india goes down in world cup

Strauss and Bell leave India rattled
india goes down in world cup

India v England, World Cup 2011, Group B, Bangalore

Strauss sets England on course for 338

Andrew Strauss led from the front in another daunting run-chase, compiling a captain's innings of 92 from 90 balls to follow up his agenda-setting 88 against the Netherlands last week, as England pointed themselves in the right direction in pursuit of India's massive target of 339 at Bangalore. Strauss added 68 for the first wicket with Kevin Pietersen, who fell for 31 to a freakish caught-and-bowled from Munaf Patel, and though Jonathan Trott was pinned lbw for 16 by the legspinner Piyush Chawla, England's score at the halfway mark remained a creditable 163 for 2.

Andrew Strauss

However, Ian Bell might well have been dismissed on 17 from the very last ball of the 25th over, when Yuvraj Singh went up for an lbw appeal as Bell attempted and missed a sweep. Though India's subsequent review suggested he was out, with the ball pitching inside the line of off stump, and the Hawkeye replay showing the stumps being broken, umpire Billy Bowden upheld his original verdict, because Bell had come down the wicket by more than 2.5 metres before the moment of impact. It was a controversial ruling, albeit one written into the ICC's playing conditions, and it was one that could yet prove significant.

A positive start was a pre-requisite as England set off in pursuit of what, if successful, would be the fourth-highest in ODI history, and Strauss responded in the perfect fashion when Zaheer Khan, armed with the new ball, strayed onto his pads first-up to gift a flicked four through fine leg. Later in the same over he doubled his tally with a punched square drive, and when Munaf followed a first-ball appeal against Pietersen with a second-ball half-tracker, England were properly up and running.

Strauss had his 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. Five runs later, he miscued a pull that flew just out of reach of Harbhajan Singh at mid-on, but for the most part he was rewarded for his intent and aggression, and 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.

Pietersen was barely less impressive in his short stay, as he pounded four fours in eight Zaheer deliveries including an arrow-straight drive that whistled past the stumps at the non-striker's end. His dismissal when it came was extraordinary, as Munaf was dumped on his backside by 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 got off the mark with a crisp drive for three to extra cover, and proved an able ally in a 43-run stand for the second wicket, nudging eight singles to keep the strike rotating, while dragging Harbhajan through midwicket to pick off his solitary boundary. But Chawla, who took a while to locate the perfect length, beat him all ends up with one that hurried on, and he was already walking before umpire Bowden raised his crooked finger.

Bell, England's best player of spin, was beaten twice in two balls as Chawla ripped first his googly then his legspinner to perfection. But faced with an asking rate of roughly six an over, he took over Trott's supporting role while Strauss continued to make the running for England, with Chawla and Yuvraj Singh both dispatched through the leg-side, while Harbhajan was driven inside-out through extra cover in a rare show of flamboyance that might equally have been a case of being beaten in flight. Either way, England remained very much in the game, and the Bangalore crowd was awaiting an excuse to rediscover its voice