Over the years, the Oval has built up a reputation of being a true track, one brimming over with runs for the batsmen. But even on the truest of tracks, a limited-overs match reduced to 32 overs per side becomes something of a lottery. The swift change in conditions hardly afford a captain or coach any time to chalk out a strategy, and the only effective ploy is to bat out the full 32 overs.

In such a situation, one can feel for Sourav Ganguly, and he did the right thing by electing to field after winning the toss. It is very difficult to know what target to set in such conditions, and with a palpably stronger batting line-up, India always had the better chance when chasing a target. England, on the other hand, would have been under pressure to take calculated risks right from the outset and put up a decent score.

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As was expected, India had made a few changes to the team as their place in the NatWest final was assured. But I feel sorry for Harbhajan Singh. The off-spinner is a proven match-winner and should be a permanent fixture in the team. Even if the rationale being followed dictates that England not see too much of Harbhajan before the Tests, his being held back strikes me as a mistake.

After all, England have seen enough of Harbhajan - even in his own backyard in India - and meanwhile the bowler is missing out on valuable match practice. Moreover, Harbhajan has demonstrated an aptitude to get on a roll once he takes a wicket, and such double-blows are vital in limited-overs cricket.

In my opinion, it was the professional approach of the Englishmen that helped them finally win the match, handing India their first loss in a hitherto successful tri-series. Ronnie Irani, coming in at number three, played especially well, and the English batting meshed to revolve around him. Andy Flintoff and Michael Vaughan scored runs at a blistering pace, and even though India bowled well towards the end and picked up a flurry of wickets, the last- ball six from Darren Gough showed that the English were not going to let a delivery go wasted.

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Irani has been England's find of this one-day series. Called back into the team after a rather long hiatus, Irani has been contributing to the English cause consistently in every department of the game. Not too often does one see an all-rounder score a fifty and pick five wickets, and that type of performance really does deserve a magnum of champagne and many accolades. Irani must be congratulated for his emphatic comeback, especially considering the fact that the English selectors can be very ruthless when it comes to these so-called bits-and-pieces cricketers.

The steep target before India was already the first punch delivered when the openers strode out to the middle. But to be honest, it was not only the spiralling run-rate that caused the mayhem in the second innings. Irani's ability to wobble the ball around, off the pitch and in the air, caught the Indian batsmen unawares. The dismissal of Yuvraj Singh, courtesy a brilliant leg-side stumping by Alec Stewart, turned the match comprehensively in England's favour. Stewart, incidentally, has had an excellent series thus far, yet another pointer to the value of experience.

Before this match, India were almost invincible in this series, primarily due to their explosive batting strength. The real danger was that, at sometime or another in the near future, the batting would crumble under pressure. On Tuesday, I thought there was a marked lack of purpose to the Indian batting, and Ganguly's dismissal was perhaps the most obvious sign of the complacency that seems to have crept in. It is here that India miss a good all-rounder like Flintoff, who will have a crucial role to play in the 2003 World Cup.

Losing to England by a wide enough margin to hand them a bonus point and an immense psychological advantage ahead of Saturday's final was not the smartest thing to do. Having said that, India have a good chance of heading the points table by beating Sri Lanka at Bristol on Thursday. Moreover, as the result of the match is only of academic interest, I hope to see Harbhajan and Tinu Yohannan in action.

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