It was a beautiful day at the pink city, Jaipur, where India were playing their first league match against England. Having performed poorly, Rahul Dravid and his boys were under the microscope. The analysis had begun. Indians were the favorites owing to their 5-1 win in ODI series against England earlier this year.

Dravid won the toss and decided to field first, not surprising considering that Indians have become good chasers. Irfan Pathan’s first over was a beauty, a real mixture of swing, bounce, line and length. It clearly seemed that he was feeling good. The ball was coming nicely out of his hand, and was getting the typical “Pathan” swing. Munaf Patel at the other end drew first blood wrapping Bell on the pads. Bell could have considered himself a touch unlucky. Hawkeye showed that the ball was too high. It didn’t stop just yet. Irfan got Andrew Flintoff, batting at number three, out plumb in front for a duck. The ball was complete proof of Irfan’s return to form. Michael Yardy, with his awkward stance, fell for seven. England had no answer to the exaggerated swing the Indian bowlers were generating. Pathan dismissed Strauss for 10 and the score read 27-4. Kevin Pietersen looked solid and if there was a time England needed him, it was then. He scored 27 with four crisp boundaries before becoming Patel’s 3rd victim. Then it was up to the two off-spinners to wrap up England. Ramesh Powar and Harbhajan Singh bowled exceedingly well. The duo shared five wickets between them. England were wrapped for a mere 125 runs. Indian bowling had fired all cylinders and Dravid's decision had paid off.

The chase was never going to be difficult. Out-of-form Virender Sehwag started beautifully, with two awesome shots, but again gave it away to a wide delivery that never deserved a wicket. He fell for nine and the question marks about his place still remain unanswered. Surprisingly, Pathan was promoted up the order and he, along the Sachin Tendulkar, shared a 50-run partnership before falling to sensational catch by Pietersen. Dravid came and went quickly. James Andreson picked up both the wickets. Yuvraj was stunned by a great bouncer first up, after which he timed his strokes to perfection. Harmison, in his second spell, dismissed Tendulkar. The ball kept low and he was plumb in front. England seemed to pull things back as Dhoni and Raina fell in quick succession. Finally, Yuvraj and Harbhajan guided India home by 4 wickets to earn two valuable points.

Even though India won, they still have a few worries. Sehwag’s failures continued while Raina, selected ahead of Mohammad Kaif, failed to score. Similarly, the batting-order was once again shuffled leaving the players uncertain of their role. A target which should never have troubled them, seemed uphill. Their think-tank needs to find answers to these problems at the earliest.

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