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[Zacked]

Published in the News & Star on 22/03/2006
ENGLAND completed a remarkable final-Test victory at the Wankhede Stadium to
share the series with India.

Andrew Flintoff’s depleted side were victorious by 212 runs after dismissing the
home team for a paltry 100 midway through the afternoon session.

Off-spinner Shaun Udal was England’s hero with four wickets in a crazy
post-lunch spell which saw the last seven Indian batsmen dismissed for just 25
runs.

India lost only two wickets in the first session, England’s bowlers struggling
to prise apart the big duo of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

The tourists had begun the day needing nine wickets to level the series and they
were given a fine start to the final morning as two leg-before decisions
resulted in the dismissals of nightwatchman Anil Kumble and opener Wasim Jaffer.

The depleted side – missing five of last summer’s Ashes winners – were cheered
when in only the third over of the morning Matthew Hoggard found a breakthrough.
Umpire Simon Taufel turned a confident lbw appeal down but upheld another two
balls later after Hoggard nipped one back into Kumble.

Jaffer was tormented by Flintoff in the opening overs and succumbed after a
change of ends for the England captain when a full delivery clattered into the
pads in front of middle-stump.

That brought hometown hero Tendulkar to the crease, alongside captain Dravid,
who had already spent the equivalent of three days’ play batting in this series.

Tendulkar shrugged off his poor form of late to find the boundary on a handful
of occasions. He got off the mark with an edged four off Flintoff and also
tucked James Anderson to the midwicket rope.

Tendulkar was particularly harsh on left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, punishing
two deliveries in one over which cost 12 but perished off the bowling of Udal as
an inside edge popped onto pad and into Ian Bell’s gleeful grasp.

[Zacked]

just liked the way freddie has been described as infredible...

[kban1]

The Heart of captaincy

Ehtesham Hasan celebrates the first-rate performance of England’s third-choice skipper

In 2002 when England levelled the one-day series at the Wankhede, Andrew Flintoff ripped off his sweaty pyjama top and whirled it over his head as he cavorted around the stadium trying to do a Demi Moore.

Yesterday was not that different. This time, however, he had the pleasure of walking away with the pants of what is supposedly the world’s best batting line up. That too in their own backyard.

Bad jokes apart, the England team looked every inch a winner when they went out for a lap of honour in the afternoon heat with beads of sweats trickling down their bodies.

Leading the pack was the six-foot-four frame of their stand-in captain, with a bottle of Kingfisher beer in his hands (that’s brand loyalty for you).

It was not at this moment alone that Flintoff was the leader of this formidable bunch. Out there in the middle, when he scrapped from the front to force the Indian batting line-up into submission, he was quite clearly the man in charge.

From 75 for three at lunch, India lost seven wickets for 25 runs in a matter of 15.2 overs. Nothing could’ve been more bizarre than this, as Rahul Dravid rightly pointed out after the game.

But instead of basking in the glory, earned mostly by his derring-do deeds, Flintoff passed all the accolades to the “young lads” in his team.

“To come to India and draw 1-1 with such a formidable side was a great effort for our lads,” the 28-year-old said after a thumping 212-run series levelling victory ended England’s 21-year drought in India.

“They took the bull by the horns and came through magnificently. The lads have rallied around. It was a bonus getting the chance to bat first and Andrew Strauss (134) set it up nicely for us. We bowled well and we were always in the game.”

The man from Lancashire played a pivotal role in the match with two fifties and four crucial wickets. His deeds got him not only the man of the match, but also the man of the series award.

It was indeed a phenomenal effort on part of the all-rounder. He became only the sixth away captain to win a test at Wankhede, joining the likes of Clive Lloyd, Mike Brearely, John Wright, Steve Waugh and Hansie Cronje.

He was actually a third-choice leader in this English side after Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick. Add to that the absence of two match-winning bowlers in Simon Jones and Steve Harmison, and nobody gave the Poms a ghost of a chance.

Freddie, who recently became a father for the second time, will head home to be with his family for a few days before returning in time for the one-dayers.

Interestingly, he wouldn’t have been here had he stuck to his original plan of returning home to be with his wife Rachel. All of England will be glad he changed his mind.

• It was not just during the victory lap that Flintoff was the leader of this formidable bunch. Out there in the middle, when he scrapped from the front to force the Indian batting line up into submission, he was quite clearly the man in charge

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/nmirror/mmpaper.asp?sectid=6&articleid=322200623957390322200623942312