When Yuvraj was going great guns, Azharuddin must have been worried - would Yuvi overtake his record of the fastest ODI hundred. Fortunately, Yuvi was not well informed, otherwise that record would have really gone for a toss.

However, at least three players must have had their hearts in their mouths because the way our batsmen were going ahead, there was fear that the opening pair of Sehwag and Gambhir would overhaul the existing record of Sachin and Sourav. Unfortunately, they fell short by many runs and could not cross the 139 mark. Therefore, Sachin and Sourav, sitting miles away and probably chewing their fingernails to its limit, were relieved. Similarly, when Yuvraj was going great guns, Azharuddin must have been equally worried - would Yuvi overtake his record of the fastest ODI hundred. Fortunately, Yuvi was not well informed, otherwise that record would have really gone for a toss. Someone in the team could have passed on a message to Yuvraj while handing him a bottle of cold drink. Yes, breaking records is not an easy task.


Before the first ball was bowled, the electronic media, as is its habit, went ahead to sensationalise the issue. This Hero Honda series has seven ODI matches. If India wins the series 7 – 0, it would secure 10 valuable points and jump to the second spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings. Hence, the Indian captain and his team have been put under unwanted tension. The message had been passed on loud and clear, and there are high expectations from each and every Indian to see that wonder boy MS Dhoni does not disappoint. Of course, we know that Dhoni has earlier shown his ability to handle pressure cooker situations but expecting to beat the Englishmen lock stock and barrel or ’whitewash them’ is wishful thinking. The visiting team has enough weapons in its arsenal to offer a tough challenge to the home team. The first ODI has gone to the Indians but underestimating the England team would be a mistake.