Resurgent India destroy limp England by 126 runs
A buoyant India thrashed England by 126 runs in the first one-day international in Hyderabad as the hosts exacted some form of revenge over Andy Flower’s men. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina transformed their side’s innings to post a daunting 300 for seven at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium as the India skipper seized command of the match.
England looked well set at 111 for two, but after captain Alastair Cook was dismissed for 60 an alarming batting collapse to 174 all out ensued which saw India clinch a convincing victory inside 37 overs in the opening fixture of this hectic five-match series.
The series had been billed ‘Time for payback’ by the local media, and India rose to the challenge of exerting their authority on proceedings from the outset.
It was India’s second biggest victory over England in one-day international cricket, and Cook’s side were left in no doubt as to the magnitude of the task which now confronts them.
A succession of early batsmen found it hard to get going after India won the toss and elected to bat first, as a lack of pace and bounce appeared to favour containing bowlers over expansive strokemakers.
But England did not help themselves by bowling 12 wides – and Dhoni, Raina and Ravindra Jadeja hit 16 fours and five sixes between them from 147 balls to turn what seemed set to be merely a near-par total into something much more challenging.
Graeme Swann was the pick of the England bowlers, returning figures of one for 35 from his 10 overs, but Dhoni (86 not out) and Raina (55) became sufficiently attuned to conditions to rack up 59 runs for the loss of just one wicket in a late batting powerplay.
India mustered up enough momentum to blast another 92 off the last 10 overs as the tourists’ outfielding also suffered in the late Dhoni-inspired onslaught.
England suddenly found themselves confronted with a formidable run-chase under lights, having only twice won chasing 300 or more.
Craig Kieswetter departed for just seven to Praveen Kumar, but Cook consolidated alongside Kevin Pietersen – who scored 19 – and Jonathan Trott (26) as the tourists found themselves in a strong position at 111 for two.
But India’s two spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin seized control of the middle overs to finish with stunning combined figures of six for 69.
England were strangled by pace off the ball on a slow surface, as left-arm orthodox Jadeja (three for 34) and off-spinner Ashwin (three for 35) thrived in the conditions.
Pietersen was soon just short of his ground when trying to scamper a single to mid-on, where Ashwin reacted swiftly with a direct hit, and Trott missed a sweep at Jadeja and was bowled after he shared a stand of 71 with Cook.
Ravi Bopara and Jonny Bairstow failed to reignite England’s run-chase as both went caught-and-bowled to spin, and a steady stream of wickets proceeded to fall.
Tim Bresnan was stumped advancing to a leg-side wide from Ashwin as five wickets fell for only 23 runs and little resistance was mustered and England suffered a chastening capitulation.
The tourists were skittled out for a meagre total of 174 in just 36.1 overs as India closed out a comprehensive victory in ruthless and utterly clinical fashion.
Dhoni was named man-of-the-match after his scintillating 87 with the bat, and the India skipper was left to pick up the accolades in a direct role reversal of the dominance Flower’s side enjoyed throughout the English summer.
As a result of such a crushing defeat, England – without a limited-overs series win in India since 1984-85 – will have been left in no doubt that looking to follow up their 3-0 victory in last month’s NatWest Series on home turf will be a considerably tougher test now that they find themselves in India’s backyard.(Eurosport)

INDIA innings
P. Patel run out 9
A. Rahane st Kieswetter b Swann 15
G. Gambhir lbw b Dernbach 32
V. Kohli c Pietersen b Patel 37
S. Raina c Bairstow b Finn 61
MS Dhoni not out 87
R. Jadeja run out 27
R. Ashwin run out 8
P. Kumar not out 1
Extras (lb-4, w-18, nb-1) 23
Total (for seven wickets; 50 overs) 300
Did not bat: R. Vinay Kumar, U. Yadav
Fall of wickets: 1-17 2-52 3-79 4-123 5-195 6-260 7-282
Bowling: Bresnan 10-0-66-0 (4w), Finn 9-0-67-1 (1nb, 2w), Dernbach 10-0-58-1 (6w), Swann 10-1-35-1, Patel 8-0-49-1, Bopara 3-0-21-0

ENGLAND innings
A. Cook c Vinay Kumar b Jadeja 60
C. Kieswetter c Dhoni b Kumar 7
K. Pietersen run out 19
J. Trott b Jadeja 26
R. Bopara c & b Ashwin 8
J. Bairstow c & b Jadeja 3
S. Patel b Yadav 16
T. Bresnan st Dhoni b Ashwin 4
G. Swann b Yadav 8
S. Finn not out 18
J. Dernbach b Ashwin 2
Extras (w-3) 3 Total (all out; 36.1 overs) 174
Fall of wickets: 1-7 2-40 3-111 4-120 5-124 6-126 7-134 8-148 9-163
Bowling: P. Kumar 8-1-38-1 (1w), Vinay Kumar 5-0-24-0, Kohli 3-0-11-0, Yadav 5-0-32-2 (1w), Ashwin 8.1-0-35-3 (1w), Jadeja 7-0-34-3