It has stopped raining in Southampton. But there's till a black cloud over the Indian team and it hasn't ceased pouring.
The second ODI got underway after nearly a five-hour delay at the Rose Bowl and saw India produce one of their better batting efforts on the tour of England. In the 23-overs-a-side game, India made 187-8 with Ajinkya Rahane's 54 and Suresh Raina's power-packed 41.
But it still wasn't enough for their first win over the hosts on this tour. England chased the target down in the 23rd over, with Alastair Cook's 80 anchoring the innings.
Cook inserted India on a seaming deck. With James Anderson, Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad all in prime form, India did well to score at over eight an over through the innings.
Rahane made an effortless 54 off 47. He was on zero when Parthiv Patel had raced to 28 in the third over, punishing the wayward Bresnan. Parthiv crunched the pacer for two sixes through midwicket and three fours around the wicket to give India a breezy start.
Parthiv was caught behind off Anderson in one more incident where HotSpot failed to detect the edge. Parthiv chose to walk off believing he had edged the ball. HotSpot showed nothing but Snickometer registered some evidence of an edge.
Rahul Dravid and Rahane batted beautifully to add 79 runs for the second wicket. Dravid played two delectable shots off Broad -- one, an aerial drive off the back-foot over cover; the second a loft over extra-cover -- leaving one wondering why he has chosen to retire from limited overs cricket.
On the other side, Rahane raced to his maiden ODI fifty off 40 balls. In the past, he has been typecast as a batsman not suited to quick scoring, but here, he played orthodox strokes and made a big impression.
Raina had been in poor form through the Test series, but this game provided him a chance to do what he does best: finish an innings off with some big hits.
Raina hammered Jade Dernbach for two big sixes over long-on -- note that the straight boundaries at Rose Bowl are very long -- and then sliced Bresnan over cover for another six.
With the damp conditions making bowling difficult, India needed quick wickets to prevent England from turning the game around. But this wasn't to be.
Craig Kieswetter thrashed 46 off 25, and at one stage, was on course for equalling the fastest ODI fifty by an Englishman, off 24 balls. By the ninth over, India had tried out six bowlers, all of whom had proven expensive.
After racing to 103 in 10 overs, all Cook needed to do was bat sensibly. India's part-time bowlers proved no worry for him. Just like in the Test series, England were barely stretched.
Source : Yahoo Cricket
