How rarely does this happen, your top order batsman gets to an emphatic hundred only to end up in a tied match, very rare! But such an incident took place on the same very day, way back in 2011 during the WC. India finally ended the tournament as the new World Champions. It was a memorable tournament for India in many ways. It was Sachin Tendulkar’s last tournament, finally he lifted the World Cup crown. The tournament also marked the entry of Virat Kohli at the world stage. India had lifted the crown after 27-long years.
But the match we are focusing on is a group stage match, where India took on England at the iconic M.A. Chinnaswamy. It was not a knock out game, but a World Cup match always carries that additional pressure. India got of to a blistering start, thanks to Sehwag and Sachin. But riding high on Sachin Tendulkar’s 120, aided by half centuries from Virat and Yuvraj, India posted a mammoth total of 338 runs.
WATCH: #OnThisDay 2011, India & England tied a classic @cricketworldcup fixture! Here’s @sachin_rt‘s fantastic 100! https://t.co/pBsDxLNGOI pic.twitter.com/P3bgFPLjvg
— ICC (@ICC) February 27, 2017
It seemed India had pocketed the game at the half-way mark. But Andrew Strauss had different plans, he came out all guns blazing, never allowing the asking rate to go beyond reach. He was well supported by Ian Bell. Strauss scored a daddy hundred, 158 and always kept England in the hunt. In fact, they had their noses in front throughout the second innings. Zaheer Khan was the pick of the bowlers, he picked up 3 wickets and Harbhajan kept it tight.
It can be said that it was a lucky escape for India after they managed to squeeze a tie.
