Morgan delighted with super six
Eoin Morgan produced the perfect shot in the nick of time as England finished the year on an exhilarating high on Saturday night.
England's stand-in Twenty20 captain settled a thrilling outcome in the most emphatic style after England had needed two to tie and three to win with only Ashok Dinda's final delivery left.
Asked whether he can recall pulling off a better shot under pressure, he said: "I don't think so. It's certainly up there. There was one against Pakistan a couple of years ago that sailed into the stands as well. But the last ball of the game, and an atmosphere like that, I don't think so."
The tourists can therefore add a 1-1 draw after two matches, in their last action of 2012, to England's famous first Test series victory in India for almost 28 years. Morgan led from the front with an unbeaten 49 from only 26 balls as England achieved the highest run chase in their Twenty20 history.
It seemed they had given themselves plenty to do, when India piled up 177 for eight. But openers Michael Lumb (50) and Alex Hales and then Morgan and Jos Buttler, in an unbroken stand of 32 from just 13 balls, overcame the odds for a six-wicket win.
Morgan added: "The last three or four overs, we just kept saying 'we're one big over away'. They bowled quite well, and the ball stuck in the wicket a wee bit. But we always backed ourselves to clear the ropes."
Morgan's opposite number Mahendra Singh Dhoni was partially responsible for setting such a tough target, with 38 runs off only 18 balls from number seven. He could be forgiven for thinking too, before Morgan's last clinical strike, that he and Yuvraj Singh (three for 17) had perhaps done enough.
But Dhoni said: "In cricket, you don't expect - because when you expect, you get disappointment. You have to accept it was a good shot. The bowler failed to execute what he wanted to bowl, and Eoin Morgan batted really well."
For the winning captain, the reward was elation as Morgan took charge, in Stuart Broad's injury-enforced absence, of an especially inexperienced squad, and he said: "I'm pretty impressed with how the guys held their own.
"It's disappointing not to have won the series - expectations are quite high with English cricket, which shows where we are at - but to get a draw is a good achievement. It is hugely satisfying, especially after the disappointment of losing the other day. This is something else, a great feeling."
