England get closer, but India clinch series

Improved England narrowed the margin of defeat to five wickets in the third one-day international, but lost the series 3-0 as India chased almost 300 at the Punjabi CA Stadium in Mohali last night.

Ajinkya Rahane (91) outdid the sheet-anchor tempo of Jonathan Trott (98no) and, despite an England fightback, their adversary-in-chief Mahendra Singh Dhoni scrambled his team home with four balls to spare in pursuit of 298 for four.

The best efforts of Samit Patel (70no) and Kevin Pietersen (64) – in century stands with Trott – therefore proved in vain.

England failed to contain the scoring options of Rahane and Gautam Gambhir (58), with Tim Bresnan and Jade Dernbach in particular leaking runs, and Alastair Cook’s team must therefore ponder how they can regroup and avoid a 5-0 whitewash in the two remaining matches.

Trott’s 116-ball innings began after Cook’s early departure, playing the foil first to Craig Kieswetter and then Pietersen, Ravi Bopara and finally Patel.

From number six, Patel raced past a maiden 50 and, in just 43 balls, hit seven fours and two sixes – including a maximum from the final delivery of the innings to complete an unbroken stand of 103 in less than 12 overs.

The question nonetheless was whether Trott’s strike rate of 84 had served his team well enough for the victory they needed – and after Bresnan and first-change Dernbach set up India’s chase with poor lines, even some much better bowling from Steven Finn could not save the day.

After Cook had chosen to bat first, both Praveen and R Vinay Kumar found movement in the air and off the pitch. It was the latter that did for the England captain, lbw to Vinay.

Kieswetter and Trott shared a watchful, and occasionally fitful stand, which contained just a smattering of shots in anger during the initial powerplay. Kieswetter counted two of England’s four sixes, but with the 50 partnership in sight, the opener made a mis-judgment against Virat Kohli’s inswing and toe-ended a yorker on to his leg-stump.

Pietersen appeared in control from the outset and put the pace to England’s innings. His only significant blemish was his part in a mix-up which should have seen Trott run out for 32, had India not made a hash of retrieving the ball after Pietersen set off and kept running for a single from the last ball of the over.

Pietersen looked all set to convert to three figures. But he paid dearly for missing a Ravindra Jadeja arm ball and was lbw.

Bopara and especially Patel both played well around Trott. But there were still only 27 runs for the loss of Bopara, the second to inside-edge a yorker on to his stumps, in the batting powerplay before Patel’s brutal hitting ensured 91 in the last ten overs.

Rahane and Pathiv Patel steered India’s reply to 79 without loss until Bresnan had the left-hander lbw. But England were made to wait for a second wicket as Rahane and Gambhir put on 111 in 24 overs. Gambhir gave a half-chance on 17, a thin edge on an attempted drive at Patel slipping through Kieswetter’s left glove.

But that was as near as England got until, with the game already apparently lurching irrevocably India’s way, Pietersen leapt to hold a very good catch at cover as Gambhir mistimed an attempted big hit at the deserving Finn.

England’s fastest bowler doubled up with the wicket of Rahane too, caught by a tumbling Cook at mid-off to end his 104-ball contribution.

Kieswetter had already dropped a looping chance off Kohli’s mis-hook at Dernbach on only four.

Graeme Swann turned one sharply to have the in-form number four lbw 31 runs later, and Suresh Raina holed out for nought in powerplay.

But Dhoni and Jadeja hauled India over the line in an unbroken stand of 65, Kieswetter capping an untidy display by missing an obvious chance to run out the left-hander in the penultimate over.