The picturesque cricket ground at high altitude in Dharamsala was host to the final One Day International (ODI) match between England and India. The home side had already won the 5-match series 3-1 before going into the final match at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Assiciation Stadium on January 27, 2013. England finally got their act together to beat India by 7 wickets to register a consolation win.
Photo Credit: The Hindu
Ian Bell and Tim Bresnan were the standout players for the visitors. Bell notched up his third ODI century for England, while Bresnan picked up 4 wickets for 45 runs to clean up the hosts for 226 runs. The beautiful landscape of the Himalayas provided a magnificent backdrop for the game as England kept India down to a modest target of 227, to be achieved within 50 overs.
Suresh Raina top scored for the Indians with a patient 83 off 98 deliveries, while Ravindra Jadeja collected 39 from 65 deliveries. There were no other standout performances in the home-side innings. Finn and Tredwell picked up 2 wickets a piece to go with Bresnan’s 4/45.
In response, Ian Bell made use of his opportunity at the top of the innings with a well compiled 113, ably supported by J. Root and E. Morgan who scored 31 and 40 respectively. The visitors reached the target with two overs to spare and captain Alastair Cook was a bit disappointed to not have won the ODI series after good performances in the Test matches.
