Suresh Raina scored unbeaten 89
Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma slammed half-centuries as India downed England by five wickets in the fourth one-day international at Chandigarh to claim the definitive 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Raina (89 not out) and Rohit (83), recovering the hosts from initial stagger, shared 68 runs for the fourth wicket as India overhauled the 258-run target with 15 balls to spare
With the victory India has tightened the clutches over the top spot in ICC one-day rankings.
India’s chase began on a negative note as inconsistent batsman Gautam Gambhir (10) fell early to pacer Tim Bresnan in the sixth over but Rohit, who was moved to the opening position to fill the void of underperforming Ajinkya Rahane, and Virat Kohli (26) steadied the innings with a 52-run stand.
James Tredwell dealt India back-to-back blows by dismissing Kohli and Yuvraj Singh (3) in quick-succession as the hosts were slumped to 3-90 in the 23rd over.
Rohit and Rania started rebuilding the innings and took their side to the comfort zone with the flamboyant stroke-play. The comprehensive partnership between the pair ended with the dismissal of Rohit, who snared leg-before off Steven Finn after hitting 11 boundaries and a six in his 93-ball knock.
The dauntless Raina on the other hand continued to accelerate the flow of runs on board in the company of skipper MS Dhoni (19). After skipper’s departure in 40th over, Rohit stitched up another 45 runs in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (21) to take the hosts past target.
Rania’s unbeaten 79-ball knock was laced with nine boundaries and a six.
Earlier, England, who failed to reach 200-mark in the last two ODIs, presented an improved show after being put to bat and managed 257-7.
Alastair Cook (76), Kevin Pietersen (76) and Joe Root (57) slammed half-centuries.
Spinner Jadeja was the pick of Indian bowling with the figures of 3-39 while counterpart Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma claimed two wickets apiece.
