England v India 2007

At The Oval, September 5. India won by two wickets. Toss: England. One-day international debut: L. J. Wright.

A game that brought 50-over cricket into considerable repute was eventually won with successive fours by Uthappa off Broad, two young players with time to reprise their thrilling finale many times over. When England were 137 for five in the 31st over, it was impossible to imagine the drama ahead. But Luke Wright, fearless on debut, began to turn the match into a contest. He scrambled the length of the spinners on his way to a 38-ball fifty, and Shah recovered from Pietersen's run-out to accelerate from 50 to a maiden international century in 29 balls. Yet he, too, was trumped when Mascarenhas forced the innings' last five balls, from Yuvraj Singh, for successive sixes between long-on and deep midwicket. Only Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi had taken more runs from a one-day international over. Undaunted, Tendulkar responded with a brilliance based on timing rather than power, before cramp took a hold. He needed help to climb the dressing-room steps after falling in the nineties for the fourth time in nine one-day innings. Roused by a spat with Broad, Ganguly had helped him put on 150 in 23 overs, but wickets fell steadily, leaving India 42 short after 46 overs. They took a total of 28 off the 47th and 49th from Anderson, sometimes streakily, to leave ten needed from the last. When Uthappa got them with two balls to spare, Dravid rushed on to give excited congratulations.

Man of the Match: S. R. Tendulkar.