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Shareexpectedly got thrashed. The small ground and fast outfield gave the Englishmen very little margin for error. They were off target and paid the penalty.
Kevin Pietersen was right in opting to the field but Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir with their explosive batting negated whatever threat the England new ball bowlers posed. Both the Delhi openers continued where they had left off in the recent Test series. While Sehwag is in cracking form, Gambhir is looking more solid with each outing.
Both Sehwag and Gambhir also ran brilliantly between the wickets, and that certainly is a huge advantage. One-day cricket is not just about smacking the ball for fours and sixes; it is also about how well you run between the wickets and keep up the pressure on the fielding team.
Yuvraj Singh played the innings of his life, and that too at a time when his presence in the team was being questioned. There is no doubt that Yuvi is an exceptional talent. That he has played in only 28 Test matches is an irony, to say the least.
His kind of talent is rare and that's the reason every selection committee would think ten times before resting him. However, sometimes it's quite frustrating when he himself fails to realise his immense potential. Nevertheless, he still has time on his side, so he must think hard about it before it's too late.
I was quite impressed with the way Munaf bowled. He had a reputation of being laid back. However, after warming the reserve bench for almost six weeks, he came back strongly with a disciplined spell. Mind you, it's tough to be spot on if you're short of match practice.
As for England, I guess they picked the wrong team. You can't go in with only one slow bowler (he hardly spun the ball). In fact, I'm surprised they left out Monty Panesar, for he would have got wickets in the middle overs. They will have to improve by raising their game several notches than they performed at Rajkot.
All the same, it's too early in the day to write off this English squad. I'm sure they will improve as the tour progresses.
