World Cup Classics: Andrew Strauss takes England to the brink in tie with India
Wednesday 18 February 2015 13:28, UK
Our World Cup Classics series concludes with a phenomenally tense Group B clash between England and India in 2011...
Few fancied England to chase down 339 to beat India and so it proved - but only just as a modern-day epic ended in a tense tie in front of 38,300 in Bangalore.
Captain Andrew Strauss cracked 158 off 145 deliveries, the highest score by an Englishman in World Cup history, to give his side every chance of victory that seemed highly improbable following Sachin Tendulkar’s 47th one-day century.
That knock, which featured 10 fours and five sixes, was the mainstay of India’s colossal total – ‘the little master’ dominating proceedings after opening up with Virender Sehwag (35 off 26 balls).
Fifties from Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh – plus a high-octane 31 from skipper MS Dhoni dished out plenty of punishment for England’s attack, the exception being Tim Bresnan who in the circumstances returned a parsimonious 5-48 off 10 overs.
Strauss, whose 88 helped save England’s blushes against the Netherlands in their opening game, picked up from where he left off and Kevin Pietersen’s 31 off 22 balls gave the chase some added impetus.
India’s attack looked increasingly disheartened as Strauss, who brought up his sixth ODI hundred off 99 balls, shared a third-wicket partnership of 170 with Ian Bell, the pair powering England up to 281-2 before they were separated in the 43rd over.
Bell (69 off 71) was the first to go, caught at extra cover, and Zaheer Khan then gave himself the chance of a hat-trick by trapping Strauss lbw for no further addition. The experienced seamer returned to bowl Collingwood in his next over in a match-saving spell of 3-11.
Bresnan and Graeme Swann both found the stands from the 49th over as England’s lower-order attempted to finish the job, Shahzad also contributing a maximum in the final over to leave the batting side needing five to win off the final three balls with two wickets left.
Munaf Patel responded well to the pressure, limiting Shahzad to a bye before Swann pinched two off the penultimate ball. The England spinner connected well with the final ball of a pulsating match but couldn’t beat mid-off and the scampered single resulted in only the fourth tied game in World Cup history.
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