iSport | For the Fans, by the Fans

This tournament continues to amaze. In front of a cacophonous capacity crowd at Lord's, England and india served up a thrilling spectacle in a game neither could afford to lose, with the hosts defeating the holders by three runs in perhaps the most nail-biting climax in the competition to date. Thanks to a late blitz by MS Dhoni and the gutsy Yusuf Pathan, the margin of victory was narrow, but, make no mistake, England outplayed their illustrious opponents in every department. Having batted well to post a reasonable, if somewhat vulnerable, total of 153, they fielded magnificently and bowled purposefully to dethrone the reigning champions, meaning the crown India had worn so comfortably for two years will now be bestowed upon a new team next Sunday.

India were both tactically and technically exposed by the home team (although 'home' is perhaps a moot point in this instance, since the English fans were outnumbered). England, led by the fire-breathing Ryan Sidebottom, were full of aggressive intent in the field, and India were visibly rattled. The seamers peppered the Indian top-order with quick, short-pitched deliveries, and the batsmen, in particular the diminutive Suresh Raina, were unable to cope. Raina's reputation has soared after a productive second season in the IPL, but he looked out of his depth against the top-quality fast bowling being distributed by Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and Sidebottom.

India also got their tactics wrong. After losing two early wickets, the management team elected to send in the comparatively inexperienced Ravindra Jadeja, rather than either the irrepressible Yuvraj Singh, whom, even if they wouldn't like to admit it, England fear (with good reason, as anyone who saw his six sixes in one Stuart Broad over at the last World Twenty20 will understand), or the cool-headed Dhoni. Perhaps they wanted to protect their star players from the hostility of the bowling at that moment, but if so that was an extremely defensive decision, and one that sent out a negative message to the England players. Faced with bowling of this calibre, Jadeja struggled to find the boundary and the asking rate crept ominously upwards.

Dhoni made some rash choices in the field as well, engaging in a bout of ineffectual mind-games by bringing on the 'pie-chucker' Yuvraj to bowl against Kevin Pietersen in the seventh over. KP tucked in with relish, feasting on some pretty ordinary deliveries to amass 20 from two overs, and in the process making the Indian captain look a little foolish. It is a fallacy to think that Pietersen, one of the world's most formidable batsmen, would genuinely rather face Harbhajan Singh or Zaheer Khan than a part-timer, even a pretty good part-timer, and Dhoni might well be regretting that particular decision.

The turning point in the match came when Yuvraj, who always seems to be at the centre of proceedings when India play England, was quite brilliantly stumped by James Foster just as he was getting into his stride (though admittedly Yuvraj's 'stride' appears to start from ball one). The England wicket-keeper's reactions were so sharp that even on the slow-motion replay his hands appeared to be moving rapidly; in real-time they were more or less a blur. The Essex man was selected for this tournament over the more experienced and bigger-hitting incumbent Matt Prior because it was believed that, as the best gloveman in the country, Foster's brilliance behind the stumps could make the difference in tight matches. The selectors have been vindicated; even if he does nothing else in the competition (and I wouldn't bet on that), his excellent dismissal of the Indian danger man justified his inclusion in and of itself.

Paul Collingwood also played a crucial part in the victory, marshalling his troops in the tense closing stages. The Durham all-rounder was reluctant to reassume the role he relinquished last year, and in the first three matches this reticence was plain to see, but he led from the front in this game, making intelligent, positive bowling and fielding changes, and generally coaxing the best out of his inconsistent side. Sidebottom, too, should be singled out for praise; in the Caribbean two months ago, struggling for form and, primarily, fitness, he looked a shadow of his former self, down on pace and lacking in penetration. By contrast, at Lord's Sidebottom was threatening (both in his bowling and his roaring), pugnacious and, above all, fast - the speedometer touched 90 mph at one point.

Ultimately, however, this was a team performance from England. The hosts thus set up what is effectively a quarter-final against West Indies on Monday. Despite having trounced Chris Gayle's side repeatedly throughout the early part of the summer, they ought to guard against complacency, as the West Indians are in much better shape now than they were in those earlier fixtures. Whatever happens in that match, England have at least done better than last time around. The same cannot be said for India, who have surrendered the trophy they won so memorably in South Africa two years ago. On this occasion, instead of a triumphant final, they can look forward only to a roasting from the press and public back home. Indeed, not only have they been embarrassingly eliminated, but they now face the very real danger of bowing out without having beaten a top-level nation, since the classy South Africans are their final opponents. Questions will deservedly be raised as to how such a talented side, containing by far the most players to have featured in the IPL of any team, have been knocked out this early. They will have to wait until the next edition of the tournament in the Caribbean next year to put things right.