Hyderabad, Oct 13: India registered their first win against England in a long time as they trounced the visitors by 126 runs here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. After Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s unbeaten 87 (off just 70 deliveries) powered India to a score of 300, the Indian bowlers, led by R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, bowled England out for 174, thereby getting the hosts off to a winning start in the series.
The day went MSD’s way from the very beginning. The Indian captain won the toss and opted to bat first. India didn’t get off to the best of starts as Parthiv Patel (9) was run-out by Steven Finn with the score at 17 in the fourth over. Ajinkya Rahane perished in trying to accelerate the scoring rate; stumped by Craig Kieswetter off Graeme Swann’s very first over. Gambhir (32 off 33) was trapped lbw by Jade Dernbach after playing a brisk knock while Virat Kohli’s uncharacteristically sedate innings (37 off 63 deliveries) was brought to an end by the left-arm spin of Samit Patel.
It was at this stage, with the score reading 123 for four in 28.5 overs, that India’s fortunes changed for the better. Suresh Raina blasted 61 off just 55 deliveries as India added 59 runs in the batting powerplay (overs 36-40). Raina’s exit did not slow down the tempo with Dhoni helping himself to his fourth consecutive ODI half-century. The Jharkhand cricketer helped India plunder the English attack for 100 runs in the last 11 overs, an effort that saw the hosts reach 300 for seven in 50 overs.
Despite the apparent strength of their batting order, the England side collapsed in the face of the run chase. Barring an innings of 60 from opener Alastair Cook, the rest of their batsmen failed to put up any kind of a fight. And after Cook’s innings was brought to an end by Ravindra Jadeja, following a 71-run stand with Jonathan Trott (26), the visitors collapsed like a deck of cards.
R Ashwin and Jadeja took three wickets each as the visitors were bowled out for 174 in 36.1 overs.
Brief Scores – India 300 for 7 in 50.0 overs (MS Dhoni 87*, Suresh Raina 61, Graeme Swann 1/35) beat England 174 all out in 36.1overs (Alastair Cook 60, R Ashwin 3/35, R Jadeja 3/34) by 126 runs
Man-of-the-match: MS Dhoni for his feisty innings of 87* (off 70 balls) that powered India to a match-winning score of 300
