INDIA Vs ENGLAND - FINALE
MATCH STORY & REVIEW
VENUE:- PUNE
Team india - "The Champions". Men in blue proved in the finale of the series, why they are unstoppable & the ultimate winners. Team-India - "Champion of Champions". It was an absolute cliff-hanger,just the way "Finale" has to be, an absolute delight to watch. Match was swinging from one end to another every over & it went all the way to the last over. It was a pulsating-contest between bat & ball, in the penultimate game of the series. An absolute - "Crack-a-jack"!!
DRAMA FROM THE OUTSET
Two world class teams were locking horns for one final time in this series. It's a battle of supremacy & it's a "Clash of Titans". Team India coming in this match with a win & they would like to carry that momentum here in the finale.England were riding on the fortunes in the toss, yet again won an all important toss & it was no brainer they choose to field first. But, this didn't worked for them & it proved to be the blessing in disguise for team india. Indian openers - Rohit & Shikhar had a century partnership before men in blue lost their first wicket at 103 on board.
MINI-COLLAPSE OF TEAM INDIA
Against the run of play - a mini collapse for team india & it was a shocker. England bounced back with a flurry of wickets. They picked wickets in chunks. Team india lost four big wickets in quick succession - from 103/1 to 157/4. Team India lost Rohit,Dhawan,Virat & Rahul. It looked like, in a crunch game like finale, after loosing almost half the team it's gonna be allover for hosts, but as they say - "Cricket is a game of uncertainties", so was the case here & what was about to happen was nothing less than historic.
HARDIK & PANT - SUPER DESTRUCTIVE
Rishabh Pant & Hardik Pandya - do they need any introduction ? These two power strikers relish such situations & they played in their signature styles. This was a real tricky situation & crucial phase in the match. One more wicket at this point & England had their complete grip on the match. Team india was in a real spot of bother, when these star performers took charge to the opposition. Both these players,took england bowlers to the cleaners. Especially Rishabh Pant, right from the outset was playing his shots fearlessly, with his striking innovation. He took over the england bowlers & unsettled them completely. Then, it was turn of Hardik Pandya. He was ready with the biggies &"Power Striking of Pandya" was visible. Hardik completely rattled the english bowlers.
It was an absolute carnage from these two batsmen,they complete their half centuries - Rishabh Pant(78) & Hardik Pandya(64) in no time. It looked these two are set for a big century, but got out at the wrong time, while attempting to accelerate the run rate. In the presence of these two power-strikers, team india was eyeing somewhere around 380 runs. But managed 329 runs only, definitely 50 runs short of their expectations.But, it was a "Super Destruction" from Pant & Pandya.
SHARDUL SHOW & TEAM INDIA'S COLLAPSE
When Hardik Pandya got out, the score was 276/6 & it was way below the par score. Somebody had to fire from last four & it was only "Shardul Thakur" who could play some big shots, which he did. It was a flurry of big sixes from him at the end. A quick fire from Shardul(30), which includes three humongous sixes & one fierce boundary that helped team india to reach 329. But, the moment he perished, it was a procession for team india. It's a real shame that men in blue were all out, inside 50 overs in the finale.
INDIAN BOWLERS AWESOME- ENGLAND COLLAPSED
This was "FINALE" & generally, indian bowlers were unable to pick wickets in the power-play in first two matches of the series. But, they can't afford to do the same mistake & guess what - they responded brilliantly. In this epic encounter - indian bowlers were all over England. Visitors kept loosing wickets at regular intervals & while chasing 330 in the finale, they lost four big wickets, inside 100 runs. ENG - 95/4.
Furthermore, indian bowlers were not in any mood to give any opportunities to the opposition. There was no respite for England batters & it resulted in yet another collapse for England. Now, visitors were 200/7. Indian bowlers took complete control of this match & England badly collapsed on the big occasion.
SAM CURRAN - THE WARRIOR THAT SCARED TEAM INDIA
In a game of cricket- Anything can happen till the last ball is bowled. This is what we're about to witness. Sam Curran, an all-rounder & the ultimate warrior from England was on all attack. He played some big shots, hit some fierce boundaries in a real quick time. First, with Adil Rashid & then with Mark Wood. He scored his half century in no time & was chasing the target at the speed of knots.All the indian bowlers were smashed all over the park except Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But, Sam Curran played some sensible & intelligent cricket,playing Bhuvneshwar's overs quietly.
Following which, was an absolute carnage & it gave a real big scare to team india. All the players,bowlers,skipper Virat Kohli & even coach Ravi Shastri has some real tough times in the death overs. Sam Curran, was inching closer to the target & to his maiden century. It was the last over, when the ultimate drama happened & this moment proved to be the turning point of the match. Sam Curran, slipped while turning around for the second run, which lead to the "Run-Out" of Mark Wood & Sam Curran was stranded down on the other end, at 95*. In the last over, left arm pacer - T.Natrajan somehow hold his nerve & team india won the match by 07 runs.What a player - what an innings !! Awesome Innings From Brilliant Player - Sam Curran !!!
STAR PERFORMERS OF MATCH
Finale - proved to be another run feast & looking at this, my star performers of the match were - "Shardul Thakur (4/67)" & "Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/42)". It's just not because they picked wickets, but they picked big wickets at the crucial time in the match. Shardul's contribution in this match with the bat & ball makes him "Player of The Match" & Bhuvneshwar's super economy throughout the series & his consistency with which he picked wickets in every single match. makes him my "Player of The Series". But unfortunately neither of them been awarded. Undoubtedly, these two are the "Star Performers" of the series. Well Played Boys !!!
VERDICT
This was "Finale", in true senses. Lots of drama, tension, excitement & the adventure of last ball finishes. Beautiful contest between bat & ball. This finale taught, that the pressure can get to the best of the best as well. It was a sloppy performance of team india in catching. They dropped four catches in the crunch time of the finale. The series scoreline may not tell the complete truth, but this series was evenly matched. It was a neck to neck contest between two world class teams. Team India registered an emphatic win over the world champions of white ball cricket, in a close encounter by 07 runs & clinched the series by 2-1.
IND- 329/10 (48.2)
ENG- 322/9 (50.0)
Player of Match- Sam Curran
Player of Series- Jonny Bairstow
Written By:- Saksham
Follow Me On Twitter:- @SakshamTalks
Comments