After the thrilling T20I series between India and England that Virat Kohli and his men won 3-2, the ‘Men in Blue’ will face Eoin Morgan and his men in the three-match ODI series, with the first match beginning on March 23.
Once again, it will be a clash between the No 1 and No 2 sides in the 50-overs format, and the ODI series promises to be another thrilling hard-fought contest.
There have been a few exciting and interesting ODIs between the two nations. Cricwizz takes a look.
Tied 2011 World Cup match at Bengaluru
India posted a big total of 338 all out, with opener Sachin Tendulkar scoring a brilliant 120. But the target looked inadequate as England captain Andrew Strauss was leading from the front with a brilliant ton. At 281/2 in 42.3 overs, it looked like England’s game, with 58 runs required off 45 balls. But Zaheer Khan dismissed Ian Bell for 69, and Strauss for 158 off successive balls to help India bounce back into the game.
With 14 runs required off 6 balls and just two wickets left, England looked to be staring at defeat. But Graeme Swann and Ajmal Shahzad managed 13 runs off Munaf Patel for the match to end in a thrilling tie. Strauss was named man of the match for his 150.
England win by 5 runs in Mumbai ODI in 2002
England were trailing 2-3 going into the final and sixth ODI. They had set up a below-par score of 255, and bowled and fielded brilliantly to bowl out India for 250 runs, and win the match by 5 runs, and level the series 3-3. Once Andrew Flintoff had dismissed the last batsman Javagal Srinath bowled for a duck, he ran across the field topless to celebrate the win, and leave a bitter taste among the Indian camp as they had to share the spoils after once leading 3-1 in the series. Indian captain Sourav Ganguly’s brilliant 80 went in vain.
2002 NatWest Series final
England had piled up 325/5 with Marcus Trescothick (109) and captain Nasser Hussain (115) scoring a ton each. India were done and out at 146/5 in 24 overs, and the door looked closed for them. But England had not counted for two youngsters in Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif.
The two combined to put a 121-run stand for the 6 wickets in just 18.4 overs, and bring India back into the game. The fall of Yuvraj’s wicket for 69 gave England hopes to pull off the win. But Kaif played the innings of his life (87 not out), and in the company of Zaheer Khan got India home with 2 wickets and 3 balls to spare.
Indian captain Sourav Ganguly then went topless and swung his jersey at Lord’s balcony to make it a moment to remember, and mark India’s greatest overseas win. It was in response to Flintoff’s topless act a few months ago in India after England leveled the ODI series 3-3.
2013 Champions Trophy final
It was supposed to be a 50-over game, but due to rain, the match was reduced to a 20-over per side encounter. India could manage just 129/7, with Virat Kohli top-scoring with 43, and Ravindra Jadeja pitching up with a cameo of 33 not out. India had reduced England to 46/4 in 9 overs, but Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara resurrected the innings with a 64-run stand for the fifth wicket. At 110/4 in 17.2 overs, with 20 runs to get off 16 balls, it was England’s match to lose. And they lost in style.
Ishant Sharma, bowling the 18th over, dismissed Morgan (33) and Bopara (30) on successive balls to open the floodgates for India. With 15 runs needed off the last over, R Ashwin conceded just 9 runs to seal the match and a memorable trophy for India.
Cover image: India after winning the NatWest Series in 2002: (Pic credits: Quora)
