Story England International Season - September 8th, 2007 - India in England

England crumble to embarrassing defeat

Sidebottom was next to go. After facing 78 balls for just 21, he perished to a
good Khan delivery. Pitched just outside off, a little bit of swing was enough
to un-do Sidebottom, who could only get a thick edge to Virender Sehwag at
gully. The very next over it was all over. Panesar bowled by Sehwag for a 3
ball duck. Trying to get England up to 200, Panesar went for a slog over
midwicket, but only managed to connect with thin air as the ball rattled into
the stumps. England finished with 180, Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag
taking 4 wickets a piece.

India needed just 117 for victory, and they were rarely tested along the way.
Sehwag was dismissed by a rare bit of brilliance in the field from Paul
Collingwood. Collingwood through down the stumps from point with one stump
to aim at, after Sehwag was sent back by Jaffer. Karthik made 25 before
Monty Panesar got one to pop up and catch the glove, with Alistair Cook
waiting at silly point. The final wicket of the match went to Liam Plunkett. A
full delivery got Jaffer driving, who only found Alistair Cook at 3rd slip. Rahul
Dravid (32) and Sachin Tendulkar (13) finished unbeaten to level the series.
Scorecard

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www.bbc.co.uk said:

Plunkett and Vaughan the only bright sparks from dim performance

Cook - 1 - Cook was not quite as bad as Strauss, but the two of them made
it hard work for the middle order with both of them being dismissed very early
on in the innings. Cook made 11 and 1 and showed little of the sort of skill
that we have seen earlier in his short career.

Vaughan - 8 - Was the only batsmen apart from Matthew Prior to score major
runs. A fantastic 109 whilst all the others failed in the 2nd innings showed
that he is still worthy of his place as captain. A fine knock which had quality
as well as patience. 23 runs in the 1st innings as well capped off a good
test with the bat for the England skipper, but the result and performance of
his side will upset him very much.

Pietersen - 2 - Very poor match by Kevin's very high standards. Just 29 runs
in his two knocks, as the best batsmen, showed that England really did
struggle with the bat in this game.

Collingwood - 3 - Looked good for his 28 in the 1st innings and produced a bit
of magic in the field with Sehwag's run out, but that was as good as it got
for England's middle order batsmen. When he was needed to stick with
Vaughan in the 2nd innings he could only manage to last 55 balls for a small
score, which summed up England's batting from start to finish.

Bell - 2 - Like all but one of the England batting line-up, Bell also failed with
the bat in both innings. Scored a neat 27 in the 1st innings, but never looked
comfortable against the spin of Kumble and Tendulkar. Made a scratchy 2
runs in the 2nd innings, which marked a poor test for Bell and England.

Prior - 5 - Scored a fine 77 in the 1st innings, which along with Ryan Sidebottom
was the only resistance from England's batsmen. Couldn't produce the same
form in the 2nd innings, but England's top order had already failed the team.
With the gloves he took 1 catch and missed a half chance catch. Overall
a lot better than most of his team mates.

Plunkett - 7 - A fantastic 3 wickets in 4 balls gave England a great chance of
getting something from the game, but that chance came to nothing thanks to
poor batting. His 5 wickets in the match was one of the limited good
performances from England, but with little help from the rest of the seamer's
there wasn't much he could do. Failed with the bat on both occasions, but
that matched the rest of England's batsmen.

Sidebottom - 3 - Was very poor with the ball, taking an overall match figure
of 0 for 113. Although he made two very handy lower order knocks of 17 (76)
and 21 (78), he disappointed big time with his major role in taking wickets.

Panesar - 6 - Managed to take 3 crucial wickets in India's 1st innings, those of
Jaffer, Dravid and Ganguly. But apart from that there was not a lot else he could do.
Took 1 wickets in the 2nd innings but was a tad expensive and with not a lot of hope as
the game had already been won. Scored just 2 runs in the game, the usual we see from
Monty with the bat in his hand.

Anderson - 2 - Made 0 runs and took just the 1 wickets from the 2 innings. A
very poor performance, which could see him be dropped after he did equally
bad at Lords. Bowled poor lines and was put to the sword by the top order
of India.

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www.bbc.co.uk/sport said:

Sehwag and Khan the key men for India

Jaffer - 6 - Hit two 30's which got India off to two vital starts, but he will be
disappointed that he didn't go on to make bigger scores. He got himself out
in both innings after reaching the 30 mark. Could've been better but India will
be happy with his contribution in both innings.

Karthik - 6 - Made two handy knocks, the first of which was crucial to
getting a healthy 1st innings lead. A steady 43 was instrumental in India's
victory as he built on Sehwag and Jaffer's early partnership. Managed a short
25 from 44 balls when the game was already won in the 2nd innings. Overall
not a bad game for Karthik.

Dravid - 7 - Two fine knocks from the skipper capped off by some great
captaining in the field. Again he continued the way that India had started
their 1st innings with 42 from a steady 129 deliveries. 'The Wall' as he is known
by many cricket supporters, lived up to his nickname by being the stronghold
of India's innings. He then hit a rapid 32* not out from 36 balls in the 2nd
innings to wrap up a fine test win.

Tendulkar - 6 - 'The Little Master' never got going in the test, making scores
of 30 and 13*. A run out in the 1st innings stopped him in his tracks, but it
didn't cost his side thanks to other good batting around him. 3 wickets to his
name was truly deserved though, and again just like in the first test, he
showed that on his day he can be a class bowler.

Ganguly - 3 - Didn't have much to do in this test and his rating reflects that.
Made just 11 after he looked in good touch in the 1st innings. A silly shot cost
his wicket and that was about his game done. He bowled a few overs due to
RP Singh's injury, but he didn't impact the game with 0 for 27.

Dhoni - 5 - Took 3 catches behind the stumps and scored a very slow 23 in
the 1st innings. A very unusual knock by Dhoni's standards, with only 3
boundaries in a 94 ball innings. Looked good with the gloves on, taking a neat
catch to dismiss Alistair Cook in the 2nd innings.

Pathan - 7 - Took a very handy 5 for 61 in the 1st innings, but was ineffective
in the 2nd innings. Scored a neat 25 at the back end of India's 1st innings
which helped India to a healthy lead. Did a fine job at finishing off the English
lower order and looked threatening throughout with the ball.

RP Singh - 0 - Injured during day one and made just 2 runs. Nothing more to say.

Khan - 8 - A great performance with the ball for Khan, which was a complete
turn around after his poor first test. 2 wickets in the 1st innings of openers
Strauss and Cook, and then four 2nd innings wickets showed why he should
be kept in the Indian squad.

Kumble - 1 - Took the 1 wicket before he injured his finger fielding on day one.
Batted at 11 after fear he would not be able to play, but was off the field for
the remainder of the game. India will hope he is fit for the 3rd test.

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