India bowl out England for 240

Amlan Chakraborty

Kanpur, Nov 20 (PTI) England could not make the most of
their best start of the series so far as India's phalanx of
disciplined bowlers shot them out for 240 in 48.4 overs in the
third cricket ODI here Thursday.

After the early morning haze delayed the start and
reduced the tie to a 49-overs-a-side affair, England captain
Kevin Pietersen won the toss and had little hesitation in
opting to bat first.

A rejigged batting order saw Ravi Bopara (60) walking out
to open with Ian Bell (46) and the openers put on 79 runs
before England lost the plot.For India, Harbhajan Singh
scalped three for 31 in his 10 overs, joining the 200 ODI
wicket club in the process.

It may not have been a flying start for the visitors but
once the openers saw through the claustrophobic opening spells
by Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel, things looked quiet easy for
them.

They remained cautious in the early phase when there was
some juice in the wicket and sniffed an opportunity to free
their arms when Ishant Sharma came as the first change bowler.

Bell greeted Ishant with two boundaries in the first
over, upsetting the lanky pacer's rhythm by repeatedly
stepping out of the crease.

Bell was not quite convincing when he nicked Ishant
through the vacant slips but made amends with a fierce cut
that raced to the boundary in no time.

With Bell on song, Bopara chimed in, proving the perfect
foil for his partner. Bopara, who got off the mark with a
flicked four of Zaheer, inside edged the pacer for another
four before driving Ishant through covers for the same result.

The run-rate was nothing to write home about but England
crossed the 50-mark in 11 overs without any loss. This was a
marked improvement, considering the fact that their opening
stands had yielded 12 and six runs in the last two matches.

Bell fell four runs before the fifty he so thoroughly
deserved, nicking an angling Munaf delivery to perish caught
behind after a 47-ball 46 which had eight fours in it. It was
double trouble for the visitors as Pietersen's (13) unbridled
aggression did him in.

Having hoicked Yuvraj Singh over long on for a six in the
previous over, Pietersen wanted an encore of the shot against
Harbhajan but all he could manage was a mishit that found
Zaheer at long-off.

The dismissal only whetted Harbhajan's appetite and the
off-spinner foxed Paul Collingwood (1) with a doosra, luring
him out of the crease and Dhoni did a smart job behind the
stumps. From 79 for no loss, England suddenly slumped to 106
for three.

In his next over, Harbhajan almost caught Flintoff off
his own bowling but the ball fell little short. India tasted
another success soon and this time Yuvraj had Bopara stumped.
More PTI AY
SAK
NNNN