On This Day in 2011: India and England Play Out a Thrilling Tie in the Cricket World Cup | Watch Video

For the most part of the 2011 World Cup, India dominated its oppositions with cricketing brilliance on the field. But two teams, South Africa and England were exceptions to this case. While the Proteas registered a 3-wicket victory over India in a group stage encounter, England played a tie which was as good as any victory against the men in blue.

It was on this day, February 27 in2011, that the English team almost chased down the mammoth 338 run target set by India in this World Cup classic at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium. But how did it all unfold?

High on confidence with the first match victory against Bangladesh in Dhaka, India opted to bat first after winning the toss against England. The wicket at Chinnaswamy looked perfect for batting and the Indian team looked to have the advantage of a big total on the board. Openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar took them off to a decent start before wicketkeeper Matt Prior’s diving catch gave the English team their first breakthrough. Sehwag was packed back to the pavilion by Tim Bresnan at a score of 35.

While England looked to pick more wickets to get a grip on the match, the pair of Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir ensured that they left room for no such chance. Batting together, the duo stitched a crucial second-wicket partnership and Tendulkar soon got to his half-century. Gambhir also completed his 50 but was dismissed just two balls later.

Taking things forward from where Gambhir had left, Yuvraj Singh joined the Tendulkar on the crease and built another crucial partnership. Tendulkar got to his 100, Yuvraj completed his half-century paving way for a 300 plus score for India. The cameo of skipped MS Dhoni (31 off 25) and Yusuf Pathan (14 off 8) to India’s score to 338 before the team was bowled out with one ball remaining in the innings.

In reply, England launched a counterattack with skipper Andrew Strauss leading the charge with his explosive batting. He got received good support from Ian Bell at number 4 and at one point, the English team appeared to be cruising ahead to a victory. However, Zaheer Khan brought the Indian team back in the game by sending both the batters back to the pavilion.

Khan received support from other bowlers and from 281 for 4, England was down to 325 for 8 in the 49th over. England needed 14 from the last 6 deliveries by Munaf Patel and with number 8 and 9 batters on the crease, the odds were against them. But Ajmal Shahzad’s six off the third delivery of the over, made the Indian fans skip a heartbeat.

With 2 required off the last ball, the thriller match eventually ended in a tie giving one point each to the teams.

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