England and India do battle once again, with a three-match ODI series getting underway at Trent Bridge on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12pm.
England vs India
July 12, 2018, 12:00pm
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Eoin Morgan’s men will be out for revenge after suffering a 2-1 series defeat in the T20s, with India looking to keep up the momentum ahead of the five-match Test series starting next month.
There have been some classic encounters between the two teams in the 50-over format over the years – we have previously highlighted those played out on Indian soil – and here’s a look at the most memorable England have hosted…
World Cup shock
1983 Cricket World Cup, semi-final, Old Trafford, June 1983
England had never lost to India at home and so were heavy favourites going into this World Cup semi-final, their third in a row. But India pulled off one of the biggest upsets in cricketing history, beating Bob Willis’ side, before famously repeating the trick with a stunning win over the juggernaut West Indies in the final.
India captain Kapil Dev was England’s chief destroyer, taking 3-35 from his 11 overs as the hosts were bowled out for 213 in their 60 overs and then was at the crease when the winning runs were scored to secure a six-wicket triumph.
Nasser’s No 3!
NatWest Series Final, Lord’s, July 2002
What a game this was! While Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain sticking three fingers up to his future contemporaries in the commentary box – we’re looking at you Willis, Botham – may be the abiding image from the game, it was one full of sub-plots and with a thrilling finish to boot.
Hussain struck 115, joining Marcus Trescothick (109) through to a century, having come under fire for a lack of runs at No 3 before the game. England scored a hatful of runs – 325, to be precise – batting first, and many Indians in the crowd had left with the fall of Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket at 146-5 in the 24th over of their chase.
Understandable. After all, India had relative unknown quantities Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif at the crease, with only the tail to come. But, Yuvraj’s 69 off 63 balls gave nod to his eventual international pedigree, while Kaif (87no off 75) saw his team home to a thrilling two-wicket, final-over win after two Andrew Flintoff wickets in three balls in the 48th had cast the result in doubt. Cue wild, shirtless celebrations from India skipper Sourav Ganguly on the team dressing-room balcony, angered by Flintoff’s identical celebration that earned England a tie in the series in India months earlier.
Bopara and Broad bring it home
Fourth ODI, Old Trafford, August 2007
Do you remember when Stuart Broad was a genuine allrounder? Do you remember when Ravi Bopara was an integral part of England’s white-ball outfit? Well, the pair played a vital part in this tense three-wicket win as it was England’s turn to snatch an unlikely victory from the jaws of defeat.
That man Yuvraj was at it again, top-scoring with 71, but an otherwise under-par Indian battingline-upp was bowled out for 212 – Broad beginning his fine all-round outing with, at the time, career-best figures of 4-51 – but England made hard work of the target in slipping to 114-7 with Alastair Cook out for a duck in the first over and the middle-order big-hitting of Kevin Pietersen (18), Flintoff (5), Owais Shah (8) and captain Paul Collingwood (47) gone within 33 runs of each other.
But, Bopara and Broad – as low as No 8 and 9 in the order – calmly rebulit and shared in an unbroken 99-run stand to calmly see England to victory with a couple of overs to spare.
Mascarenhas magic in vein
Sixth ODI, The Oval, September 2007
A week on from that Old Trafford win, the seesawing 2007 ODI series came to the capital for the sixth game of seven – England holding a 3-2 lead and looking to close things out, having missed the opportunity to do so in the fifth game at Headingley.
They looked well on their way when, after a Shah (107no) century, and fifties for Pietersen (53) and Luke Wright (50), on debut, Dimi Mascarenhas (36no off 15) bludgeoned Yuvraj for five huge sixes over cow corner off the final five balls of the innings to lift England up to an imposing 316-run score.
But, much like at Lord’s five years earlier, India were not fazed by a required rate of greater than a run-a-ball. Legendary pair Ganguly (53) and Tendulkar (94) shared a 150-run opening stand and, though there was a slight middle-order wobble, MS Dhoni (35) and Robin Uthappa (47no) adopted the Yuvraj and Kaif roles to see the tourists to a series-levelling victory.
However, England would ultimately triumph in the series 4-3 courtesy of a handy seven-wicket win in the final game at Lord’s.
Rain thwarts Ravi
Fourth ODI, Lord’s, September 2011
Bopara was at it again, seemingly inspiring England to another unlikely run-chase. After being set 281 to win at Lord’s, England were struggling at 173-5 with the loss of Ben Stokes – in his debut series – for just seven, but Bopara stuck in there and was nearing a maiden ODI century as the hosts needed only five runs to win from the final two overs.
When Stokes had fallen, a further 118 runs were still required, with 88 balls remaining, but Bopara received fine support from Tim Bresnan (27) and Graeme Swann (31) and, with the later still at the crease, victory looked assured, Only a sudden, torrential downpour stood in their way – but even then England were comfortably ahead on Duckworth-Lewis, so long as they didn’t lose further wickets.
Ah. In a truly incredible, incomprehensible finish, England did just that, with Swann first brilliantly run out by bowler Munaf Patel when attempting to pinch a quick single, and then Bopara holing out at deep midwicket the very next ball when looking for the boundary to bring up his ton. That would be the final act of a memorable match, ending in a D/L tie, as the rain only got heavier.
India triumph in 20-over slog
Champions Trophy Final, Edgbaston, June 2013
Talking of rain, there was plenty more of it around in Birmingham of the day of the final of the 2013 Champions Trophy, resulting in what became effectively a T20 contest when play finally got underway.
It looked like that had played perfectly into England’s hands as they reduced India to a more than manageable 129-7 which, given the strength of their T20 power-hitting as we’ve witnessed first-hand during the recently completed three-match series, was some feat – Bopara popping up again, this time with the ball to take 3-20 from his four overs.
As evident by those Bopara figures, pace off the ball was the order of the day and, on a dry, worn Edgbastion surface, India’s spinners had their way with England – Ravi Ashwin taking 2-15, Ravi Jadeja 2-24 – in first reducing them to 46-4 inside nine overs.
Morgan (33) and nearly man Bopara (30) had seemingly recovered the run-chase, sharing a 64-run stand for the fifth wicket only to fall to back-to-back Ishant Sharma deliveries in the 18th over, and England ultimately fell five runs short, prolonging their quest for a first win in a 50-over ICC world tournament.
Watch the first ODI of the three-match series between England and India, at Trent Bridge, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12pm on Thursday.
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