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England gear up for India opener England skittled by superb India
(about 6 hours later)
England begin their ICC Champions Trophy campaign on Sunday determined to surprise the world's best teams. India produced a sterling performance in the field to bowl out a lacklustre England for 125 in 37 overs in the ICC Champions Trophy opener in Jaipur.
The 2004 finalists start off against India in Jaipur, followed by a meeting against world champions Australia. Munaf Patel and Ramesh Powar each took three wickets, and Irfan Pathan removed Andrew Strauss and captain Andrew Flintoff, batting at three, for a duck.
"We can beat anyone in the world. We beat Pakistan twice this summer and Australia when they came over. The best performance from England's batsmen was Paul Collingwood's 38.
"I don't know where we are rated but I am confident in my team going into a tough group and an exciting one to be in," skipper Andrew Flintoff said. Although the pitch offered inconsistent bounce and early swing movement, England face a tall order now.
"The one thing we need to strive for is consistency, that is something we will gain by playing with each other, gaining more experience and having a belief we can do it." India's excellent bowling was backed up by equally good fielding and they only have to bat moderately well to knock off the runs needed to win.
Flintoff plays his first international game since ankle surgery in June - and his 100th one-dayer in all for England. Flintoff did not sound at all disappointed to have lost the toss, but Patel and Pathan were admirably consistent and there was a surprising amount of swing on offer.
I trust my technique and I feel more equipped to go in at the top of the order now Andrew Flintoff That, allied to uneven bounce caused by wide cracks across the wickets, made facing the new ball a difficult exercise.
He looked in good form batting at three in the warm-up win over a Rajasthan Cricket Association XI on Thursday and will stay there on Sunday. England were not helped by umpire Daryl Harper's decision to uphold Patel's appeal for lbw against Ian Bell in the fourth over.
"I have spoken to the coach and it is something I feel I can do," the Lancashire all-rounder said. Replays suggested what Bell must have thought - the ball would have sailed over the stumps.
"I did have the opportunity to do it earlier in my career but now I am a bit more experienced, a bit more confident in my game. But when Flintoff and Michael Yardy also got their pads in the way of the ball, they had little reason to complain.
"I trust my technique and I feel more equipped to go in at the top of the order now." England's experiment to use Flintoff as a number three back-fired
India captain Rahul Dravid is a big fan of Flintoff but determined to limit his impact. If 17-3 looked bad, then 27-4 was a total disaster for the tourists.
England have some good match-winners and we are not going to take them lightly Rahul Dravid Strauss had faced the first ball, but his tortuous 10 off 32 balls came to an end when he provided an easy slip catch to give Pathan his second wicket.
"He could provide some exciting possibilities up the order, but we could also get him out early and put a lot pressure on their middle order. Kevin Pietersen knows only one way to bat - and by hitting England's first boundaries off the middle of the bat he finally injected some purpose into the innings.
"He is an exciting cricketer for the world to watch. It's always nice to see someone like Freddie to do well, except against India, and I would like to see him fail as much as he can against us." But Patel, in his second spell and with seven balls of the final power play remaining, had him snapped up at first slip for 27 as he drove at ball that was not quite there for the shot.
England have a poor limited-overs record in the last two years since they reached the Champions Trophy final on home soil. As spinners Powar and Harbhajan Singh entered the fray, Collingwood and Jamie Dalrymple faced the dilemma of having to push the score along as much as possible while not losing any wickets.
They have won only 16 of their 43 one-day internationals and were hammered 5-0 by Sri Lanka this summer before coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Pakistan. They did at least advance the score from 55-5 to 106-6, until Collingwood, who had been batting brightly, was caught off glove and pad by wicket-keeper Mahendra Dhoni.
Dravid will not underestimate them despite seeing his side triumph 5-1 on home soil earlier this year. Chris Read had barely had a look at the bowling before hoisting Harbhajan to long-on before Harbhajan took the catch off Powar's bowling to end Sajid Mahmood's innings.
"The biggest challenge they have to deal with is how they play our spinners and adjust to the slow wickets," he added. It was fine work by the fielder, running diagonally backwards to take the catch at long-on, his momentum almost taking him over the rope, but not quite.
"But I don't think anyone would dare call England a soft team. They have got some good match-winners, very good players, and we are not going to take them lightly. Dalrymple's vigil was ended on 24 when Rahul Dravid took a smart slip catch, giving Powar his third wicket.
"In an eight-team competition, any of these teams can go on and win - we saw that with the West Indies in the last tournament." And Steve Harmison was run out backing up too far at the non-striker's end to complete a dismal afternoon for the tourists.