India v England, 3rd ODI: India wins by 16 runs (D/L)

India won the 3rd ODI against England by 16 runs on Duckworth Lewis method as bad light stopped play in Kanpur. This means India has won three out of three matches so far in the series.

Scorecard - India win 3rd ODI

Kevin Pieterson won the toss for England and chose to bat first on a not so easy paced wicket. They started well as Ravi Bopara was promoted to the opener’s slot in place of Matt Prior. They were severely harsh on Ishant Sharma who didn’t seem a hundred percent on his return from injury. But then the Indians put on the brakes on the English scoring as the spinners choked the run flow. Wickets also fell at regular intervals as Bhajji took three wickets while Yuvraj and Yusuf Pathan took one each. None of the English batsmen could make their innings count as only Bopara managed to reach fifty. The innings had been cut to 49 overs due to late start and it seemed that 241 was not an imposing challenge for the home team.

Gambhir and Raina fell early when the chase began but Sehwag was rock solid as he blazed his way to a well made half century. Rohit Sharma gave him good support before both of them fell in quick succession. However, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni put on 52 runs to take India to safety. With lights fading, the Indians took the third power play as Dhoni and Pathan took India ahead on the D/L method to win by 16 runs at the end of 40 overs.

Harbhajan Singh was named ‘Man of the Match’ for his brilliant bowling.