World champions India suffered a humiliating nine-wicket defeat against England after a flop show by their batsmen in the third One-Day International of the Carlton Mid Tri-Series, in Brisbane, on Tuesday.
Pacer Steven Finn registered career-best figures of five for 33, while James Anderson took four for 18 as India crashed for a lowly 153 in 39.3 overs.
In reply, England cruised to 156 for one in 27.3 overs, Ian Bell stroking a fluent 88 not out from 91 balls with James Taylor unbeaten on 56.
All-rounder Stuart Binny was the lone Indian batsman to show some resilience on a day when the others got out due to poor shot selection after India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni elected to bat.
Opener Ajinkya Rahane (33), Virat Kohli (4), Ambati Rayudu (23) and Suresh Raina (1) were out playing careless shots, while Shikhar Dhawan (1) fell to a beauty from Anderson in the third over of the India innings.
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England chased down the easy target with more than 22 overs to spare to collect five points, including a bonus, from the comprehensive victory.
Bell and Taylor put on an unbroken stand of 131 runs for the second wicket as they negotiated the Indian bowlers without difficulty.
The only wicket English lost was that of Moeen Ali (8); he was dismissed cheaply off the bowling of Binny, who opened the Indian bowling during the first session as England batted before the break after India folded early.
Australia are top of the standings with nine points from two matches while England have five from two games.
India will now have to win both their remaining matches and also hope other results go their way to qualify for the final.
England started their chase before the schedule innings' break and were placed at 41 for one from six overs.
After the resumption of play, India did not show any urgency or energy in the field as Bell and Taylor went about accumulating runs without any worries. They brought up the 50-mark in the eighth over as runs flowed easily enough with the Indian bowlers not making an impression after a listless batting performance.
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Thereafter, Bell brought up his 32nd ODI fifty off 50 balls and the 100-mark came up in the 19th over. The duo also celebrated their 100-run partnership for the second wicket, off just 111 balls, in the 22nd over.
Taylor celebrated his third ODI half-century off 58 balls to consign India to their second straight defeat in the tournament.
The only bright spark for India was Binny's all-round performance. He scored 44 runs and salvaged the situation somewhat for the Indians after the top and middle order had collapsed.
India, after electing to bat, made two changes, Rohit Sharma missing out due to a sore hamstring and Rayudu coming into the side as his replacement. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was left out to make way for Binny.
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England made one change from their opening match against Australia, with Anderson coming in for Chris Jordan.
Rahane opened the innings with Dhawan, who once again perished cheaply. At least he was not guilty of a poor shot-making as Anderson had him caught behind, in the third over, off one that neatly moved away. The fast bowler bowled a stifling opening spell even as Rahane and Rayudu stayed together long enough to get a start.
Only 36 runs came in the first 10 overs, courtesy England's disciplined bowling with the new ball, and the pressure showed as Rahane advanced against Finn in the 15th over of the innings only to lob a simple catch to mid-on.
It opened the floodgates with Kohli trying to run the ball past slips two overs later, but extra bounce from Finn meant he was caught behind.
In the very next over, Raina recklessly charged Moeen Ali but was beaten and stumped. It got worse with Rayudu also caught behind off Finn, leaving India reeling on 67 for five in the 19th over.
Binny, in the company of captain Dhoni, put on 70 runs for the sixth wicket and took India past the 100-mark in the 29th over.
Dhoni (33) was dropped by Anderson off his own bowling in the 36th over as India opted to take the Powerplay, but he could not make most of the reprieve. Finn struck immediately, dismissing him in the next over, the batsman caught behind going for a hook shot. He then bowled Akshar Patel (0) first ball for his first five-wicket haul in ODIs.
Anderson cleaned up the tail as he claimed the wickets of Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami in the space of 13 balls to end the miserable Indian innings in the 40th over itself.
