Steven Finn’s 5 for 33 helped England beat India by nine wickets at the Gabba in what captain Eoin Morgan described as an “outstanding” performance.
Finn’s maiden ODI five-for and James Anderson’s 4 for 18 never allowed India to recover. England claimed a bonus point, boosted their Net Run Rate, all of which may prove crucial in the final standings.
Finn’s international career has gone full circle. Only twelve months ago he traveled home from the Ashes tour, lacking in confidence and with a task of rebuilding his form.
India were 75 for one when Finn stepped up.
Anderson bowled two runless overs and, in doing so, had Shikhar Dhawan caught behind.
India, without Rohit Sharma (hamstring) then lost Ajinkya Rahane when he top-edged Finn to James Taylor. Virat Kohli edged to keeper Jos Buttler. Moeen Ali had a stuttering Suresh Raina stumped and Ambati Rayudu could only fend Finn’s extra bounce to Buttler.
In 27 balls, India had lost four wickets, and recovered with a 70-run stand for the sixth wicket between MS Dhoni (34 from 61 balls) and Stuart Binny (44 from 55). But then Finn returned and, in combination with Anderson, the pressure was on again.
Dhoni gloved a Finn short ball to Buttler and, next ball, Akshar Patel, was bowled. In the next over, Anderson bowled Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Anderson added the wickets of Binny and Mohammad Shami to leave India 153 all out in 39.3 overs.
India needed to apply the same pressure that their opponents had, but managed just one breakthrough when Moeen hit a Binny slower ball to Kohli.
England never looked back with Ian Bell ending unbeaten on 88 from 91 balls and James Taylor, 56 from 63, his third ODI half century.
“Outstanding. We really put a team performance,” said Morgan. “Steven Finn got that bounce and made most of it. Jimmy set the tone with an early breakthrough. If it swings, he tends to take advantage. It adds a hell of a lot of weight to the side. Australia very strong side at the moment, we will continue to concentrate on what we do well.”
After two defeats however, Dhoni appreciates his side have work to do: “I don’t think we batted well, especially after choosing to bat. The wicket was a bit two-paced to start off and our batsmen did not really play well.
“We needed to build partnerships, but that did not happen,” he continued. “If a ball is there to hit, you should, but if it needs to be defended, you should watch out. By the time you need to accelerate, there aren’t any wickets left.
“We have to use whatever time is left before the world cup in a useful manner. Staying four and a half months away from home is difficult, but we have to switch on and switch off. We need to switch on and assess what needs to be done in the nets, or wait in the hotel if the need be.”
CURRENT STANDINGS
| Teams | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Pts | Net RR | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | +0.664 | 504/88.5 | 501/100.0 |
| England | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | +0.713 | 390/77.3 | 388/89.5 |
| India | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.356 | 420/100.0 | 425/76.3 |
James Buttler
As the editor of World Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
He is also the presenter of the Cricket Badger Radio Show on Radio Yorkshire every Tuesday evening between 7-9pm UK time.
James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
James is a published author, a writer/video contributor to many cricket publications and a complete cricket badger!
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