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| Yuvraj sing |
(TOI)
NEW DELHI. As twilight merged into night at Ferozeshah Kotla, the din became louder. The party was on and the raucous crowd was having its fill as Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag tore into the modest Netherlands attack. Just 190 needed to wrap this one up against the minnows, it was celebration time. Suddenly, the grand march towards victory became a painful lurch towards the post as profligate Indian batsmen gave new sheen to the expression, "cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties."
Sehwag, Tendulkar and Pathan sacrificed their wickets while trying to finish the game before the waiters stopped serving evening tea in the dressing room. Virat Kohli's expansive drive only helped the ball hit the off-stump and Gautam Gambhir was unlucky to see his leg-stump clipped around his legs.
From 69 without loss to 99 for four and then 139 for five was almost surreal. The tension in the air was palpable, just as it was in the last game against Ireland. The old firm of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni then took charge and sanity was restored. India won the World Cup Group B game on Wednesday by five wickets with more than 13 overs remaining, also making to the quarterfinals in the process. But with tougher tests coming up, doubters would still be shouting from the roof tops, such was the display overall.
Yuvraj turned in another remarkably saviour-like, man-of-the-match performance to soothe nerves and see India home. He was nagging with ball (9-1-43-2) and resolute with the bat (51 not out, 73 balls, 7x4). One was reminded of what Dhoni said on Tuesday in the pre-match press meet: "I'm a great fan of Yuvraj Singh."
In the first half of the day, the script went the way India's spin doctors would have wanted it to. A web of spin on a low, slow and turning Kotla track, not your 'ideal' One-day wicket by any means, suffocated the life out of Dutch batsmen. The visitors huffed and puffed their way to 189 all out in 46.4 overs after winning the toss and batting first.
That spin would be the order of the day was established quite early when Pathan replaced Ashish Nehra after the comeback man had bowled just one over of his medium pace. Star off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was in operation by the seventh over and soon, Piyush Chawla too was creating confusion in the Dutch ranks with his assortment of leg-spinners, googlies and flippers.
All this while, Yuvraj, fresh from a five-wicket haul in the last game against Ireland, was rubbing his hands in anticipation. It was not long before he also got his chance to make hay in the sun, which he did immediately by picking up a wicket in his first over.
The medium-pacers, especially Zaheer Khan, also benefited from the pressure applied by the spinners. Zaheer picked up three in his second spell to help India wrap up the innings in a hurry. The Netherlands essay, which had a promising start, began misfiring as soon as the tweakers came on. The Dutch batsmen did not have the wherewithal to counter quality spin in these conditions. Thus, the 56-run opening stand proved a flash in the pan as wickets fell at regular intervals.
It was left to skipper Peter Borren to launch a late riposte with a breezy 38 off 36 balls. He crashed Yuvraj for two fours in the 42nd over of the innings and then whack two sixes off Chawla in the 43rd to bring some substance to the total.
Chawla finally found a track where he could turn the ball and hoodwink the batters. Of course, the Dutch could not exert too much pressure on him but his confidence would have got a fillip nonetheless. He could even turn his googlies which normally do not turn much.
A wickets, though, eluded Harbhajan once again, despite the sardar bowling his full quota. In the field, the hosts looked flat. They might be saving the fire for the bigger tests. But it's fielding which exhibits the collective attitude of a group. And since skipper Dhoni has himself thrown the towel — he said India's fielding can't improve — one cannot hope for anything better. Besides a lack of quality effort from many in the field, two return catches were fluffed, one each by Chawla and Yuvraj, though both were tough ones.In tight games, this lack of intent may cost India dearly.
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score card
| Netherlands innings (50 overs maximum) | R | M | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| ES Szwarczynski | b Chawla | 28 | 59 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 66.66 |
| 15.2 89.9 kph, at long last, Piyush Chawla's much feted and much hyped googly has made its presence felt. Anil Kumble would have called that a flipper, but this is Chawla's googly, it is generally shorter in length than the leggie, and skids along with the angle, with slight inward turn. The delivery's hopes of striking hinge on the batsman's propensity to cut. Eric did just that, ambitiously setting himself up for the square cut by getting back and looking to come down on it. He saw it sliding in and tried to arrest the shot and cover the line. Too late. The ball hurries through and thuds into middle and leg. Chawla looks relieved, big break this for him. 56/1
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| W Barresi† | lbw b Yuvraj Singh | 26 | 67 | 58 | 2 | 0 | 44.82 |
| 18.6 77.8 kph, Barresi reviews an lbw call. Yuvraj gets one of those innocuous pies to land on off from wide of the crease, and straighten enough to hit middle stump. Umpire Davis did not take long to uphold the appeal. The only bone of contention was whether it hit bat before hitting the pad. Replays show it his the front pad first alright. A 100 ODI wickets for Yuvraj. 64/2
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| TLW Cooper | c †Dhoni b Nehra | 29 | 52 | 47 | 2 | 0 | 61.70 |
| 29.1 Nehra's struck immediately. He's got this oldish ball to nip away from a full length. Was that reverse swing or a good old offcutter? In any case, it was Nehra at his crafty best. Replays indicate it was an offcutter. He bustles in from over the wicket, lands it full and outside off, inviting the drive and then moving off away towards the off side. The deviation is enough to induce an outside edge as Cooper goes for the big cover drive. Dhoni holds the low catch easily. Netherlands are fumbling here. 100/4
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| RN ten Doeschate | c Khan b Yuvraj Singh | 11 | 29 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 39.28 |
| 28.2 81.7 kph, Yuvraj does it again. Best spinner in this team? He's done in Netherlands' best batsman with a bit of old-school left-arm spinner's guile. He's got this to dip on RTD after inviting him out of the crease for the loft down the ground. RTD did not realise he wasn't to the pitch of it, until too late, and decided to go through with the shot. He was looking to go leg side, but the extra spin meant that it went off the lower half of the bat, getting a bit of outside edge in the process. He ended up scooping it higher than he wanted, compromising for distance, and playing to towards long off as the bat turned in his hand. Zaheer at long off makes a tough catch look easy, taking it a foot in front of the ropes. 99/3
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| AN Kervezee | c Harbhajan Singh b Chawla | 11 | 45 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 47.82 |
| 38.1 and Chawla has a wicket first ball. He looks almost embarassed. Harbhajan at midwicket takes the catch at midwicket and must be wondering why he's not getting these freebies. That was dropped in Chawla's half. It was a miracle it did not bounce again before Kervezee hit it. He flat-batted the pull with such blinding ferocious intent that he forgot to place it. He picked out Harbhajan at deep midwicket. 127/7
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| B Zuiderent | lbw b Khan | 0 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 30.6 127.4 kph, Zaheer has nailed him, but Zuiderant has reviewed it. Sleight of hand from Zaheer, he's got the ball to do everything except turn back towards him. He runs in with the ball hidden in his hands, not giving away how he's holding it. This one lands back of a length and curls into Zuiderant, who has thrust his front pad forward and in front of the stumps. Danger signs. The ball comes in enough to miss the bat that was hanging in hope next to the pad. Replays vindicate Steve Davis. The seamers have come into their own with the old ball. Maybe India should just open with spinners and use the fast bowlers after 25 overs. 101/5
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| TN de Grooth | run out (Chawla/†Dhoni) | 5 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 45.45 |
| 34.2 Yuvraj Singh to Kervezee, de Grooth is run out. This innings is a complete shambles now, and the packed stands in Kotla will be concerned they won't get to see much of a chase. There was no single there. Kervezee works Yuvraj towards short midwicket and takes off. Chawla at mid-on runs in, collects with one hand and lets rip a throw at Dhoni. It wasn't the best of throws, but it was such a madly judged run that Dhoni had a year to collect and break the stumps. de Grooth started running really late, he knew it was suicidal. 108/6
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| PW Borren* | c Nehra b Khan | 38 | 46 | 36 | 3 | 2 | 105.55 |
| 46.1 120.3 kph, Borren summons his inner Dilshan, and plays his own version of the pick-up shot. Or the ramp shot if you will. Pre-meditated though, and that led to his undoing. Back of a length from Zaheer as Borren set himself up for a full delivery. As a result, instead of scooping, he ended up lapping it off the lower end of the bat. Hence it went higher rather than far. Instead of clearing Nehra, it landed in his hands at short fine leg. Good innings from the captain. 189/9
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| BP Kruger | run out (Kohli/†Dhoni) | 8 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 66.66 |
| 42.2 from Chawla, Another run out, this time Kruger is gone. Chawla lands it this time, but too full and there for the drive. Kruger times the shot well as he advances and flows through the shot, but picks out Kohli inside the circle at cover. He promptly returns to Dhoni who is quick with the collection and removes the bails in a flash. 151/8
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| Mudassar Bukhari | b Khan | 21 | 20 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 116.66 |
| 46.4 132.3 kph, Zaheer has arrested the bleeding and finished off the innings. Despite the late flourish, Netherlands end short of an average score. The fast searing yorker angles across the batsman, there's not much you can attempt with that ball, except the squeezed single to the off side, or a tough-to-pull-off delicate dab to third man. Bukhari just went for the big swipe across the line even as he backed away. Ended up getting an inside edge that clattered onto off stump. India need 190 to win. 189/10
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| PM Seelaar | not out | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
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| Extras | (b 6, lb 3, w 2, nb 1) | 12 |
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| Total | (all out; 46.4 overs; 191 mins) | 189 | (4.05 runs per over) |
| Fall of wickets1-56 (Szwarczynski, 15.2 ov), 2-64 (Barresi, 18.6 ov), 3-99 (ten Doeschate, 28.2 ov), 4-100 (Cooper, 29.1 ov), 5-101 (Zuiderent, 30.6 ov), 6-108 (de Grooth, 34.2 ov), 7-127 (Kervezee, 38.1 ov), 8-151 (Kruger, 42.2 ov), 9-189 (Borren, 46.1 ov), 10-189 (Mudassar Bukhari, 46.4 ov) |
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| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ |
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| Z Khan | 6.4 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 3.00 |
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| 30.6 to Zuiderent, 127.4 kph, Zaheer has nailed him, but Zuiderant has reviewed it. Sleight of hand from Zaheer, he's got the ball to do everything except turn back towards him. He runs in with the ball hidden in his hands, not giving away how he's holding it. This one lands back of a length and curls into Zuiderant, who has thrust his front pad forward and in front of the stumps. Danger signs. The ball comes in enough to miss the bat that was hanging in hope next to the pad. Replays vindicate Steve Davis. The seamers have come into their own with the old ball. Maybe India should just open with spinners and use the fast bowlers after 25 overs. 101/5
46.1 to Borren, 120.3 kph, Borren summons his inner Dilshan, and plays his own version of the pick-up shot. Or the ramp shot if you will. Pre-meditated though, and that led to his undoing. Back of a length from Zaheer as Borren set himself up for a full delivery. As a result, instead of scooping, he ended up lapping it off the lower end of the bat. Hence it went higher rather than far. Instead of clearing Nehra, it landed in his hands at short fine leg. Good innings from the captain. 189/9
46.4 to Mudassar Bukhari, 132.3 kph, Zaheer has arrested the bleeding and finished off the innings. Despite the late flourish, Netherlands end short of an average score. The fast searing yorker angles across the batsman, there's not much you can attempt with that ball, except the squeezed single to the off side, or a tough-to-pull-off delicate dab to third man. Bukhari just went for the big swipe across the line even as he backed away. Ended up getting an inside edge that clattered onto off stump. India need 190 to win. 189/10
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| A Nehra | 5 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 4.40 |
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| 29.1 to Cooper, Nehra's struck immediately. He's got this oldish ball to nip away from a full length. Was that reverse swing or a good old offcutter? In any case, it was Nehra at his crafty best. Replays indicate it was an offcutter. He bustles in from over the wicket, lands it full and outside off, inviting the drive and then moving off away towards the off side. The deviation is enough to induce an outside edge as Cooper goes for the big cover drive. Dhoni holds the low catch easily. Netherlands are fumbling here. 100/4
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| YK Pathan | 6 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 2.83 |
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| Harbhajan Singh | 10 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 3.10 | (2w) |
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| PP Chawla | 10 | 0 | 47 | 2 | 4.70 | (1nb) |
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| 15.2 to Szwarczynski, 89.9 kph, at long last, Piyush Chawla's much feted and much hyped googly has made its presence felt. Anil Kumble would have called that a flipper, but this is Chawla's googly, it is generally shorter in length than the leggie, and skids along with the angle, with slight inward turn. The delivery's hopes of striking hinge on the batsman's propensity to cut. Eric did just that, ambitiously setting himself up for the square cut by getting back and looking to come down on it. He saw it sliding in and tried to arrest the shot and cover the line. Too late. The ball hurries through and thuds into middle and leg. Chawla looks relieved, big break this for him. 56/1
38.1 to Kervezee, and Chawla has a wicket first ball. He looks almost embarassed. Harbhajan at midwicket takes the catch at midwicket and must be wondering why he's not getting these freebies. That was dropped in Chawla's half. It was a miracle it did not bounce again before Kervezee hit it. He flat-batted the pull with such blinding ferocious intent that he forgot to place it. He picked out Harbhajan at deep midwicket. 127/7
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| Yuvraj Singh | 9 | 1 | 43 | 2 | 4.77 |
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| 18.6 to Barresi, 77.8 kph, Barresi reviews an lbw call. Yuvraj gets one of those innocuous pies to land on off from wide of the crease, and straighten enough to hit middle stump. Umpire Davis did not take long to uphold the appeal. The only bone of contention was whether it hit bat before hitting the pad. Replays show it his the front pad first alright. A 100 ODI wickets for Yuvraj. 64/2
28.2 to ten Doeschate, 81.7 kph, Yuvraj does it again. Best spinner in this team? He's done in Netherlands' best batsman with a bit of old-school left-arm spinner's guile. He's got this to dip on RTD after inviting him out of the crease for the loft down the ground. RTD did not realise he wasn't to the pitch of it, until too late, and decided to go through with the shot. He was looking to go leg side, but the extra spin meant that it went off the lower half of the bat, getting a bit of outside edge in the process. He ended up scooping it higher than he wanted, compromising for distance, and playing to towards long off as the bat turned in his hand. Zaheer at long off makes a tough catch look easy, taking it a foot in front of the ropes. 99/3
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| India innings (target: 190 runs from 50 overs) | R | M | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| V Sehwag | c Kervezee b Seelaar | 39 | 36 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 150.00 |
| 7.3 87.5 kph, Combusts this time! He moved outside leg and tried to whiplash it over point but ended up slicing it straight to the Kervezee at point 69/1
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| SR Tendulkar | c Kruger b Seelaar | 27 | 45 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 122.72 |
| 9.1 Wicket for no 2 for Seelaar. Two big wickets. Tendulkar went down the track for the big hit but ended up slicing it towards long-off who ran across to take a good catch 80/2
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| YK Pathan | c & b Seelaar | 11 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 110.00 |
| 9.5 94.6 kph, Whoa! Seelaar is pumped up! It was a quickish delivery on short of length; Pathan pushes it tamely back to the bowler! what a soft dismissal. Seelar dashes off on a celebratory run! 82/3
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| G Gambhir | b Mudassar Bukhari | 28 | 57 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 100.00 |
| 23.1 125.1 kph, The leg stump has been pegged back! It landed outside the leg stump and seemed to be a harmless delivery moving towards the pad. Gambhir shapes to work it to the on side, misses, and the ball clips the thigh pad and falls on the leg stump! The umpires have asked Gambhir to wait. They want to check for the no ball. It's a legit delivery. Out. 139/5
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| V Kohli | b Borren | 12 | 16 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 60.00 |
| 14.3 120.9 kph, Clatter! It landed full on a length around off stump line and moved in a touch. Virat went for the off drive but drove outside the line and the ball went through the big gap to peg back the off stump 99/4
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| Yuvraj Singh | not out | 51 | 93 | 73 | 7 | 0 | 69.86 |
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| MS Dhoni*† | not out | 19 | 56 | 40 | 2 | 0 | 47.50 |
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| Extras | (w 4) | 4 |
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| Total | (5 wickets; 36.3 overs; 160 mins) | 191 | (5.23 runs per over) |
| Did not bat Harbhajan Singh, PP Chawla, Z Khan, A Nehra |
| Fall of wickets1-69 (Sehwag, 7.3 ov), 2-80 (Tendulkar, 9.1 ov), 3-82 (Pathan, 9.5 ov), 4-99 (Kohli, 14.3 ov), 5-139 (Gambhir, 23.1 ov) |
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| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ |
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| Mudassar Bukhari | 6 | 1 | 33 | 1 | 5.50 | (2w) |
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| 23.1 to Gambhir, 125.1 kph, The leg stump has been pegged back! It landed outside the leg stump and seemed to be a harmless delivery moving towards the pad. Gambhir shapes to work it to the on side, misses, and the ball clips the thigh pad and falls on the leg stump! The umpires have asked Gambhir to wait. They want to check for the no ball. It's a legit delivery. Out. 139/5
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| RN ten Doeschate | 7 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 5.42 | (2w) |
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| PM Seelaar | 10 | 1 | 53 | 3 | 5.30 |
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| 7.3 to Sehwag, 87.5 kph, Combusts this time! He moved outside leg and tried to whiplash it over point but ended up slicing it straight to the Kervezee at point 69/1
9.1 to Tendulkar, Wicket for no 2 for Seelaar. Two big wickets. Tendulkar went down the track for the big hit but ended up slicing it towards long-off who ran across to take a good catch 80/2
9.5 to Pathan, 94.6 kph, Whoa! Seelaar is pumped up! It was a quickish delivery on short of length; Pathan pushes it tamely back to the bowler! what a soft dismissal. Seelar dashes off on a celebratory run! 82/3
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| PW Borren | 8 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 4.12 |
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| 14.3 to Kohli, 120.9 kph, Clatter! It landed full on a length around off stump line and moved in a touch. Virat went for the off drive but drove outside the line and the ball went through the big gap to peg back the off stump 99/4
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| TLW Cooper | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 5.50 |
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| BP Kruger | 3.3 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 6.57 |
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