By Denzil Fernandes

Hederabad, Oct 15: Team India is back with a bang !  They demonstrated this in the first one day international at Hyderabad on Friday by crushing  England to win by 126 runs.  It was sweet revenge for the hosts after the hammering in England where they failed to win even a single match.

Skipper Dhoni was in full mood after winning the toss and deciding to bat although opener Parthiv Patel did not last long.  However, one cannot deny the home advantage any team can benefit from.  After a real slow start where India made  139 runs in 34 overs while losing 4 wickets it was time for Raina and Dhoni to turn the tide.  Raina who excels especially when the chips are down batted brilliantly.  He smashed 61 runs off 55 balls and his skipper Dhoni was murderous while hammering 10 fours and one six in his score of unbeaten 87 in 70 balls.  At the end of India’s innings one almost felt that Dhoni was going to score a century but it was not to be.  Jadeja made 27 runs in 22 balls before being run out.  Opener Gambhir too made his presence felt with a well made 32 from 33 runs.  At the end of their allotted overs India had posted an impressive 300 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.

For England, Swann and Dernbach bowled tidily while the other bowlers hit around the park repeatedly.

In reply, England lost wickets regularly although captain Cook was solid at one end.  When he fell with his team’s total at 111 with 3 wickets gone disaster struck for England from where they never recovered.  Both spinners Ashwin and Jadeja were unstoppable and picked up 3 wickets each while skittling England for a paltry 174 runs in 36.1 overs for a brilliant win.  The Indian bowlers did not allow the England batsman to take charge at any stage and except Cook none of the other batsmen managed any decent stay at the crease.  Trott looked like carrying on before he recklessly tried a wild shot and lost his leg stumpt to Jadeja.  Both Jadeja and Ashwin were superb with their spin and were the main reason for India doing well.

But first and foremost due credit to skipper Dhoni who came out of his shell and batted like a star.  Some of his shots were totally out of the book and well placed to beat the field placing.  There was plenty of power in his strokeplay and one almost thought that Dhoni would end up with a three figure knock before the overs ran out.

It was indeed a welcome win for the Indians who were at the receiving end for their entire tour of England earlier.  With this win, the morale will be high for the hosts.  England, no doubt, will come back with venom after the defeat in Hyderabad.  But if Team India continues to play as they did in the first encounter, there is every possibility that the memories of the last tour to England will be erased quickly.  Dhoni and his boys looked fresh in Hyderabad in the first one day match which was a clear sign to show what good rest can do for the players.

Will England hit back in the next one day match?