Cricket: India close in on 5-0 sweep

Hosts beat England by six wickets in fourth ODI.

MUMBAI: World champions India stayed on course for a clean sweep of the One-Day International (ODI) series against England with a six-wicket win in the fourth match.

Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina hit half-centuries as the hosts made light of a bad start to overhaul England’s modest 220 all out in the 41st over of their innings in the day-night match.

Raina smashed 80 off 62 balls and Kohli made an unbeaten 86, the pair having put on 131 for the fourth wicket after India were reduced to 46 for three in the 14th over. Another win in Tuesday’s final ODI at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata will give MS Dhoni’s men a resounding 5-0 series win over Alastair Cook’s struggling tourists. The emphatic victory was set up by the bowlers who shot England out for a modest total in India’s first match at the Wankhede stadium since winning the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in April. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shattered the top order with three for 38, before 21-year-old debutant fast bowler Varun Aaron polished off the tail with three for 24 on a slow wicket.

Tim Bresnan top-scored with 45 but five England batsmen failed to reach double-figures.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2011.