London: Kevin Pietersen’s strokeplay mirrored the brilliant sunshine but the others in the English line-up didn’t shine quite as bright as India restricted them to 153 for 7 in front of a raucous capacity crowd at Lord’s. Pietersen and Ravi Bopara shared a 71-run partnership, but a tidy spell from Ravindra Jadeja brought India back into contention, and the rest of the bowlers then ensured that the eventual target would be tricky rather than intimidating. After Pietersen departed at the end of the 13th over, England managed only 61 more as the crowd waited for a final charge that never came.
India couldn’t have started better. After a tidy opening over from Zaheer Khan, RP Singh tempted Luke Wright into the pull. Never in control, he merely ballooned it to short fine leg, where Yusuf Pathan took a tumbling catch. But that only brought Pietersen to the crease, and a sloppy over from Zaheer gave England the impetus they needed, with both batsmen glancing him for fours.
The runs didn’t come in a torrent but they came steadily enough, and there were some eye-catching strokes. Bopara played a stunning pull for four off RP, while Pietersen said hello to Ishant Sharma with a contemptuous flick for four over midwicket. When Ishant followed up with a short delivery, Bopara deposited him into the stands behind square leg.
With Pietersen then smearing RP down the ground for four, 40 came from the six overs of Powerplay. The entry of Yuvraj Singh, who made a habit of dismissing Pietersen in India last winter, gave India no respite, as 20 came from his two overs. The cause wasn’t helped by some poor fielding on the rope from Zaheer and a general air of listlessness. Harbhajan Singh managed to rein in the scoring rate, but by halfway, England had 71 on the board and nine wickets in hand.
The complexion of the game changed with the introduction of Jadeja right after. Bopara was bowled going for the cut after a run-a-ball 37. Pietersen continued to scamper between the wickets with real energy, and when he hit a massive six over midwicket off Jadeja in his next over, England seemed poised for a late onslaught.
It proved a bit of a false dawn though. The next ball arrowed into his pads, ending a 27-ball knock of 46, and Dimitri Mascarenhas and Owais Shah weren’t quite Pietersen’s match in the big-hitting stakes. Though Ishant proved expensive, Jadeja went through his spell for 26, and Harbhajan chipped in with the wicket of Shah to further stymie progress.
The final flourish never came. Paul Collingwood clipped Zaheer for one four, but was then leg before trying to be too cute. And with Harbhajan picking up both James Foster and Graeme Swann in the final over, it took five wides to take England beyond 150. Against a powerful Indian line-up, it was unlikely to be enough.
