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25 overs England 93 for 2 (Bell 40*, Root 13*) need 134 more runs to beat India 226 (Raina 83, Bresnan 4-45)
Ian Bell was an important figure for England as they made steady progress in their run chase © BCCI
England were making slow but steady progress towards a target of 227 to win the fifth and final ODI of the series, at the halfway point of the innings in Dharamsala. Despite losing Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen in quick succession, after a fifty-run opening stand, Ian Bell was closing in on a half-century as England sought to bookend the tour with a second one-day victory in India. They have been rare prizes for England in recent times, although, at 3-1 down, the series is already lost.
Neither Cook or Bell looked secure in the opening exchanges, with movement off the pitch still available to India's seamers. That they were unable to capitalise in the same way as England was partially down to luck, as Bell twice inside-edged past his stumps and the first runs from the bat came via Cook's slash wide of second slip.
Cook has not made as many runs as he has threatened in this series - on a couple of occasions down to umpiring rather than laxity - and he was again dismissed having got through a testing initial spell. Ishant Sharma began impressively after replacing Shami Ahmed, bowling three maidens in his first four overs and disturbing Cook's stumps with a ball he played on the back foot when he should have been forward.
Ishant has improved immeasurably from the bowler who conceded 86 runs in the first ODI against England and his bowling helped slow the scoring to a crawl. After Cook fell with the total on 53, England added 11 runs from the next six overs, the only boundary coming when Rohit Sharma dived over a Pietersen cover drive. Shami then returned to claim Pietersen, who perished to the hook shot whilst looking to impose himself. A thick top edge ballooned out towards deep midwicket and was not far short of flying for six but Ravindra Jadeja sprinted round to take an excellent running catch.
The pitch seemed to get slower during the afternoon and even Bell struggled for timing, despite being well set. Bell was looking for his first significant score of the series since victory in the opening ODI in Rajkot and in Joe Root, one of England's success stories on another disappointing tour, he had a partner capable of the level-headed accumulation required in pursuit of a modest target.
Ian Bell was an important figure for England as they made steady progress in their run chase © BCCI
England were making slow but steady progress towards a target of 227 to win the fifth and final ODI of the series, at the halfway point of the innings in Dharamsala. Despite losing Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen in quick succession, after a fifty-run opening stand, Ian Bell was closing in on a half-century as England sought to bookend the tour with a second one-day victory in India. They have been rare prizes for England in recent times, although, at 3-1 down, the series is already lost.
Neither Cook or Bell looked secure in the opening exchanges, with movement off the pitch still available to India's seamers. That they were unable to capitalise in the same way as England was partially down to luck, as Bell twice inside-edged past his stumps and the first runs from the bat came via Cook's slash wide of second slip.
Cook has not made as many runs as he has threatened in this series - on a couple of occasions down to umpiring rather than laxity - and he was again dismissed having got through a testing initial spell. Ishant Sharma began impressively after replacing Shami Ahmed, bowling three maidens in his first four overs and disturbing Cook's stumps with a ball he played on the back foot when he should have been forward.
Ishant has improved immeasurably from the bowler who conceded 86 runs in the first ODI against England and his bowling helped slow the scoring to a crawl. After Cook fell with the total on 53, England added 11 runs from the next six overs, the only boundary coming when Rohit Sharma dived over a Pietersen cover drive. Shami then returned to claim Pietersen, who perished to the hook shot whilst looking to impose himself. A thick top edge ballooned out towards deep midwicket and was not far short of flying for six but Ravindra Jadeja sprinted round to take an excellent running catch.
The pitch seemed to get slower during the afternoon and even Bell struggled for timing, despite being well set. Bell was looking for his first significant score of the series since victory in the opening ODI in Rajkot and in Joe Root, one of England's success stories on another disappointing tour, he had a partner capable of the level-headed accumulation required in pursuit of a modest target.