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West Indies v England: Kraigg Brathwaite makes ton for hosts

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by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

England were frustrated by Kraigg Brathwaite’s composed century as West Indies had the better of the fourth day of the second Test in Grenada.

His 101 not out took the home side to 202-2, a lead of 37.

Earlier, England moved their overnight 373-6 to 464 all out, with Joe Root ending unbeaten on 182.

On a pitch that remains lifeless, a draw seems the most likely result, lengthening England’s wait for a first overseas win since 2012.

If a positive result on the final day is possible, then it is Alastair Cook’s men who are more likely to earn a 1-0 series lead.

However, the lack of opportunities created in the turgid afternoon and evening sessions suggest that an attack lacking variety will find it hard to take the eight wickets required quickly enough for a run-chase to be undertaken.

“We’ll chase anything, we just need enough time,” Root told BBC Sport. “We have to have a really good session with the ball in the morning.

“West Indies need need a lot of credit for the way they played tonight. They were under quite a bit of pressure with lead we had, but they have got themselves back in the game.

“We will have a scrap on our hands if we want to get a result.”

England will at least have the opportunity to bowl with a new ball and will hope to find the swing movement that made James Anderson dangerous before lunch, when Devon Smith failed to withdraw his bat from an outswinger and deflected the ball on to his stumps.

Thereafter, Brathwaite and Darren Bravo made England toil on a surface showing little pace or bounce and only slow turn.

They shared 142 for the second wicket, with Brathwaite overcoming some early uncertainty outside off stump to cut repeatedly and the more assured Bravo occasionally unfurling flamboyant drives.

In the face of West Indian patience, England were able to create nothing more than half-chances. Stuart Broad almost had Brathwaite glove to slip, while the otherwise disappointing off-spin of Moeen Ali saw Bravo flash past gully and and Brathwaite nearly lob to mid-wicket.

In the end, mid-way through the evening session, England’s perseverance with a plan of hanging the ball outside off stump paid off as Bravo edged Broad through to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.

Brathwaite remained, joined by Marlon Samuels, who received no obvious response to the saluting send-off he gave Ben Stokes on the third evening.

The right-handed opener was the recipient of a failed lbw review from the bowling of Chris Jordan, then completed his fourth Test century with another cut off Anderson.

That sealed an ideal day for West Indies, who chipped through the England batting in the morning session with plenty of help from the tourists.

The impressive leg-spin of Devendra Bishoo had Buttler stumped by some distance and Broad caught from a gloved sweep, either side of Jordan being run-out in a mix-up with Root.

That was the only mistake of an imperious Root knock, the 24-year-old becoming the second-youngest England player to reach 2,000 Test runs and only the ninth man to make four scores in excess of 150 before the age of 25.

Cutting the seamers and looking to hit straight or slog-sweep against Bishoo, he farmed the strike when partnered with last-man Anderson to add 33 for the 10th wicket.

He looked primed for a second Test double hundred, but was denied when Anderson was run-out in dozy fashion, failing to ground his bat, perhaps not expecting Jason Holder to gather a return from high above his head.

In frustration, Root hit the ground with his bat and threw his helmet when across the boundary edge, while the visitors were left short of a lead that would pressure West Indies.

Ultimately, though, it is wickets, rather than runs, that are the problem for England.

Cricket World Cup 2015: England beat Afghanistan in final game

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by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

England’s miserable World Cup ended with a low-key nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Sydney.

After rain reduced England’s target to 101 from 25 overs, Ian Bell made an unbeaten 52 to complete the chase with 41 balls to spare.

Afghanistan had earlier been limited to 111-7 from 36.2 overs when the weather intervened for the third time.

England finish fifth in Pool A having beaten only the Afghans and Scotland in their six matches.

Winning just twice is England’s joint-worst return from a World Cup, matching the 1996 tournament. On that occasion, they did at least make it to the quarter-finals.

In Australia and New Zealand, they have suffered heavy defeats by the co-hosts and Sri Lanka, while a loss to Bangladesh in Adelaide confirmed their exit.

That rendered their first one-day international meeting with Afghanistan as a dead rubber, played out in front of a sparse crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The rain, two short intervals and one that kept the players off the field for two and-a-half hours, sucked much of the meaning from an already nondescript contest.

And it was in a match with little riding on it that England found some of the skills they have lacked for most of the tournament – consistency of length with the ball, few mistakes in the field and top-order aggression with the bat.

With cloud cover and a green-tinged wicket providing assistance, England’s seamers worked through an Afghan top order that showed collective uncertainty outside off-stump.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad had catches held at first slip to dismiss Nawroz Mangal and Javed Ahmadi respectively, before Chris Jordan enticed Afsar Zazai to edge behind and Samiullah Shenwari to flash a cut shot to point.

From 34-4 Afghanistan were in danger of capitulation, but the middle-order steadied, without threatening to damage the England attack.

Shafiqullah’s patient 30 was compiled in the company of Nasir Jamal Ahmadzai and Mohammad Nabi, the former edging to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler after the second rain break, the latter well caught by James Tredwell at mid-on, both off Ravi Bopara.

Then, when Shafiqullah was brilliantly held at deep square leg by a diving Bopara from the spin of Tredwell, it was the last major action before the longest rain delay.

Puddles formed around the square and out the outfield, but the rain relented for play to get under way at 20:45 local time.

When the players returned, Hales and Bell took advantage of the inaccuracies of the feisty Afghanistan pace bowlers.

Hales, twice dropped by Najib Zadran at point off the bowling of Shapoor Zadran, pulled a six in the second over and continued to go after anything short.

Bell, more fluent than at any other time in the competition, unfurled pulls and drives as an opening stand of 77 ensured a swift conclusion and no hint of an upset.

Hales’ poke to wicketkeeper Zazai was reward for the lively Hamid Hassan, leaving James Taylor to complete the job with Bell.

Still, it was Afghanistan who had the louder fans at the conclusion. In their historic first World Cup campaign, they have finished one place and one win behind England.

Cricket World Cup 2015: England knocked out by Bangladesh

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by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

England were knocked out of the World Cup in dismal fashion as Bangladesh claimed a stunning 15-run win.

Set 276 to win, England were bowled out for 260 despite Jos Buttler’s 52-ball 65, while Rubel Hossain claimed 4-53.

Bangladesh had earlier posted 275-7 in Adelaide thanks to 103 from Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim’s 89.

England go out in the first round for the third time in five World Cups, while Bangladesh advance past the first round for only the second occasion.

Bangladesh’s victory also secured Sri Lanka’s place in the last eight, alongside Pool A winners New Zealand and Australia.

England, meanwhile, face a dead rubber against Afghanistan in Sydney on Friday.

A fourth England defeat in five games is the latest episode in 23 years of World Cup failure and the continuation of a horrendous 18 months in all formats.

In losing to every Test-playing side in Pool A – their only win has come against Scotland – England have put in their worst showing since a first-round exit on home soil in 1999. Even then, they managed to beat defending champions Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka, along with Australia and New Zealand, are three sides to have dished out heavy defeats to England in this tournament, but all three are ahead of Eoin Morgan’s side in the world rankings.

Bangladesh lie above only Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan, yet have now beaten England in three of their past four meetings.

One of those was with home advantage in the last World Cup, but this time England wilted when chasing a manageable target on a blameless surface.

They seemed in control when Ian Bell and the recalled Alex Hales were compiling a second-wicket stand of 54, only for the Bangladesh pacemen to return and drag England to a standstill.

Hales flat-footedly wafted Mashrafe Mortaza behind and Bell, who had looked fluent, was stifled before edging a Hossain lifter on 63.

In the same over, Morgan pulled to long leg for a fifth duck in 11 ODI innings and, when James Taylor flashed Taskin Ahmed to slip, England had lost three wickets for 11 runs.

Joe Root looked calm before edging Mortaza behind to leave Buttler and the tail requiring 113 from 14 overs.

The wicketkeeper’s clean striking dragged England back in it, with 38 required from 28 balls.

However Taskin returned to find another edge and, when Chris Jordan was run out from the next ball, the game looked gone.

Woakes continued the chase in the company of Stuart Broad and, after Tamim Iqbal put down a simple chance to reprieve the Warwickshire man with only 18 required, England had another chance.

But in the next over Hossain bowled Broad and James Anderson in the space of three balls to start delirious celebrations of Bangladesh’s most famous win.

That they had pulled off such an upset was largely thanks to the brilliance of Mahmudullah, who made Bangladesh’s first World Cup hundred, and the impetus of Mushfiqur.

Despite 12 of the 15 previous games held in Australia being won by the side batting first, England opted to field and the decision looked a good one when Bangladesh were reduced to 8-2 and 99-4.

But Mahmudullah, happy to throw his hands through the ball, and Mushfiqur, excellent square of the wicket, steadied then took advantage of England’s occasional errors in length to build a stand of 141.

Fielding and death bowling improved on the rest of the tournament left England with a target that was within their grasp.

But the desperate attempt at a run chase was entirely in keeping with the rest of their World Cup campaign.

Saina Nehwal loses All England final to Carolina Marin

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After suffering heartbreaks at the semifinals of the event twice before, it was yet another case of so near yet so far

Nehwal, who has been competing at the All England since 2007, had never lost to Marin before. Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP

Nehwal, who has been competing at the All England since 2007, had never lost to Marin before. Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP

Birmingham: Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal’s quest for becoming the first Indian woman to win the most prestigious All England badminton championship ended in agony after she suffered a heart-breaking loss to Spain’s Carolina Marin in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Nehwal let go of a huge opportunity to script history as she squandered an opening game lead to go down 21-16, 14-21, 7-21 to the reigning world champion in the women’s singles final that lasted for little over an hour.

Olympic bronze medallist Nehwal, thus, failed to emulate her long-time coach Pullella Gopichand (2001) and legendary Prakash Padukone (1980), who had won the prestigious title in the past.

Nehwal, who has been competing at the All England since 2007, had never lost to Marin and looked on course for an encore before the World No. 6 Spaniard scripted a remarkable comeback in the second game to put paid to the Indian’s hopes at the Barclaycard Arena.

After dominating the opening game completely, Nehwal was leading 11-9 in the second but lost steam after the break, as Marin fought back brilliantly and bagged eight out of the last nine points.

In the decider, Marin stamped her authority with her sharp smashes and better movement to completely make it a one-sided contest as Saina could only watch her hopes went up in smoke.

After suffering heartbreaks at the semifinals of the event in 2010 and 2013, it was yet another case of so near yet so far for the girl from Hyderabad, who has at least 16 international titles in her kitty.

Nehwal had in fact defeated the very same opponent in the finals of the Syed Modi International championship at Lucknow in January early this year and started as the hot favourite in Sunday’s final.

Cricket World Cup 2015: England thrashed by Sri Lanka

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by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

England slipped to a third crushing defeat in four World Cup games as Sri Lanka comfortably chased 310 to win by nine wickets in Wellington.

Lahiru Thirimanne hit an unbeaten 139 and Kumar Sangakkara 117 not out to seal victory with 16 balls to spare.

Earlier, Joe Root made 121 as England accelerated late on to post 309-6.

If opening defeats by Australia and New Zealand and victory over Scotland were expected, then this fixture was supposed to be the best indicator of England’s chances of progressing far into the World Cup.

As it turned out, a third one-sided reverse at the hands of Test opposition leaves England clinging to their hopes of reaching the last eight.

But Sri Lanka showed that to be nowhere near enough and England will almost certainly be eliminated if they lose either of their final two games against Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Indeed, if Bangladesh beat Scotland on Thursday, then England will go out if they lose either of their remaining group games.

While their previous game in Wellington, an eight-wicket thrashing by New Zealand, was humiliating for its rapid nature, this latest loss was perhaps more dispiriting.

England put in their best batting display of the tournament thanks to Root’s accumulation and creativity and Jos Buttler’s late power.

But Thirimanne and Sangakkara made a mockery of the chase as England’s pace-dominated attack struggled to make chances on a sluggish wicket.

When they did create opportunities, they were not taken. Thirimanne was dropped on three by Root at slip, although the edge off Stuart Broad should have been claimed by wicketkeeper Buttler.

The left-hander also had a let-off on 98, Moeen Ali failing to take a low chance in the covers off James Anderson.

After that, Thirimanne, whose innings was laced with classy cover drives, became the fourth Sri Lanka batsman to score a hundred in this World Cup.

He shared an unbroken stand of 212 with Sangakkara, who moved third on the list of World Cup run scorers  with a 70-ball century, scoring through 360 degrees.

On the completion of the chase, Sri Lanka – 10-wicket winners against England in the quarter-finals of the last World Cup – became only the second team to overhaul a score of 300 or more with nine wickets in hand.

It also cemented England’s unwanted record of being the least successful of all the Test nations when defending a target in excess of 300.

That Eoin Morgan’s side posted their highest total of the tournament came as a result of 24-year-old Root becoming the youngest England batsman to score a World Cup century.

Given a good start by Ian Bell’s 49, England were pegged back as Sri Lanka’s attack improved by taking pace off the ball, Tillakaratne Dilshan having Gary Ballance caught and bowled to extend the left-hander’s poor sequence to only 36 runs in four innings.

At 101-3 in the 21st over, Root arrived to stabilise the innings with Morgan, with the Yorkshire batsman – dropped on two at slip – then dominating a stand of 98 with James Taylor.

Strong square of the wicket, Root reached a fourth ODI hundred at a run a ball, then accelerated by inventively reverse-sweeping the seamers.

After Root fell, England were pushed past 300 by Buttler. Their total seemed competitive, Thirimanne and Sangakkara proved that it was not.

Cricket World Cup 2015: Moeen Ali-inspired England beat Scotland

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Moeen Ali’s century led England to a 119-run victory over Scotland and a first victory of the World Cup.

Moeen Ali

by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

Moeen made 128 and shared 172 for the first wicket with the stuttering Ian Bell, who contributed 54.

But, when they were parted, England could only manage 131 runs in the final 20 overs of their 303-8.

Still, it was too many for Scotland, who never threatened an upset and were bowled out for 184, with Steven Finn taking 3-26.

Following heavy defeats against co-hosts Australia and New Zealand,the success in Christchurch provides England with a much-needed morale boost.

However, little can be learned as to whether England are in better shape for the sterner tests to come – starting with Sri Lanka in Wellington on Sunday – given the nature of the opposition.

Scotland are the lowest-ranked one-day international side in Pool A and England should be dissatisfied with the way their innings fell away after Moeen departed.

Against an attack barely of county quality – albeit one that improved as the innings progressed – England failed to fully build on a platform of 172-0 after 30 overs, scoring at just over a run a ball from then on and losing eight wickets in the process.

At one point around the beginning of the batting powerplay, they lost three wickets for two runs in three overs, Moeen being caught on the leg-side boundary from the off-spin of Majid Haq, Gary Ballance continuing his poor run by chopping on to his own stumps and Joe Root edging behind.

Before that, Moeen, who gave a half-chance to cover on only seven, scored freely, particularly through fierce pull shots and lofts down the ground.

His 107-ball stay included five sixes and 12 fours, his second ODI century also his highest score.

In contrast, Bell never looked fluent, scratching his way to a half-century in an 85-ball innings that contained only two fours.

It was Bell’s wicket, caught at extra cover off the medium pace of Richie Berrington, that began England’s slide, a decline halted by the late impetus of Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler.

Patient at first, Morgan accelerated to a 42-ball 46, including two sixes, while Buttler contributed an inventive 24 from 14 deliveries.

If the win was most welcome for England, then next will be the runs scored by Morgan, who had managed only 19 in his previous five innings.

The target of 304 always seemed beyond Scotland and they never came close to pulling off a first win against a Test-playing side.

England put in comfortably their best bowling performance of the tournament, admittedly under little pressure, picking up wickets at regular intervals.

Finn, who conceded 49 runs in two overs against New Zealand, was the pick of the seamers, while Moeen (2-47) had Kyle Coetzer caught at long-on to end his resistance for 71.

Coetzer had earlier added 60 with captain Preston Mommsen, who swept Root to deep square leg to spark the collapse that accelerated the end of the contest.

The final seven wickets fell for 70 runs, with two wickets apiece for James Anderson and Chris Woakes, ensuring England’s margin of victory was extremely comfortable.

But, the fact it could have been greater suggests there is still plenty of room for improvement.

England crushed by New Zealand in World Cup Pool A

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England suffered a humiliating eight-wicket thrashing by New Zealand as Tim Southee became only the fourth man to take seven wickets in a World Cup match.

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by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

Southee’s 7-33 saw England blown away for 123, the last seven wickets falling for 19 runs.

Brendon McCullum then smashed an 18-ball half-century, the fastest in World Cup history, to propel New Zealand to their target in just 12.2 overs.

That equalled the shortest ODI chase against England, in a match that lasted just 45.4 overs in total.

Only when McCullum was bowled by Chris Woakes for a 25-ball 77 did England avoid the ignominy of being beaten before the scheduled tea interval.

A third win in as many games has all but secured New Zealand’s place in the quarter-finals, while two defeats from two means England can perhaps afford only one more from their remaining four matches if they are to qualify.

They face Scotland in Christchurch next from 22:00 GMT on Sunday before matches against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Eoin Morgan’s team attracted criticism from the likes of Geoffrey Boycott and Graham Gooch following their opening loss to Australia, but this most one-sided of hammerings was far more abject.

Defeats against both co-hosts were probably expected before start of the tournament, but it is the manner in which England surrendered in Wellington that suggests their World Cup is already in disarray.

On a blameless surface, they were taken apart by Southee, who was as brilliant as England were woeful, pitching the ball up at good pace and finding late swing.

Some resistance came from Joe Root, the last man out for 46, his stand of 47 with captain Morgan the only period of calm in the match.

Morgan, who had managed only two runs in his previous four ODI innings, at least made a rather nervy 17, but his needless loft down the ground to be brilliantly caught at long-on by Adam Milne off Daniel Vettori began the carnage.

Southee, who had earlier bowled the flat-footed opening pair of Ian Bell and Moeen Ali, ran through the England middle and lower order.

James Taylor and Chris Woakes were bowled either side of Jos Buttler edging behind, while Stuart Broad looped a catch to mid-off before Steven Finn was held at first slip.

Southee was denied the chance of the first World Cup eight-wicket haul when Root top edged Milne to long leg, ending England’s innings in 33.2 overs.

They had to field right away, with McCullum then piling on the misery in a violent assault on a bowling attack that had no answers.

He cut the second ball he faced, from Broad, for six, the first of seven maximums carved over the off side.

Using his feet to both advance and make room, the New Zealand captain hit Finn for four sixes in an over, the pace bowler conceding 49 runs from his spell of two overs.

The fastest one-day hundred of all time was still possible when McCullum missed a Woakes full toss to depart with a strike-rate of 308.00, beating his own record for the highest in any World Cup innings of 50 or more.

It ensured the bizarre sight of the players leaving the field for 45 minutes when New Zealand required only 12 runs to win.

In the 20 legitimate balls after they returned, Woakes bowled Martin Guptill, but, in what was supposed to be a day-night match, the floodlights went unused.

In winning in 12.2 overs, New Zealand equalled the record against England set by Australia when they chased 118 at Sydney in 2003.

Cricket World Cup 2015: Australia beat England by 111 runs

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Melbourne: Australia beat England by 111 runs in their World Cup opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday. Earlier, Aaron Finch scored a glittering century to fire Australia to a near-record one-day international total of 342 for nine in the first innings.

Spilled by Chris Woakes on the second ball he faced, opening batsman Finch blasted 135 and combined with stand-in skipper George Bailey for a 146-run partnership to help steady the co-hosts after they had slumped to 70-3 in the 11th over.

With England putting in an abysmal fielding display, hard-hitting all-rounder Glenn Maxwell blasted 66 off 40 balls in the final overs to ensure their opponents will need to set a new record to win, with no team chasing down more than 299 at the venue.

Adding irony for England after a tough day in the field, Steven Finn completed a bizarre hat-trick with the final three deliveries, removing Brad Haddin, Maxwell and Mitchell Johnson to deny Australia the MCG record of 344 scored by an ICC World XI in 2005.

Paceman Stuart Broad had earlier bowled the dangerous David Warner and had Shane Watson caught behind for a golden duck in successive balls but Steven Smith survived the hat-trick ball.

Woakes removed the in-form Smith for five soon after but England released the pressure with some woeful fielding on a day of glorious sunshine.

England captain Eoin Morgan sent his bowlers in after winning the toss, hoping they could extract moisture from the pitch after thunderstorms lashed Melbourne overnight and in the morning.

The move appeared it might pay dividends with paceman James Anderson showing swing and movement off the seam from his first deliveries.

He gave Finch all sorts of trouble and the bulky righthander flicked him straight to midwicket but Woakes put down the easy, head-high chance.

Anderson was fuming again in the fifth over when Moeen Ali spilled a tougher chance, diving to his left at mid-off to put down Warner.

Warner and Finch duly punished England for their profligacy, reaching 50 in 37 balls before Broad broke the partnership in the eighth over.

Though pinned back for a few overs, Finch and Bailey gradually got on top and started blasting the English bowlers over their heads.

Finch tickled a leg-side boundary off paceman Steven Finn to bring up his sixth one-day century and leaped into the air in celebration, with the terraces roaring their approval.

More joy was to come for home fans, with Gary Ballance, replacing Ravi Bopara in the side, failing to commit to a catch in a clear mix-up with incoming fielder Broad when Bailey mishit high over deep midwicket when on 44.

Jeers rang out again when James Taylor, fielding at deep fine leg, missed a run-out chance when Finch was sent back to his crease after attempting a risky single.

A half-decent throw would have had Finch out for 123 but it went high over wicketkeeper Jos Buttler’s head.

Morgan showed his team mates how it was done, swooping in at short cover to run Finch out with a direct hit on the stumps and Bailey was out chopping onto his stumps off Finn.

That only brought a pair of hard-hitting all-rounders to the crease in Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh combined for a quickfire 50-run partnership.

Buttler put down a tough chance when Maxwell was on 42 and the man nicknamed “the Big Show” raised his 50 from 30 balls in a run of four consecutive boundaries off the hapless Finn.

Wicketkeeper Haddin came in to score his 3,000th run in ODIs after Marsh was dismissed for 23.

(Reuters)

India lose, fail to reach tri-series final

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Perth: In what was being being touted as the dress rehearsal for the World Cup, India miserably failed to reach the tri-series final Down Under as they lost the virtual semi-final by three wickets to England at the WACA here Friday. England will now play the final against hosts Australia here Sunday.

India failed to win even a single game out of four in the league stage with one One-Day International (ODI), against Australia, being washed out.

Put in to bat, India folded up for a mere 200 in 48.1 overs with opener Ajinkya Rahane top scoring with 73. Though England were made to struggle by the reigning World Champions, a 125-run sixth-wicket partnership between James Taylor (82) and wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler (67) guided them home in only 46.5 overs.

In the morning, Rahane was the standout performer. His and Shikhar Dhawan’s (38) opening-wicket partnership of 83 runs was the only bright spot in an otherwise dreadful Indian batting performance.

Rahane and Dhawan were slow off the blocks, playing with a lot of caution. But they gained confidence after negotiating the initial overs. Rahane was more aggressive of the two and lived a charmed life with most of his lofted shots landing in no-man’s land.

But following the first dismissal of Dhawan in the 21st over, India lost all other wickets like a pack of cards. Virat Kohli’s (8) wicket in the 28th over opened the floodgates with Suresh Raina (1) perishing just two overs later as India were reduced to 107/3.

Ambati Rayudu (12) looked sublime briefly but failed to capitalise on his start. Rahane’s wicket, in the 36th over, put tremendous pressure on the shoulders of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (17), who also failed to cope with the pressure and was dismissed with the score at 164.

Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja (5) and Axar Patel (1) fell in the space of a run as India was reduced to 165/9.

However, Mohammed Shami (25) played a vital cameo in the end, adding 35 runs for the final wicket with Mohit Sharma (7 not out), to lend some respectability to India’s total. A few edges and some lusty blows from the bat of Shami helped India reach the 200-mark.

All English bowlers were amongst the wickets with Steven Finn taking three while Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali chipping in with two each.

England had bowled out India for 153 in the previous match and went on to win by nine wickets.

While bowling, India got the perfect start they needed to defend their meek total. Some good line-and-length bowling from Stuart Binny (3/33) and Mohit Sharma (2/36) saw England tottering at 66/5 by the 20th over.

However, Taylor and Buttler steadied the England ship by knocking around, taking the ones and twos. This kept the scoreboard ticking and also helped build their significant partnership which took the game away from India.

Taylor scored his fourth half-century playing in his 10th ODI while Buttler’s relatively aggressive innings made him reach his fifth half-century. Taylor patiently anchored the innings with a 122-ball knock which included four boundaries while Buttler stroked seven boundaries in his 78-ball innings.

By the time the two got out, England had already reached the 190s and were only a few runs away from the target which was achieved by the tail-enders.

Indian bowlers bowled well, restricting the run rate and picking up wickets but the score was too less to defend.

(IANS)

Rahane stands out as India bowled out for 200

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© Getty Images

© Getty Images

Perth: Another dismal batting performance by India saw them being bowled out for 200 in 48.1 overs by England in a deciding clash of the ODI tri-series at the WACA here Friday.

Opener Ajinkya Rahane was the standout performer, scoring 73 off 101 balls. His and Shikhar Dhawan’s opening wicket partnership of 83 runs was the only bright spot in an otherwise dreadful performance.

Pacer Mohammed Shami (25) played a vital cameo in the end, adding 35 runs for the final wicket with Mohit Sharma (7 not out), to provide some respectability to India’s total.

Following the dismissal of Dhawan in the 21st over, India lost eight wickets for just 62 runs.

All the English bowlers were amongst the wickets with Steven Finn taking three wickets while Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali chipping in with two each.

England had bowled out India for 153 in their previous and went on to win by nine wickets.

Earlier, England captain Eoin Morgan put India into toss after winning the toss and India looked shaky from the outset.

Rahane and Dhawan were slow off the blocks, playing with the lot of caution. They gained confidence after negotiating the initial overs.

Rahane was the more aggressive of the two and lived a charmed life with most of his lofted shots, in the begginning, landing in no-man’s land.

Virat Kohli’s (8) wicket in the 28th over, opened the floodgates for England. Suresh Raina (1) perished just two overs later as India were reduced to 107 for three.

Ambati Rayudu (12) looked good briefly but failed to capitalise on his start. Rahane’s wicket soon after put tremendous pressure on the shoulders of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (17), who failed to cope with it and was dismissed with the score on 164.

Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja (5) and Axar Patel (1) fell in the space of a run as India was reduced to 165 for nine.

A few edges and some lusty blows from the bat of Shami helped India reach the 200-mark.

The winner of the match will go on to face hosts Australia in the final.

Brief Scores: India 200 all out in 48.1 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 73, Shikhar Dhawan 38; Steven Finn 3/36, Moeen Ali 2/35) vs England

(IANS)

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