India vs England,4th ODI, Match tied, England won the series

Saturday , September 10 2011 , 10:53 PM

LONDON —   India's hopes of not losing the One-day series against England went up in smoke when the fourth ODI ended on a dramatic tie between the two sides. The result meant England have won the series as they lead 2-0 with just one game remaining.

India vs England,4th ODI

Cricket scorecard

Interestingly, the two teams had played a tie in a league match in the World Cup earlier this year.

The visitors were left stranded by rain for the third time in the series.

For India, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni displayed superb batsmanship but were overshadowed by Ravi Bopara's knock of 96 (111 balls, six fours).

India made a competitive 280 for five in 50 overs. In reply, England made 270 for 8 in 48.5 overs when the match was finally called off after many rain interruptions. England's total was the par score for the D/L method and the match was tied.

Bopara, who played a well-paced knock, could have won the match for England if he had only blocked Munaf Patel's fifth delivery in the 49th over of the innings as it proved to be the last ball of the match. But he went for a slog and was caught at the boundary line by Ravinder Jadeja which pegged England back on the D/L score.

Earlier, the hosts won the toss for the fourth time in the series and asked India to bat first. Unlike the previous match at the Oval, India had a respectable start to their innings. But they experienced a self-inflected pressure after losing a couple of wickets. The Dhoni-Raina pair not only repaired the Indian innings, but also took the visitors to a respectable position.

Raina made a strokeful 84 from 75 deliveries (seven fours, two sixes) while Dhoni was unbeaten on 78 off 71 balls (six fours, three sixes). The shared a 169-run stand for the fifth wicket off 147 deliveries. The best way to sum up the essay - India were 109 for two in 25 overs and scored 109 off last ten.

England were in similar positions as the match kept oscillating between the two sides. England looked well-placed when Bopara and Ian Bell put on 98 for the fourth wicket. Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann then added two cameos to take the hosts closer.

On a fresh pitch, which had a little bit of juice for the fast bowlers, the England bowlers impressed initially. However, as the day progressed, the track lost pace and the Indian batsmen rose to the occasion. Alas, it all ended on a sorry note for them.