Root century sets up consolation victory

England 294 for 7 (Root 113, Buttler 49) beat India 253 (Jadeja 87, Rayudu 53, Stokes 3-47) by 41 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

An all-too familiar tale was seemingly unfolding at Headingley as England's batsmen were again finding spin an unsolvable puzzle in the middle overs. The dot-ball torture most affected Eoin Morgan, who scored 2 off 19 R Ashwin deliveries before being stumped to leave England at 117 for 4 after 29 overs. Another 220-odd target for India's batsmen to chase down as they stifled yawns?

Joe Root and Jos Buttler erased that scenario with a vigorous century stand, England's first of the series. Buttler fell on 49 to the sort of comical run-out that goes viral as a gif, but Root sped to his second ODI century, in front of a delighted home crowd. That rousing partnership and some lower-order swinging took England to 294, leaving India with their stiffest challenge of the series.

India's batsmen weren't up to the task, as recognisable elements from the Test series re-appeared. The opening stand didn't last long, James Anderson had Virat Kohli nibbling to slip, Moeen Ali made important breakthroughs, and MS Dhoni had too much to do. All of which led to England winning their first ODI since late May.

The match began slipping away from India during England's batting Powerplay, when Root and Buttler walloped boundary after boundary to pillage 55 in five overs. Root made a far bigger overall score, but Buttler's impact was huge. He began the mayhem in the Powerplay, cashing in against the recalled Umesh Yadav with a crunching four over mid-off followed by a fortuitous top edge over third man for six. Scoring against pace is fine, but what about spin? When Ashwin dropped short two overs later, Buttler bludgeoned him over square leg for four, and then to cow corner for six.

Thirty-nine runs had come off the first three Powerplay overs, the chokehold applied by the spinners had came off, and the hitherto watchful Root also started reeling off big hits. Suddenly 300 wasn't looking like a far-fetched target, particularly given India's long-standing troubles with death bowling.

Buttler had set up a grandstand finish to the innings but he fell in the 43rd over, after blindly setting off for a run even though the ball had barely dribbled past the wicketkeeper. Root then took apart Ravindra Jadeja, as 17 runs came off the 45th over, with the slog-sweep that earned him plenty of runs also bringing up his century. The boos which Moeen complained about were replaced by celebratory shouts of "Rooooot", as the local boy shrugged off a lean summer in the ODIs.

Ben Stokes swung a few sixes, Yadav's propensity for leaking runs resurfaced and though Mohammed Shami set down some perfect yorkers, England finished close to 300.

That score seemed unlikely after Alex Hales' failure, Alastair Cook again making a sluggish 40-odd, and Moeen's promotion not working out. Only 49 runs came between the 16th and 30th over, Morgan's range of sweeps and reverse-sweeps weren't working, and India's fielders were diving around in the circle to cut off any easy runs.

Unlike his captain though, Root didn't give it away after getting a start. There were controlled pulls early on, and two stunning straight drives off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, as he began with a mix of boundaries and defence. A direct hit from Jadeja at point could have ended his innings in the 16th over with Root on 23. After that he concentrated on the ones and twos - hitting just one boundary in the next 20 overs - before cashing in towards the end.

India's chase spluttered in the first over itself. Ajinkya Rahane had spoken of how he had sleepless nights after a "silly mistake" cost his wicket in the second ODI; he will toss and turn tonight as well after lazily slicing a wide delivery to point in the first over to fall for a duck.

Kohli is at his best when faced with a tall chase, and after a disastrous tour, there were hopes he would provide a glimpse of his talent but his search for a half-century extended as he was caught at slip for 13. Shikhar Dhawan swiped Moeen for a big six but was bowled later in the over attempting the same shot.

Ambati Rayudu collected his second half-century in three innings, but he holed out to mid-on soon after. Suresh Raina had already become another of Moeen's victims, and when Dhoni slapped a short and wide Steven Finn delivery straight to cover in the 37th over, India's already slender chances were virtually over. The wicket was the luck Finn deserved after both Raina and Rayudu had been put down in one of his earlier overs.

Ravindra Jadeja re-enacted his famous Rajput celebration from Lord's as he picked up a half-century, but there was no real threat of him preventing an England victory. The win will be scant consolation though after a wretched limited-overs home season, with England still having plenty to work out as the World Cup approaches.

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Rahane hundred caps crushing win

4th ODI in Birmingham: Ajinkya Rahane struck his maiden one-day hundred and Shikhar Dhawan finished on 97 not out as India raced to a nine-wicket win with almost 30 overs to spare.

Rahane Maiden Century

India 212 for 1 (Rahane 106, Dhawan 97*) beat England 206 (Moeen 67, Shami 3-28, Bhuvneshwar 2-14) by nine wickets

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

As India marched to one their most comprehensive victories against England, a third no-contest in as many matches giving them the series, about the only similarity between the teams was the blue of their shirts. India, the reigning world champions in this format, will need little introduction as one of the favourites for the 2015 World Cup in six months' time. England are struggling to find an XI to compete at home, let along challenge in Australia and New Zealand.

MS Dhoni has captained with an easy panache since the return to limited-overs cricket and he again marshalled an impressive display after inserting England on a fresh morning in Birmingham. This was Dhoni's 91st victory as India ODI captain, breaking the record of Mohammad Azharuddin. Only one batsman had him momentarily ruffled, as Moeen Ali produced the first England half-century of the series, but it was a bit like a fart competing with thunder, to borrow Graham Gooch's phrase.

Having been set a modest target, India's batsmen set about exposing it as indecent. Ajinkya Rahanemade his maiden ODI hundred during a stand of 183 with Shikhar Dhawan, a record opening partnership for India in England. Dhawan's unbeaten 97 was his first fifty of the tour, a flurry of blows helping to end the contest with almost 20 overs remaining.

Although the pitch flattened out, England's attack was made to look horribly blunt. India's openers tip-toed through the first four overs, scoring the same number of runs, before Rahane struck four sumptuous fours off James Anderson; Dhawan rattled three more from Chris Woakes' first over, taking them to 57 from ten. It was a clear case of the fours being with India.

And the sixes, too, both openers reaching their half-centuries by clearing the ropes. They hit four apiece, the most dismissive a front-foot pull from Rahane off Steven Finn. The sight of England's fastest bowler being treated so disdainfully by India's most diminutive batsman was one of a number of instructive passages. The video analysis will make painful viewing for Alastair Cook and Peter Moores.

If England were to take anything from their display, it would have been Moeen's batting. Moeen was brought in for his fifth ODI to fill the allrounder slot, with England keen for a more thorough examination of his credentials as a limited-overs spinner ahead of the World Cup. He proceeded to bat with greater dash and security than any of his team-mates during an innings of 67 off 50 balls.

After Joe Root departed attempting a reverse sweep that might have made Mike Gatting wince to leave England five down, Moeen struck the ball with a languid intensity, hitting three sixes - the only sixes of the innings. Such was his dominance, albeit brief in the context of the match, that Moeen clouted 43 out of a 50-run stand with Jos Buttler, nominally England's power hitter. His efforts lifted England to the bare respectability of 200 but the target scarcely gave much opportunity for his bowling to impress.

It was debatable whether India had found a new way to win or England a new way to lose. This time, the glissando of wickets came at the top and bottom of the innings, as England ended the Powerplay on 25 for 3 and then lost 4 for 12 in the final five overs. In between, India's spinners largely remained a lurking threat, although the way R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina threw a blanket over the middle overs was proof that England had not suddenly discovered their pipe and slippers when it came to playing slow bowling.

Root has struggled to transfer his puckish energy into one-day cricket this summer but he at least did a job in repelling India's early broadside during an 80-run stand with Eoin Morgan. The pair managed to see off ten overs of spin before Morgan, having narrowly flicked wide of leg slip, picked out Suresh Raina in that position for a simple catch to give Jadeja his 32nd wicket against England - a tally he would increase to 33 in 17 ODIs.

England's approach tends to revolve around the proverbial best-laid plans but things went awry even before the toss, as they were forced to bring in Gary Ballance for Ian Bell, who was hit on the toe in the nets. Bell was later revealed to have a "small fracture" and will be assessed before the final ODI, at Headingley on Friday. That enforced change was the third from the XI at Trent Bridge, with Moeen and Harry Gurney also coming in for Ben Stokes and James Tredwell.

India, meanwhile, included the debutant Dhawal Kulkarni, who kissed the ball before his first delivery in international cricket, only to see it treated rather more roughly by Alex Hales spanking a half-volley for four. That was about as encouraging as it got, as England stumbled, bleary-eyed in the Birmingham sunshine.

India's fielders were certainly in the wide awake club, Raina and Rahane setting a fine example as Cook managed just a single from his first 15 balls, repeatedly thwarted trying to hit through the off side. After opening partnerships of 54 and 82, England this time lost Cook and Hales in the fifth over, as Bhuvneshwar Kumar located the moisture in the pitch that his captain had spied at the toss. In the previous two matches, this had been the one area where India had allowed England some respite.

The breakthrough did not require any outstanding India out-cricket, however, as Bhuvneshwar snaked his first ball to Hales past the inside edge and on to the stumps. It was a femme fatale of a delivery, curving back in seductively and leaving Hales dumbstruck as he looked for his favoured cover drive. Bhuvneshwar had already bowled 12 deliveries at Cook without conceding a run and he gilded his figures further by picking up the England captain, Raina intercepting a thick-edged chop at gully to end another laboured stay at the crease.

After Dhoni's travails in the Tests, both as captain and wicketkeeper, the extent of his comfort in limited-overs cricket was displayed by an instinctive, near run-out of Root, deflecting the ball with one glove down on to stumps behind him. Such was the hold he currently exerts over England, he could get away without asking Bhuvneshwar (8-3-14-2) to bowl a second spell. The batsmen then ran amok in approved style. It was fitting that such an assured display confirmed him as India's most successful ODI captain.

ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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