India and England drew the final test, giving India a 1-0 series victory.
England's problem seems to be their bowling, with only debutant Chris Tremlett being effective (13 wickets at 29.69). Panesar was disappointing. In their batting, only Vaghan (295 runs at 49.16) and Pieterson (345 runs at 57.50) stood out.
By contrast, India was very effective. Dhoni, Laxman, Ganguly and Karthik scored runs at a decent average without hitting a century. Paceman Zaheer Khan was the player of the series, with 18 wickets at 20.33 (who would've thought that an Indian paceman would be so dangerous?). Khan was ably assisted by fellow paceman RP Singh who took 12 wickets at 28.91 (Singh is also only 21, which is a good sign).
Overall, India deserved to win this series. Weather saved them in the first test, but their hold over England in tests 2 & 3 were decisive.
Kevin Pietersen hit his 10th Test ton to help England claim a draw at The Oval, but India still secured a first series win in England since 1986.This is not good news for England for obvious reasons. England have been relatively unbeatable at home for many years. The last time England lost a test series in England was the 2001 Ashes, so this loss is a bit of a shock.
Resuming on 56-0, England never made a push for the 500 needed to level the series, Andrew Strauss's 113-ball 32 indicative of the hosts' approach.
But Pietersen (101) was in superb form and shared in stands of 66 and 144 with Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood.
England's problem seems to be their bowling, with only debutant Chris Tremlett being effective (13 wickets at 29.69). Panesar was disappointing. In their batting, only Vaghan (295 runs at 49.16) and Pieterson (345 runs at 57.50) stood out.
By contrast, India was very effective. Dhoni, Laxman, Ganguly and Karthik scored runs at a decent average without hitting a century. Paceman Zaheer Khan was the player of the series, with 18 wickets at 20.33 (who would've thought that an Indian paceman would be so dangerous?). Khan was ably assisted by fellow paceman RP Singh who took 12 wickets at 28.91 (Singh is also only 21, which is a good sign).
Overall, India deserved to win this series. Weather saved them in the first test, but their hold over England in tests 2 & 3 were decisive.
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