BRISTOL (England), Aug 25: India struck back to level their seven-match one-day series with England 1-1 on Friday after an imposing total of 329 for seven proved too much for the hosts in the second one-dayer at Nevil Road (also partly reported in Saturday’s edition).

India won by nine runs after England reached 320 for eight on the compact Gloucestershire county ground.

Sachin Tendulkar hit 15 fours and a six before he was caught behind in a controversial decision for 99. It was his 80th one-day 50, a milestone also reached by captain Rahul Dravid, who ended on 92 not out.

In reply, the hosts got close with 320 for eight – England’s highest total batting second in a One-day International.

Ian Bell top-scored with 64 and all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, whose previous-best score was five, later kept England in the hunt when it seemed they were out of the game with a 36-ball fifty featuring five sixes and a four before he holed out for 52.Stuart Broad weighed in with 29 not out off 24 balls.

Teenage leg-spinner Piyush Chawla took three for 60 and pace bowler Munaf Patel three for 70.

England saw openers Alastair Cook and Matt Prior get them off to a flyer with the first eight overs yielding 60 runs.

But first change Patel, in for ‘flu victim Zaheer Khan, checked England’s progress with two wickets in two balls.

Then Chawla and off-spinner Ramesh Powar struck.

Prior, on 33, skied to Dravid at mid-off before Cook, was caught behind by Mahendra Singh Dhoni to leave England 76 for two in the 11th over.

India, however, didn’t help themselves by dropping several catches.

Bell, on one, saw a cut off left-arm quick Rudra Pratap Singh go straight to third man only for Powar to put the chance down.

Key batsman Kevin Pietersen was twice missed on 11. Wicket-keeper Dhoni, standing up, failed to hold a thin edge off Saurav Ganguly. And two balls later the medium-pacer floored a low caught and bowled chance.

But Chawla had a wicket second ball when his googly clean bowled Pietersen for 25. And he bowled Paul Collingwood in similar style for 27.

Flintoff, off the mark with a first-ball four through extra-cover off Chawla went for nine when he hoisted off-spinner Powar to Ajit Agarkar at deep square leg.

Bell, who like Cook had made his maiden One-day International century in England’s 104-run win at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday, completed a 76-ball fifty with six fours before he skied Chawla to Patel.

The series continues at Edgbaston on Monday.

Scoreboard

INDIA:

S.C. Ganguly c Collingwood b Flintoff 39

S.R. Tendulkar c Prior b Flintoff 99

Yuvraj Singh c Collingwood b Broad 49

R. Dravid not out 92

M.S. Dhoni c Tremlett b Anderson 21

K.D. Karthik lbw b Flintoff 1

A.B. Agarkar c Prior b Flintoff 1

R.R. Powar c Prior b Flintoff 1

Piyush Chawla not out 1

EXTRAS (LB-8, W-9, NB-8) 25

TOTAL (for seven wkts, 50 overs) 329

FALL OF WKTS: 1-113, 2-180, 3-243, 4-302, 5-310, 6-324, 7-326.

DID NOT BAT: R.P. Singh, M.M. Patel.

BOWLING: Broad 9-0-54-1 (2nb, 1w); Anderson 10-1-56-1 (3w); Flintoff 10-0-56-5 (3nb, 1w); Tremlett 9-0-73-0 (3nb, 2w); Mascarenhas 4-0-31-0 (1w); Collingwood 4-0-24-0; Bopara 4-0-27-0.

ENGLAND:

A.N. Cook c Dhoni b Patel 36

M.J. Prior c Dravid b Patel 33

I.R. Bell c Patel b Chawla 64

K.P. Pietersen b Chawla 25

P.D. Collingwood b Chawla 27

A. Flintoff c Agarkar b Powar 9

R.S. Bopara lbw b Patel 17

A.D. Mascarenhas c Agarkar b R.P. Singh 52

S.C.J. Broad not out 29

C.T. Tremlett not out 0

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-6, W-15, NB-6) 28

TOTAL (for eight wkts, 50 overs) 320

FALL OF WKTS: 1-76, 2-76, 3-134, 4-176, 5-185, 6-220, 7-240, 8-299.

DID NOT BAT: J.M. Anderson.

BOWLING: Agarkar 9-1-67-0 (1nb, 3w); R.P. Singh 10-0-56-1 (3w); Patel 8-0-70-3 (5nb, 2w); Ganguly 3-0-17-0; Chawla 10-0-60-3 (1w); Powar 10-0-43-1 (1w).

RESULT: India won by nine runs.

UMPIRES: I.J. Gould (England) and B.R. Doctrove (West Indies).

TV UMPIRE: N.J. Llong (England).

MATCH REFEREE: R.S. Mahanama (Sri Lanka).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Rahul Dravid.

FIRST MATCH: Rose Bowl, England won by 104 runs.

THIRD MATCH: Edgbaston, Aug 27.

FOURTH MATCH: Old Trafford (D/N), Aug 30.

FIFTH MATCH: Headingley, Sept 2.

SIXTH MATCH: The Oval, Sept 5.

SEVENTH MATCH: Lord’s, Sept 8.

—Agencies