India’s tour of England – a Catch-22 for the tourists
While India were made to feel victorious before they even embarked on their English crusade, England were already being considered as the losing side, however, a victory by the host nation in the first test at Lord’s has clearly turned the tables around
as the war drums from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 have been silenced by the implacable display of competitive cricket by England in the ongoing tournament.
Indian pundits had already placed high stakes on batting maestro http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Chinnadupargea-Sachin-c50607 Tendulkar’s 100th century in the first Test, however, world’s most prolific batsman was not given an opportunity to reach the hallmark at Lord’s as he could only score 34
runs in the first innings while 12 runs were shot by him in the second innings.
The Indian public was perhaps less interested in the victory of their team than watching a glorious century from their top batsman. In fact a win by England was the least on anyone’s mind or perhaps cricket fans just wanted a fairytale story to mesmerize
the cricket world by watching the most talented batsman in the history of modern day cricket to score a ton at the house of cricket (Lord’s).
On the other hand, England who are sometimes underestimated to a great deal are excellent cricketers when playing at home and this is exactly what they proved against India by pulling off a victory almost from nowhere on the last day of the first Test when
many had already predicted a draw.
If Sachin’s bad form wasn’t enough, a defeat by 196 runs clearly left the Indians without a clue and then there is the case of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Z-Khan-c98379, who suffered a hamstring injury in the first match preventing him from bowling in the second innings.
Plan - A for India has clearly been shot down by England and now they have to seek redemption by beating the home side right at their own backyard to prove to the rest of the world that they are truly a number one team in the world of cricket.
After lifting the International Cricket Council (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625) World Cup 2011, in April, this is perhaps India’s biggest challenge. The problem for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team is that too much hype had created an impression that India will easily rip the English
apart, nonetheless, on field it is a different situation.
The English have been in a staggering form in Test cricket for the past three years and while some might think they lack in the shorter versions of the game, let us not forget that they are the reigning Twenty20 champions.
Before the first Test, a survey in England predicted a betting surge in favour of England’s victory, the odds are now looking on http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013’s side and unless India come up with a better plan to counter the Poms this is one summer in England that they will want
to forget as soon as possible.
India are now up against the English in the second Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. The tourists dominated the earlier part of the day as their bowlers annihilated the English batsmen but just like the mighty Australians, the English have also learned not
to give up in the game of cricket until the last delivery, as cricket fans saw a batting resurgence spearheaded by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GP-Swann-c1501 who crafted an innings of 73 runs in the ninth wicket partnership as they left the Indians clueless by taking the
tally to a comfortable position. The two batsmen have literally pulled the side from the depths of defeat and attained a winning chance against India.
India, on the other hand will now look to stage a remarkable victory against Strauss XI to find lost glory.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy
Tags: