India vs England Legends Match HighlightsRoad Safety World Series, India vs England Highlights: England Legends beat India Legends by 6 runs. India Legends and Sri Lanka Legends, both with 12 points from 4 matches, currently are at the top of the points table. England, with 2 wins from 2 matches, have jumped up to third spot with 8 points.
India won the toss and chose to field first, hoping to replicate the Sachin-Sehwag carnage against Bangladesh. Kevin Pietersen smashed 75 at the top of the order but India got things back in the last quarter of the innings after his wicket. England ended with 188/7 in 20 overs. India lost wickets regularly in their chase, until Irfan Pathan signaled a change of direction to the chase after he came in at 7. He finished unbeaten on 61 runs as India finished at 182/7 in their 20 overs.
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A single off the fourth ball. It's up to Gony now. 8 to get off 2 balls. The crowd starts roaring 'Gony, Gony', sounding dangerously close to 'Dhoni, Dhoni'. Sidebottom steams in. And bowls a length ball. Dot ball. That's it then. India will need 8 runs from the last ball. They get 1. Irfan Pathan (61*) and Gony (35*) came up with a valiant effort in the end, but they have fallen just short.
Last over. Irfan faces. Sidebottom bowls. Six off the third ball! Into the crowd. Irfan Pathan is going for it! India need 9 off 3 balls.
Gony smashes a six off the last ball of the 18th over, ensures he helps out Irfan as he goes about this challenge. And Gony carries on in the 19th over. Slices a four against Tremlett. And just after a couple of dot balls again swings the pendulum England's way, Gony smashes another six to the leg side. This match is going down to the wire! Fifth ball, yet another six! Raipur goes wild. M Gony or MS Dhoni, whoever is your man, this is quite a show to put up at the back end of the innings. A dot ball to finish.
IND 170/7 after 19
Irfan Pathan will be on strike for the last over. 19 required to win.
Gony joins Irfan Pathan at 9. And he smashes a six off Schofield too. The blows are not hurting England much though, the required run rate has jumped to 20. Irfan Pathan starts off the 18th over with back to back sixes! He brings up his 0, off 35 balls. His second 50 off the tournament.
IND 144/7 after 17.3
Ojha smashes a six against Schofield's spin as the match winds down to a feeble attempt from the Indian lower order to chase down this imposing target. Irfan Pathan also dances down the track and smashes a six down the ground against Tredwell. Ojha then falls in an attempt to hit another big shot. He falls for 12.
IND 119/7 after 15.4
Yusuf Pathan perishes. He had to go after Tredwell and he tries to do exactly that, but can only sky it with an edge. Yusuf falls for 17. Naman Ojha enters at 8.
IND 99/6 after 13.2
Panesar finishes his quota with 3/15. Before Yusuf Pathan lays into Tredwell. Back to back fours with hefty blows from the right hander. Sidebottom then drops Yusuf at the ropes, Yusuf gets a life, and Raipur goes wild again. This crowd still believes. Irfan Pathan cracks shots at the other end too, relying more on his timing. He smashes Kabir Ali in the 13th over - 4,4,6. 15 runs off the over.
IND 98/5 after 13
Irfan Pathan joins his brother with India facing an uphill, nay impossible, task. Panesar bowls a maiden over. 3/8 in his 3 overs so far. He has spun India into a web tonight, one they have failed to extricate themselves from. Irfan cracks a four against the run of play - crashed to deep midwicket against Sidebottom. At the halfway mark though, India are far - very far - away from the target and the 4 points.
IND 66/5 after 10
Yuvraj cracks another four to third man, gets India across 50 in the 8th over. And then in the 9th over, Panesar delivers what is probably the killing blow in this match. Yuvraj tries to go big, gets only a leading edge that is gobbled up by Maddy. He goes for 20, and with him go India's hopes of a Natwest-style comeback.
IND 56/5 after 8.2
Yusuf Pathan joins Yuvraj, with the Indian middle order still looking to weather the storm. Sidebottom and Tremlett continue for England. Yuvraj gets another four off him, relying more on timing and placement than power.
IND 48/4 after 7
Badrinath joins Yuvraj at 5. Yuvraj finds the gap with a square cut past point off the last ball of Hoggard's over to hit his first boundary of the night. Chris Tremlett replaces Panesar, despite the great start provided by the spinner. Ryan Sidebottom cleans up Badrinath in the 6th over.
IND 34/4 after 5.1
Yuvraj joins Sachin at 4, with the early wickets of Sehwag and Kaif having put on huge pressure on this chasing unit. And off the last ball of Panesar's 2nd over, Tendulkar is gone too! Stumped for 9. Again, Raipur is silenced as the God falls. India losing the plot at 17/3 after 3 overs.
Kaif is India's Number 3 today. Gets off the mark with a cracking cover drive for a single. Tendulkar ends the 2nd over with a wristy on side drive which bissects the field. Panesar continues in the 3rd over, and he bowls Kaif out. Gone for 1. India have lost 2 quick wickets in this imposing chase.
IND 16/2 after 2.2
Tendulkar sweeps Panesar for four - one bounce and over the ropes. 7 runs come from the first over. Hoggard bowls the second over, starting his spell with an away swinging delivery almost kissing Sehwag's bat on its way through to the keeper. Sehwag smashes Hoggard down the ground the following ball. And now both openers have found the ropes at least once. Off the next ball, Sehwag is gone! The catch is taken in the deep. Raipur is silenced as Sehwag falls cheaply. Gone for 6.
IND 11/1 after 1.3
All set for the chase, folks? Sachin and Sehwag are ready. England make a left field move to start off. Monty Panesar will bowl the first over. Sehwag smashes - for a single - off the first ball. Sachin now takes strike.
Hoggard joins Sidebottom to end the England innings. A scrambled single from the two tail-enders to end the innings. England put up 188/7 in their 20 overs. Pietersen (75) was the star of the first innings. India to chase down 189 for the win.
Hamilton departs retired hurt. Ryan Sidebottom comes in. Chris Tremlett is the new man in at the other end, and he starts off with a four. Munaf Patel bowls the last over for India. Tremlett, looking like a wrestler more than a cricketer, keeps smashing fours. Munaf comes back with a yorker. Bowls his man out. 6'7'' Tremlett cannot get down in time.
ENG 186/7 after 19.4
This is now the highest score in the Road Safety World Series tournament history. 161, scored by Sri Lanka last year, was the existing record. Badrinath bowls another tight over at the death. Just 6 runs off it. Yusuf Pathan gets his third wicket in the 19th over as England struggle to get the runs at the death. Naman Ojha in the action again, whips off Tredwell's bails.
ENG 173/6 after 18.5
Yusuf's success leads Sachin to go to the other part-time off spinner - Subramaniam Badrinath, who is in the XI today in place of Vinay Kumar. 4 runs from Badrinath's over. Hamilton and Tredwell look to take a moment after the rapid fall of wickets in the middle overs. Yusuf Pathan continues, and there is a dropped catch in his second over - by Mohammad Kaif! Hamilton smashes a six down the ground against Yusuf. Can the Scot provide a strong finish?
ENG 161/5 after 17
And now, Yusuf Pathan strikes! Schofield smashes two boundaries against him, but then misses the line of the ball and is bowled out. Gone for 15. Next ball, another wicket! Again, Naman Ojha takes a catch! Kabir Ali is gone for a duck. Gavin Hamilton sees two partners depart, with the last 5 overs left to build on this brilliant platform provided by Pietersen.
ENG 149/5 after 15