Having returned to their winning ways, India will look to plug the loopholes
and sustain the momentum against England in the third cricket one-day international
here tomorrow.
The Indians bounced back from a crushing 104-run loss in the first ODI to post
a narrow but hugely morale-boosting nine-run victory in the second match at Bristol
on Friday.
The top order, which came a cropper at Rose Bowl, boomed to a stunning
effect as the tourists ran up a commanding total of 329 for seven to turn the
tables on the hosts.
Sachin Tendulkar was once again in his elements, carving out a well
crafted 99, but more heart warming must have been the hurricane 92 not out by
Rahul Dravid.
The skipper made a 'tongue in cheek' remark while receiving
the 'man of the match' award that "it was nice to play a knock like this,
particularly after making 12 runs off 96 balls" in the Oval Test.
And Yuvraj Singh, who was forced to warm the benches
during the Test series despite his good form in the one-dayers against South
Africa, was his flamboyant self although wrong shot selection caused his
downfall.
Let us just say, as Dravid himself mentioned, that the conditions
- a good pitch and shorter boundaries - made it a perfect day for the batsmen
to play their strokes freely. And that might also explain the close margin of
the result.
Yet, the Indian think-tank would do well to take a look at their bowling, especially
in the closing stages.
Bowling at the death has been a problem for India in recent
times, and it wasn't any different despite the return of Munaf Patel.
|
