India whitewashes England 5-0 again
Jubilant Dhoni!
By Kersi Meher-Homji
What a moment for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s captain, wicket-keeper and the Man of the Series, to trounce England 5-0 in the 5-match one-day international (ODI) series which concluded on Tuesday!
And what an ideal Diwali eve present for the cricket-loving Indian spectators! Eden Gardens Kolkata where the final ODI was played celebrated the victory with traditional fireworks.
This was India’s second consecutive 5-0 whitewash of England, having also defeated the Englishmen 5-0 in 2008 in India.
And the most notable but least mentioned achievement of Dhoni was that he was not dismissed even once in the just concluded ODI series. It is a unique achievement for an Indian and rare internationally. More about it later.
The first three wins were reported on the TIDU e-paper last week.
India won the fourth ODI in Mumbai on Sunday by six wickets to go 4-0 up in the series. With spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and medium-pacer Varun Aaron taking three wickets each, England was dismissed for 220. India reached the winning target with 59 balls in hand. Young guns Virat Kohli (86 not out) and Man of the Match Suresh Raina (80) added dare-devil 131 runs for the 4th wicket.
England was determined to avoid the ”˜whitewash’ and started promisingly in the last ODI of the series in Kolkata on Tuesday. Their fast bowlers bowled with fire and India struggled to score runs. But Dhoni changed this in a hurry hammering a quick fire 75 not out at the end and India made 8 for 271.
England opening batsmen Craig Kieswetter (63 runs) and captain Alastair Cook (60) added 129 brilliant runs for the first wicket in 20.1 overs and we thought we had a fight on our hands.
Not so! They lost their 10 wickets for a paltry 47 runs to be all out for 176. Spinners Ravindra Jadeja (4-33) and Ashwin (3-28) were too much for the Englishmen and India triumphed by 95 runs.
Jadeja was adjudged Man of the Match and Dhoni rightfully the Man of the Series.
The ODI statistics show that India was way ahead of England. The top 3 run-getters in the series were Indians (Kohli 270 runs at 90.00, Raina 213 at 53.25 and Dhoni 212 runs without being dismissed even once).
In bowling the only bowlers to take 10 or more wickets were Indians, Jadeja 11 wickets at 17.00 and Ashwin 10 wickets at 20.20.
In summary, it was an all-round triumph and must have neutralised the trauma Dhoni’s Indians had suffered in England few months ago. What a roller-coaster ride for India! This victory is sweeter as India achieved it without the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh.
Dhoni’s personal achievement was scoring 212 runs in the 5-match series without getting out even once.
He joined Javed Miandad from Pakistan, Sri Lankan Arvinda de Silva, Australia’s Damien Martyn and West Indian Ridley Jacobs as the only batsmen who were not dismissed in an entire ODI series.
Dhoni’s scores in the just-concluded series against England were 87 not out, did not bat, 35 not out, 15 not out and 75 not out. In all 212 runs in five consecutive matches.
How did the other four in the ”˜Unbeaten in a Series Club’ go?
Majestic stroke-player and controversial Javed Miandad had also remained unbeaten in all four innings in the 1982-83 Wills series against India, aggregating 234 runs, including two centuries.
Aravinda de Silva had managed 334 runs in the 1996-97 Singer Cup in Sri Lanka against India, Australia and Zimbabwe without being dismissed, hitting one hundred and two fifties.
Australian stroke-player Martyn had remained unbeaten in all five innings against New Zealand in New Zealand in 1999-2000, aggregating 158 runs, including a century.
Windies wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs had remained unbeaten in all five innings in the 2001 Coca Cola Cup in Zimbabwe against India and Zimbabwe, aggregating 128 runs, including a fifty.
But the sequence goes further back for Dhoni. In the fourth ODI against England at Lord’s this September he had scored 78 not out. And in the fifth and final ODI at Cardiff five days later, he made an unbeaten 50.
So in seven consecutive ODIs against one country, England, Dhoni totalled 340 runs and is yet to be dismissed, a world record. Also the sequence is still ongoing.
The only Twenty20 match between India and England starts in Kolkata on Saturday. Will India maintain her winning ways? Come on Dhoni come on, come on!
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