Zaheer. He's been moving them away like a charm all along, and then just for fun, he gets one to jag back off the seam. Joyce was obviously expecting another one that moved away, and in an attempt to cover the deviation was groping outside the line. Too bad. Zaheer got it to go the other way and kiss the inside edge on the way to Dhoni 9/2 46.6 to Dockrell, Dhoni may not be considered among the better keepers in the game, but he's been stunning today. Full delivery outside off, it was there for the drive and Dockrell went for the off side with a flamboyant carve. He ended getting a very thick outside edge that seemed headed for third man. Someone forgot to inform the horizontal Indian captain. He was fully stretched to the right and pouched it inches above the ground. And he doesn't celebrate. Calm as always, flicks the ball away and heads to Zaheer for the celebrations. 201/9 |
| MM Patel | 4.5 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 5.17 | (1w) |
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| 47.5 to Johnston, 137.3 kph, Given lbw, and Johnston reviews it immediately. Munaf got some prodigious inward dip on this, it landed on middle and you could see Johnston's middle and off stumps as he went for the flick and missed. The predictive path of HawkEye says that is hitting leg stump. The umpire's call stays, and Ireland have been bowled out. 207/10 |
| YK Pathan | 7 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 4.57 |
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| Harbhajan Singh | 9 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 3.22 | (1w) |
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| PP Chawla | 8 | 0 | 56 | 0 | 7.00 | (2nb, 3w) |
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| Yuvraj Singh | 10 | 0 | 31 | 5 | 3.10 | (1w) |
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| 29.1 to White, Yuvraj Singh strikes, gives the ball loads of air, pitching on a length and it turns away, well outside off, White reaches for it and gets the outside edge and a regulation catch for Dhoni, who throws the ball up in delight 129/4 33.4 to KJ O'Brien, 82.0 kph, a massive cheer from the crowd as Kevin O'Brien departs, a soft, soft dismissal, an innocuous length ball is patted back to the bowler, who accepts the gift, Yuvraj gets his second, and Ireland have lost a huge wicket 147/5 37.1 to Porterfield, 81.3 kph, the drinks break strikes. Porterfield is gone to one of Yuvraj's poorer balls today. He is turning things around for India here, and this performance could force Dhoni to rethink whether he needs two specialist spinners. This, though, was a shoddy delivery. Short and turning away slowly, Porterfield rocks back and spanks it hard. Sadly, he finds Harbhajan at cover. 160/6 41.5 to Mooney, Mooney reviews an lbw appeal upheld by umpire Tucker. Yuvraj continues to impress - this is not part-time stuff. Looped up just outside off, and turning in sharply as Mooney presses half forward to defend. He did not get his pad out of the line, and was struck in front of off. Only height could have saved him, but the tracker predicts this to be clipping the top of middle. On your way, Mooney. 178/7 43.4 to Cusack, 92.1 kph, India have called for a lbw review here. Has Yuvi bagged a five-for? Lands back of a length on off stump and straightens, but the batsman is well down the track, his backfoot is a foot outside the crease and his front foot is well down the track. Will the 2.5 metres come into the picture? According to (a potentially inaccurate) HawkEye, since he is more than 2.5 m forward, it was hitting off and middle at a comfortable height. Right, on replays, umpire Tucker has reversed his decision and Yuvraj has five. Bangalore roars. Yuvraj puts out his hand, with all five fingers spread out. Dhoni just smiles. Good stuff this. 184/8 |
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| India innings (target: 208 runs from 50 overs) | R | M | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| V Sehwag | c & b Johnston | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 166.66 |
| 1.1 the famous chicken dance come out as Virender Sehwag gets a leading edge back to the bowler, he was looking to play it to the leg side, it pops back to Johnston who collects and sets off on a celebratory dance 9/1 |
| SR Tendulkar | lbw b Dockrell | 38 | 91 | 56 | 4 | 0 | 67.85 |
| 20.1 The left-arm charm works. Sachin is out. Dockrell has removed the big man. Innocuous delivery. Tossed up on middle stump and straightening. Sachin went down on a knee to play the sweep through square leg. He missed and was struck on the right thigh. He discussed long and hard with Kohli is it was worth reviewing. In the end he decided against it, and just as well. That was plumb, heading for leg and middle. Could not have been plumber if he was working with pipes and taps. Peterson, Yuvraj and now Dockrell... What's it with left-arm spinners today?! 87/3 |
| G Gambhir | c Cusack b Johnston | 10 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 66.66 |
| 5.2 127.3 kph, no chicken dance this time, but Johnston has struck again, Gambhir is gone, that wasn't a great delivery, and it wasn't a great shot either, length ball on legstump, Gambhir looks to tuck it past short fine, he can only chip it to the fielder there, the Chinnaswamy is silenced 24/2 |
| V Kohli | run out (Dockrell/KJ O'Brien) | 34 | 82 | 53 | 3 | 0 | 64.15 |
| 23.4 White to Yuvraj Singh, Is this game turning? Kohli is run out. Not the first time we have seen poor running from the Indian top-order. Short ball, turning away from Yuvraj and he goes for the cut. He played it pretty square, in that area where no one is sure whose call it is. Kohli thought there was a single, and ran almost all the way down. However, he seemed to stutter on the way. Yuvraj was initially sold on the single, but once he saw Kohli hesitate, he himself stopped. The throw to the bowler's end was not the most accurate, but it was good enough to catch Kohli well short. 100/4 |
| Yuvraj Singh | not out | 50 | 108 | 75 | 3 | 0 | 66.66 |
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| MS Dhoni*† | lbw b Dockrell | 34 | 68 | 50 | 2 | 0 | 68.00 |
| 40.1 83.2 kph, is there still a twist? Dhoni has been given out lbw by Rod Tucker, Dhoni had taken a big stride forward and was hit on the back leg, that pitched on middle and off, and was going on to hit middle and leg, there's no inside-edge either, by the time the review upheld the decision to give him out, Dhoni was nearly back in the pavilion, a day to cherish for Dockrell, getting two of the biggest names in the game, first Sachin and now Dhoni 167/5 |
| YK Pathan | not out | 30 | 23 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 125.00 |
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| Extras | (lb 4, w 5) | 9 |
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| Total | (5 wickets; 46 overs; 200 mins) | 210 | (4.56 runs per over) |
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| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ |
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| WB Rankin | 10 | 1 | 34 | 0 | 3.40 | (2w) |
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| DT Johnston | 5 | 1 | 16 | 2 | 3.20 | (1w) |
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| 1.1 to Sehwag, the famous chicken dance come out as Virender Sehwag gets a leading edge back to the bowler, he was looking to play it to the leg side, it pops back to Johnston who collects and sets off on a celebratory dance 9/1 5.2 to Gambhir, 127.3 kph, no chicken dance this time, but Johnston has struck again, Gambhir is gone, that wasn't a great delivery, and it wasn't a great shot either, length ball on legstump, Gambhir looks to tuck it past short fine, he can only chip it to the fielder there, the Chinnaswamy is silenced 24/2 |
| GH Dockrell | 10 | 0 | 49 | 2 | 4.90 |
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| 20.1 to Tendulkar, The left-arm charm works. Sachin is out. Dockrell has removed the big man. Innocuous delivery. Tossed up on middle stump and straightening. Sachin went down on a knee to play the sweep through square leg. He missed and was struck on the right thigh. He discussed long and hard with Kohli is it was worth reviewing. In the end he decided against it, and just as well. That was plumb, heading for leg and middle. Could not have been plumber if he was working with pipes and taps. Peterson, Yuvraj and now Dockrell... What's it with left-arm spinners today?! 87/3 40.1 to Dhoni, 83.2 kph, is there still a twist? Dhoni has been given out lbw by Rod Tucker, Dhoni had taken a big stride forward and was hit on the back leg, that pitched on middle and off, and was going on to hit middle and leg, there's no inside-edge either, by the time the review upheld the decision to give him out, Dhoni was nearly back in the pavilion, a day to cherish for Dockrell, getting two of the biggest names in the game, first Sachin and now Dhoni 167/5 |
| JF Mooney | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 9.00 |
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| PR Stirling | 10 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 4.50 | (2w) |
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| AR White | 5 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 4.60 |
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| KJ O'Brien | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
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| AR Cusack | 3 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 6.00 |
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