Mohali, Oct 20: India redeemed themselves by clinching the ODI series against England by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead after a nail-biting five-wicket victory in the third cricket one-dayer here today.
After England scored a competitive 298 for four, the home side rode on Ajinkya Rahane's 91 and a composed captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's calculated onslaught to overhaul the target of 299 with four balls to spare.
In a match that saw fortunes fluctuating from one team to the other, Dhoni (35 not out off 31) and Ravindra Jadeja (26 not out off 24) added 65 runs for the unseparated sixth-wicket stand and take the game to India's favour at the PCA stadium.
India needed seven runs to win from the last over bowled by Tim Bresnan and Dhoni hit two consecutive fours from the first two balls to take his side to 300 for five and signal a thrilling victory and 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
The ODI series win was a sweet revenge for India, who were whitewashed in all formats of the game in the full tour of England this summer. They had lost 0-3 in the five-match ODI series in England last month.
Rahane stole the limelight with his brilliant 104-ball knock to help India chase down the target. Opener Gautam Gambhir gave the perfect support to Rahane with a 60-ball 59 before Dhoni and Jadeja played short little cameos towards the end to register the second highest run chase at Mohali.
For the tourists, Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan scalped two wickets apiece, giving away 44 and 62 runs respectively.
