India-England thrilling encounter ends in a tie

Bangalore : India and England tied one of the most exciting matches in World Cup cricket history at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here Sunday.

Chasing a winning target of 339, England made 338 for eight in 50 overs after captain Andrew Strauss struck a career best 158.

Opting to bat first, India were all out for 338 in 49.5 overs after batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar (120) smashed his 47th ODI century.

Kevin Pietersen (31) and Andrew Strauss gave England a good start with an opening stand of 68 runs. But Munaf Patel delivery dismissed Pietersen in an unusual fashion taking a one-handed catch off his own bowling.

Strauss and Ian Bell (61) combined for a third wicket stand of 170, to keep England in command. Had they been successful, it would have been the biggest successful run chase in World Cup

But Zaheer Khan returned to remove Bell, who was suffering from cramp, and Strauss in successive balls and Matt Prior in the next over. India were suddenly favourites.

But a late flurry from Michael Yardy, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann tilted the match in England?s favour..

Fourteen runs were still needed from the last over by Patel, but a six by tailender Ajmal Shahzad lifted England. Two runs were needed off the last ball from Patel, but Swann could only heave it for a single to leave England on 338 for eight wickets.

Earlier, Tendulkar became the first man to make five centuries in World Cup competition, moving ahead of compatriot Sourav Ganguly and Australian pair Mark Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

During his 115-ball innings he hit 10 fours and five sixes in his 120 to delight the packed M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. He also shared a second-wicket stand of 134 with Gautam Gambhir (51) while Yuvraj Singh smashed a quickfire 58.

Bresnan, who removed the dangerous Virender Sehwag to end his opening stand of 46 with Tendulkar, took a string of late wickets to end with five wickets for 48.

That put a brake on the Indian batsmen, who had threatened to amass in excess of 350 and take the game out of England’s reach.

The tie leaves India ahead of England on run rate in Group B with the top four teams going through to the quarterfinal knockout stage. Holders Australia currently top Group A.