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India beats England 1-0 in Tests

Dhoni chances his arm
By Anil
December 23 2008
England manages to avoid the ignominy of a clean sweep as they hang on in the final innings and go down 0-1 to India in the Test series. In the process, India reaches number 2 in worldwide Test rankings, tantalizingly close to taking down yesteryear champions Australia.

Gautam Gambhir almost pulled it off again - two cenuries in a single Test, which he achieved in the previous Test series against Australia.

Having hit a magnificent 179 in the first innings, Gambhir fell for 97, just short of the rare double feat in a single Test, twice in successive Test series.

At the other end, Yuvraj Singh proved his mettle once again in Tests as he hit a wonderful 86, finally cementing his spot in the Test side following the retirement of Sourav Ganguly.

Mahendra Dhoni threw everything at the visitors, including the odd over from himself, but they held on grimly.

Having slammed Yuvraj as a "pie-chucker" after being snared by the part-time left-arm spinner 5 times, new captain Kevin Pietersen praised his batting effort after the match and lauded him as one of the cleanest strikers in cricket.

The Test series produced some exciting cricket after England decided to return to India to resume their tour following terror strikes in Mumbai.

Sachin Tendulkar delivered one of the best rearguard efforts of his career to help India win the first match, which swung the series India's way. Even Rahul Dravid managed to finally get some runs under his belt in the first innings, although he went back into his characteristic shell in the second dig.

Virender Sehwag has delivered in superb style, Zaheer Khan was selected Player of the Series, Harbhajan Singh has taken the most wickets this year, and Mahendra Dhoni has performed in useful cameos in addition to steering the side admirably.

India has finished the year off in style, clicking in every department and as a team under Dhoni. They will go into 2009 as the unofficial number 1 team in the world next year, although the controversial ICC rankings -- criticized for perennially being several years behind current form -- have them at number 2.

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India beats England 1-0 in Tests
Posted by: Indian Cricket Fever (IP Logged)
Date: 23/12/2008 14:11

What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.

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Re: India beats England 1-0 in Tests
Posted by: Birbal (IP Logged)
Date: 25/12/2008 23:02

I think Dhoni should have tried harder to go 5 for 5...not because the English media were saying that...but because it is always good to be ruthless

Fair enough that he was worried if the final day turned out sunny and bright and he had to defend 330 odd in 95-100 overs it would have been hard...

But once the morning proved to be as foggy as any other...he should have declared at least by lunch time...

Though in a way, he built loyalty among his players by giving them chances for individual records in what was basically a lost cause... so can't completely diss him...despite what the desperate English media may say...smiling smiley

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