Pietersen and Finn deliver England a rare win

 

England finished a tough tour of India on an upbeat note, as they preserved their world No. 1 ranking in Twenty20 cricket with a hard-earned six-wicket victory in Kolkata. Steven Finn, with 3 for 22 in four fast and accurate overs, was England's inspiration with the ball as they limited India's powerful line-up to 120 for 9 after MS Dhoni had won the toss. Then it was over to Kevin Pietersen, who overcame an anxious start, and a fourth-ball life, to silence a raucous and expectant crowd with a blistering 53 from 39 balls.

Given how poorly England had fared in their 5-0 whitewash in the ODI series, they began the match on a hiding to nothing. However, from the moment they claimed two wickets in the first eight deliveries of the match, they were the team dictating the pace of the contest. Suresh Raina, with 39 from 29 balls, threatened for a time to restore the status quo, as did the Indian spinners who dominated the thrust of their attack. But when Raina dropped Pietersen at backward square leg off R Ashwin in the fifth over of the innings, India squandered the chance to ramp up the pressure that had led to England's collapse of 10 for 47 on the same surface in Tuesday's fifth ODI.

India seal series in stiff run-chase

MS Dhoni was India's matchwinner once again, as he marshalled an asking-rate approaching ten an over to seal an unassailable 3-0 series lead in the third ODI at Mohali. With Ravindra Jadeja alongside him, he clubbed Tim Bresnan for consecutive boundaries in the final over of the match to finish unbeaten on 35 from 31 balls, as England's best total of the series - 298 for 4 - proved insufficient to keep the series alive.

Innings	Dot balls	4s	6s	PP1	PP2	PP3	Last 10 overs	NB/Wides
England	128	30	4	40-1	35-0 (15.1-20)	30-1 (35.1-40)	91-0	0/2
India	114	22	1	57-0	31-1 (15.1-20)	33-2 (35.1-40)	71-1	2/7

Bowlers, Kohli secure emphatic India victory

A series of double-strikes at vital junctures in England's innings helped India limit the visitors to a below-par total in good batting conditions at the Feroz Shah Kotla, leaving their batsmen with a modest chase to secure a 2-0 lead in the five-ODI series. India's bowlers struck first at the beginning of the innings, next at the halfway stage and then at the start of the slog, forcing England to revert to a watchful approach when they had been well placed to surge.

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir made short work of the target, helped by a fast outfield and short boundaries. After surviving a fiery new-ball spell from Steven Finn and helping India build after the early loss of the openers, both batsmen settled down to score with a fluency that had been visible only in patches in England's innings. Their 209-run partnership, during which Kohli raced to a century and Gambhir made a half-century, helped achieve the target of 238 with eight wickets in hand and 13.2 overs to spare.
The ease with which India chased on a dewy evening put their bowlers' effort, and that of Vinay Kumar who took a career-best 4 for 30, in perspective. India inflicted the first double-strike within the first two overs. Alastair Cook hoped to make best use of a pitch he felt would get slower as the match progressed but his duck was a setback to those plans. The fourth ball off the match, from Praveen Kumar, was short and wide and Cook cut it straight to Ravindra Jadeja at point. While Praveen was fortunate to strike with an ordinary delivery, Vinay Kumar produced a sharper ball in the second over to dismiss Craig Kieswetter - it bounced and seamed away from the right-hand batsman and took the outside edge of the tentative prod to a wide first slip. 
The second brace of wickets occurred in the 25th and 26th overs. Bopara didn't pick a straighter one from R Ashwin and was lbw and Kevin Pietersen, who had found his fluency after a slow start, drove at and edged a wide ball from Umesh Yadav to give MS Dhoni a low catch.
Kohli reached his half-century off 45 balls, Gambhir got to his off 62. Both batsmen were level on 58 after 25 overs but thereafter Kohli began to race ahead with frequent boundaries and a constant turning over of the strike. He got to his century off only 89 balls with a deft glance off the pads against Jade Dernbach. He celebrated his seventh ODI hundred with a fist-pump. A few overs later, Kohli was fist-pumping again, after smashing Dernbach through midwicket to finish the game.