Rain plays spoilsport; India-England game called off

India vs. England
Game Five
Chester-lee-Street - Scorecard

The infamous British weather played truant as showers and bad light forced the abandonment of the floodlit game between India and England in Chester-lee-Street up north in Durham.

Going into this series, Sachin Tendulkar had promised a tour that would be remembered for long.

NatWest Series table

Team P W L NR Pt NRR India 3 2 0 1 10 +0.31 England 4 2 1 1 10 +0.31 Sri Lanka 3 0 3 0 0 -0.58

How the points system works

After 106 runs off the last ten overs and his own 32nd century, the Englishmen had reason to worry as India were propelled into a position of comfort piling up 285-4 in game five of the NatWest Tri-Series.

England replied positively with 53 runs for the loss of their opener Marcus Trescothick off the 12 overs they faced before bad weather interrupted play, leaving England and India sharing two points apiece.

And for the statistical buffs, Sachin Tendulkar's record 32nd century stands counted by the record books.

India innings:

Sourav Ganguly broke Nasser Hussain's successful run of winning the toss and opted to bat first with an unchanged side, in the floodlit encounter at the Riverside ground in Chester-lee-Street, up north in Durham.

Ind innings progress
Overs	Runs scored	Total	Wkts
10	52	52	2
20	42	94	1
30	46	140	0
40	39	179	0
50	106	285	1

Graham Thorpe's sore ankle gave Michael Vaughan his first game of the series while Matthew Hoggard's undistinguished bowling figures in the series -- two wickets at an expensive average of 82 -- saw left-arm spinner Ashley Giles back in the side.

It was a disastrous start for India as skipper Ganguly was caught at the crease by a Darren Gough delivery that bit back and rapped the left-hander on the pads. At 0 for 1, India's honeymoon run in the series seemed over.

Dinesh Mongia, whose innings of 159 against Zimbabwe earlier this year was rated as the finest innings of the year by Wisden, searched for his first substantial contribution to the Indian cause with a boundary to the cover fence in Kirtley's first over.

With Gough curling the ball prodigiously, the Indian batsmen cashed in on some wayward bowling from Kirtley.

After swinging the young seamer for two fours -- one wide of mid-on and another edged to the third man fence -- Sehwag holed out to Marcus Trescothick at mid-on in the eighth over. It was the same shot, played with a loose bottom-hand that had led to his dismissal in the West Indies.

Three overs later, Mongia flicked Gough straight to Andy Flintoff at short midwicket and the Indian scorecard read 52 for 3.

Sachin Tendulkar, having calculated the bounce of the pitch, began playing his shots by sweeping Ashley Giles to the square fence for his first boundary. But that was the last of the sizzle from Tendulkar for the next hour as he picked the gaps and set about repairing the innings after the loss of the three early wickets.

In a partnership with reversed roles, Rahul Dravid unleashed his arsenal of studied strokes, pulling Paul Collingwood to the midwicket boundary and sweeping Giles down to the fine leg fence with a little help from Ronnie Irani, who fumbled a regulation stop.

With the ball in hand though, Irani sparkled, tying the batsmen down with his miserly spell. His ten overs cost 23 runs and the Essex captain had proved that his comeback was worth the wait. Collingwood, playing in front of his home crowd, didn't quite get the start he had hoped for. Dravid, in particular, was very severe each time the Durham all-rounder over-pitched or bowled a widish line.

For 17 overs, the maximum runs that the Dravid-Tendulkar duo managed to score was eight. But yet there was not a single maiden in the entire innings as the runs kept coming at a consistent rate.

Tendulkar drove Collingwood for six over long on and then steered the ball through extra cover for another boundary in the 28th over.

It was a partnership sans flair, but highly efficient, as it set a neat premise for the late onslaught.

Dravid reached his second fifty of the series in the 35th over off 86 balls. With a deft touch down to the cover region Tendulkar reached his half-century three overs later.

Between them the duo ran 84 singles, piling up a 169-run partnership, with Dravid recording his 38th one-day half-century.

In the 43rd over, Tendulkar reverse swept Giles to the fence to bring up the 150 partnership with Dravid. Every time Giles pitched the ball outside his leg-stump, Tendulkar made room and, playing inside out, slammed him through the covers for fours.

Last December Giles had worried Tendulkar in the Bangalore Test, bowling an ultra-defensive leg-side line. Today that old score was settled.

In an attempt to up the tempo, Dravid took Collingwood on the full and saw the ball land safely into the bucket-sized hands of Andy Flintoff at the mid-wicket fence, after an industrious 82. Dravid had played his part with remarkable effectiveness. Displaying a specimen for planning one-day innings, Dravid showed that there is scope for the Justin Langers and Mark Butchers in the shorter version of the game.

Having crossed over after Dravid's dismissal, Tendulkar picked the next ball from Collingwood straight back for a four.

The next five overs were mayhem for the English bowlers and fielders as Tendulkar scrapped the defensive casing of his bat and tore into the bowling. Yuvraj, at the other end, didn't have any on his as he dealt in fours, taking the Indian total beyond the estimated 270.

Collingwood's first delivery of the 47th over was clipped over mid-wicket for four by Yuvraj. Another full toss was smashed to the boundary and was followed up with another boundary at the end of the over, which cost 16 runs. India had crossed the 250-run mark.

After a quiet 48th over from Gough, Tendulkar swept Collingwood in the penultimate over to the long leg boundary. A misfield at long-off gave the master batsman his 32nd one-day century -- his first against England, in England.

Yuvraj slapped the first ball of Gough's final over for a six, into the boisterous crowds, and flicked another boundary through midwicket for his fourth four for a 19-ball 40, which was studded with four fours.

Coach John Wright had a simple formula to win one-day games: Score more singles than dot-balls. Today, India began their pursuit to execute that plan with 104 singles to 149 dot balls. And that, after taking into account that the first 15 overs of the Indian innings had 64 dot balls, seemed a wonderful effort.

England innings:

The England innings started wet and a complete match seemed doubtful.

Marcus Trescothick who doesn't waste time making an impression got down to scoring runs. And that mattered as he countered the swerving deliveries in conditions helping seam bowling.

Trescothick yet again scored a swift knock of 23, smashing the opening left-arm bowlers Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan.

The burly left-hander also had a heated exchange of words with Zaheer who got back by trapping him in front as England lost their first wicket for 30.

Nick Knight took over the mantle of leading the charge alongwith his skipper Nasser Hussain.

After four runs came in four overs, Knight flicked Ashish Nehra to the midwicket fence and then sent Zaheer Khan in the same direction before showers and bad light abandoned the match and England's reply after 12 overs at 53-1.