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News Letter
Wed Jan 30 2002
Issue No: 29

English derring-do needed at Delhi

India have faced the situation many times before, but it is now England who face a do-or-die scenario against the hosts when Nasser Hussain walks out for the toss at Delhi. Even back-to-back wins in the final two matches can only give them a drawn series and some salvaged honour, and it remains to be seen whether, after Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag ruthlessly shredded the bowling at Kanpur, England can pick themselves enough to turn their fortunes around. One method might be to change the team composition around, bringing the experience Andrew Caddick in. "We will have to look at the whole squad, because there will be some tired people, both physically and mentally," said Hussain. "I think people got a little bit excited about how well we played in the Test matches and a couple of the one-dayers. People think we should just turn up and beat this lot - but they are a very fine side at home, as yesterday showed."

Gough full of praise for "the best batsman in the world"

When Darren Gough takes the field at Delhi, he will be turning out for the 100th time for his country in one-day internationals, a milestone to accompany his 150th wicket at Cuttack. Keen competitor that he is, Gough’s mind will be more taken with what has been a niggling problem for his side during the series – Sachin Tendulkar. Kanpur was no different, and Gough was full of admiration after Tendulkar, along with Virender Sehwag, demolished a toothless English bowling attack.

"We’ve seen already that if you do not take your one chance with him, he just goes away," Gough admitted. "Some of the shots he played yesterday were fantastic." Gough even went so far as to single some strokes out. "There were two through mid-on towards the end that you cannot do anything about. You just have to take your hat off to him and realise that you are bowling against the best batsman in the world. Nobody else can play shots like that."

"He doesn't get flustered at all. He isn’t like most batsmen who are red in the face and sweating after they’ve got to 60 or 70. It doesn't seem to bother him," added Gough. "He doesn't run singles, because he knows he’s going to hit a boundary in the next three or four balls. You never give in against him. It doesn't matter when you get him out - even if he’s 130 - he's someone you always want to get, and that is why it’s so disappointing when you think you've got him and it doesn't get given."

"He's a top player and almost a pleasure to bowl at. He's probably the only player I would actually sit and watch bat," Gough concluded.

A hospitality stand, indeed

Mumbai, the host of the final India-England one-dayer, is also the latest venue to witness a mad scramble for tickets. With Sachin Tendulkar in fine form, the Mumbaikars must be desperate to sneak into the stadium on match day. Their plight, though, is not helped by the fact that there are only 7782 seats on offer. The disappearance of 1682 seats in the upper bay of the East stand, now converted into a hospitality stand, is what has hit them the hardest. "Denying the public their seats in the East Stand is not right," former Indian skipper Ajit Wadekar said. But he admitted that the Mumbai Cricket Association is not at its rosiest financially, and it needs all the money that it can make from the sale of tickets for the one-dayer. Trying telling that to the fans milling outside the stadium, Mr Wadekar.

  • The home of the master on the Internet. Visit Sachin Tendulkar's microsite at CricInfo.com Click Here
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  • Former India cap Woorkheri Raman marvels at India's batting blitz at the Green Park Oval. Click Here

A wicket of a number nine batsman is not always significant, but Kapil Dev's dismissal of Don Anurasiri on January 30 1994 went down in the history books. With that scalp, Kapil equalled Richard Hadlee's world record of 431 Test wickets; the Indian all-rounder was to claim the top spot for himself in the very next game and retain it for half a decade before Courtney Walsh passed him.

Do-or-die matches bring out the best in a champion team, and if England are to prove themselves champions, they must win at the Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi tomorrow. India should beware; in 1992, India won the final two matches to draw the series, and England could do the same here. Let CricInfo.com fill you in, ball by ball.

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Which two future stars made their one-day debut against England at Ahmedabad in 1981?

Previous Question

Which umpire officiated in his last Test in an India-England match in 1996?

Answer:Harold "Dickie" Bird



"I thought he should have scored a hundred today, but he's a fantastic player and will be a great entertainer for all the crowds." Sourav Ganguly, on Virender Sehwag at Kanpur

"If you put them on the off-side, he hits you through leg, and if you put them on leg, he hits you through off." Darren Gough on Sachin Tendulkar



"It seems that the BCCI is rich only on paper. At one point, Sourav Ganguly was wearing Harbhajan Singh's sweater, and Mohammad Kaif was wearing a piece of paper with KAIF written on it." Kiran Narayan Moghe


Sachin Tendulkar, on 48, became the first batsman in one-day internationals to reach 11,000 runs. He breached the 10,000-ran barrier less than a year ago.

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