Dharamsala: India paid the price for some poor shot selection by their top order batsmen as England rode on Ian Bell’s unbeaten century to salvage some pride by winning the fifth and final ODI by seven wickets and reduce the margin of defeat to 3-2 here on Sunday.
The visitors first dismissed the hosts for a modest 226 and then relied on Bell’s third ODI ton – 113 not out – to overhaul the target with 16 balls to spare at the picturesque HPCA stadium, which hosted its first international match.
The Indians, who had already clinched the series in Mohali, were done in by some poor shots by their top order batsmen and could never really recover despite Suresh Raina’s brilliant effort of 83 under pressure.
Tim Bresnan caused the bulk of the damage with 4-45 as the English bowlers exploited the bowler-friendly conditions after winning the toss and making the home side bat.
The Indians slumped to a precarious 79 for five as Gautam Gambhir (24), Rohit Sharma (4), Virat Kohli (0), Yuvraj Singh (0) and captain MS Dhoni (15) perished in quick succession.
In their bid to chase down the target of 227, Alastair Cook (13) and Ian Bell started confidently before Ishant Sharma broke the partnership.
Man-of-the-Match Bell carried on with minimum fuss, punishing the bowlers for loose balls.
He was joined by Eoin Morgan and the pair closed the match with ease.
Dhoni defends Gambhir, Ashwin
Dhoni defended out-of-form Gambhir and Ashwin, but did admit that the former was going through a “lean patch” and the latter was trying to use “too many variations”.
“Yeah, he (Gambhir) has been going through a lean patch but he is an experienced player. I believe he has batted a bit better in the last few games. Unlike some of the earlier matches, he didn’t look tentative and was a lot more decisive about stroke-making,” Dhoni said at the post-match media conference.
Similarly when asked about off-spinner Ashwin’s form, Dhoni reasoned, “Maybe he was using variations a bit too much but he has now realised his mistake. In the last couple of matches, he has been more consistent in length.
“The new ODI rules, with five fielders inside the circle, has also made it slightly difficult.” (PTI)