England clinch ODI series against India as well

London, Sep 12 - Rain robbed India a chance to end their losing streak as the fourth One-day International against England ended in a tie via the Duckworth Lewis Method at the Lord's here Sunday. England clinched the series with still a match left.
Suresh Raina (84) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (78) shared a blistering 169-run partnership to propel India to 280 for five and the tourists seemed set to secure their first win over England, having suffered a whitewash in the Test series.
But Ravi Bopara guided England to the brink of victory with his career best 96. Both Bopara and Raina were jointly adjudged as the Man of the Match.
The match was evenly balanced when rains interrupted for the third time with England at 270 for eight in 48.5 overs chasing a target of 281. But with the rain, the Duckworth/Lewis method came into play and India were unlucky.
Both teams wasted time in the final few overs that saw sides in pole position at different points. Going into the penultimate over, England were ahead of the required rate but Graeme Swann (31) was run out by Munaf Patel and then the bowler had Bopara caught on the boundary to ensure the match was tied.
Having set a challenging target for England, the visitors started on a good note with Rudra Pratap Singh dismissing the openers Alastair Cook and Craig Kieswetter for identical 12s. Praveen Kumar then trapped Jonathan Trott for
23 as England were reduced to 61 for three.
Bopara and Ian Bell (57) then added 98 runs for the fourth wicket to bail out England. But Spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin then struck in quick successions to get rid of Bell and Ben Stokes (7) as England again slumped to 173 for five.
But Bopara was involved in two crucial partnerships with Tim Bresnan (27) and Swann to take England to the threshold of a win. With Bresnan, Bopara added 47 runs and with Swann 50 that nearly pulled England through.
Earlier, Raina smashed 84 runs off 75 balls while Dhoni struck 78 off 71 balls for his second consecutive fifty of the series. The two got together when India were struggling at 110 for four at the half-way stage but their brutal assault on the England bowlers in the last 13 overs produced 130 runs and took their side to a formidable total.
The visitors, put into bat, were off to a solid start with Ajinkya Rahane (38) and Parthiv Patel (27) being made to work hard for every run.
Both of them fell to Stuart Broad (2-52) while trying to push the scoring rate. Rahul Dravid (19) and Virat Kohli (16) took the mantle from 70 for two and batted sensibly before Grame Swann (2-49) removed them in his first over to turn the match in England's favour.
With India being 110 for four in 26 overs, Dhoni and his deputy Raina were left with the job of resurrecting the innings. England were able to sustain the momentum as India could only score 30 runs in the next 10 overs.
But Dhoni and Raina stepped on the gas there after, using the extra pace of the English bowlers for a flurry of boundaries and sixes.
Raina completed his half-century by hitting a James Anderson delivery for a massive six over square-leg. Dhoni's good form in the series continued as he smacked three sixes and six fours in his 71-ball innings. (IANS)