Giving credit where it’s due, India clinched the 5 ODI series against England with a stunning win in the 4th ODI here at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
With an indisputable 3-0 lead in the series, the visiting side may just want to get the last match, as well for a clean sweep.
Earlier in the day, Skipper Dhoni won the toss for India and chose to bowl first.
For England, the woes in the top order continued to show, as Mohammed Shami gave away just 28 runs to take three wickets. In equal form were Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, both clinching two wickets each to put the hosts in a bad shape.
Watch the highlights video here.
The hosts don’t have a single score in the entire line to boast of, except for the 67 runs scored by Moeen Ali. Skipper Cook went off early at 9 runs while trying to play Kumar, followed by Hales, who too was taken by Kumar. With both Alex Hales and Alastair Cook leaving by 5th over, things weren’t bright for the hosts.
Just when Root seemed to be in form, Raina came in to take him off at 44. At this point, England was already reeling under pressure. Ali too seemed to be confident, only to be taken clean by Ashwin at 67. Considering that was the only half century to come from the team with two openers leaving in one digits, England mere managed to get it over 200.
At 49.3 overs, England was taken over and gave over to India for a chase of 207 runs. See the final scorecard here.
India has been long waiting for partnership that can be worth trusting for the World Cup, and with Sharma missing, Ajinkya Rahane took things in his side.
Judged as the Man of the Match, Ajinkya Rahane scored 106 runs off just 121 bowls, complementing Dhawan, who was equally good. Dhawan missed his century by three runs, but those 97 runs came from just 132 balls.
India should be happy about those 29 boundaries that came from the 4th ODI as they wait for the last and final ODI scheduled in Leeds on September 5, 2014.