Host wraps up ODI series 3-2 Ian Bell — 113 not out DHARAMSALA — England rode on Ian Bell's unbeaten century to salvage some pride by winning the fifth and final One-Day International by seven wickets and reduce the margin of defeat to 3-2 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 HPCA stadium which hosted its first international match. The Indians, who had already clinched the series in Mohali by taking an unassailable 3-1 lead, were done in by some poor shots by their top order batsmen and could never really recover from the early jolts despite Suresh Raina's brilliant effort of 83 under pressure. Tim Bresnan caused the bulk of the damage with 4/45 while Steve Finn and James Tredwell chipped in with two wickets apiece as the English bowlers exploited the bowler-friendly conditions after winning the toss and putting the home side into 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 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (15) perished in quick succession with some of them playing atrocious shots. Raina's brilliant counter-attacking 83 off 98 balls and some useful contributions from Ravindra Jadeja (39) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (31) took India to 226. In their bid to chase down the target of 227, England openers Alastair Cook and Ian Bell started confidently putting in 53 runs before Ishant Sharma, who bowled an incisive first spell, broke the partnership. Ishant's brilliant first spell figures read 5-3-9-1 and but Shami Ahmed and Bhuvneshwar Kumar leaked a few boundaries. The Bengal speedster showed a lot of heart by inducing the dangerous Kevin Pietersen to go for a pull shot. The batsman top-edged it and Ravindra Jadeja, running from long leg towards square leg, took a well-judged catch. Bell carried on with minimum fuss, punishing the bowlers for loose balls and also guiding the talented Joe Root as the duo cruised along in their 79-run third wicket stand. Root was finally dismissed when Jadeja produced a classical left-arm spinner's delivery as he beat the batsman in flight and the ball turned a shade after pitching to clip the off-bail. Root made 31 off 49 balls. Bell was joined by another seasoned pro in Eoin Morgan who hit Ashwin for a huge six followed by even bigger sixes off Shami Ahmed's bowling as they closed the match with consummate ease. — Agencies
