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Steven Finn and James Anderson put in a fast bowling masterclass as India were bowled out for a paltry 153 in the third match of the Cartlon Mid ODI Tri-series at the Gabba in Brisbane. Finn picked up a career best of 5 for 33 and Anderson chipped in with four wickets. India made two changes from the team that lost to Australia on Sunday. Ambati Rayadu came in for Rohit Sharma, who was ruled out with a sore hamstring; and Ravichandran Ashwin made way for Stuart Binny.
Choosing to bat after winning the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side made a steady start. After losing Shikhar Dhawan in the third over, Ajinkya Rahane and Rayadu knitted together a solid 56-run partnership. At 57 for 1, India had done the hard bit and seen off the new ball with relative ease. With run-scoring becoming easier, India suddenly imploded and lost four wickets in the next five overs, slumping to 67 for 5.
A well-set Rahane threw his wicket away after dancing down the wicket and playing a reckless shot to Finn, holding out James Taylor at mid-on. Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Rayadu followed soon after. Both Kohli and Rayadu got out in identical fashion -- trying to steer one to third-man and edging it to England keeper Jos Butler. They made 4 and 9 respectively.
A 70-run partnership between Binny and Dhoni stemmed the bleeding for a while. But just as India looked set to launch an onslaught in the batting powerplay, they stumbled again. Dhoni feathered one to the keeper while attempting a pull shot against Finn. Axar Patel was castled by Finn the very next ball, succumbing to a sharp in-swinger. This was the 21-year-old’s second duck in as many games. Binny kept India going, eventually falling for a fighting 44.
For England, Finn was the star of the show. The tall pacer from Watford ripped apart the Indian top-order, mixing pace and bounce to lethal effect. The delivery he produced to dismiss Patel was a piece of sheer magic. Anderson, so often India’s chief tormentor, was also among the wickets, running through the Indian tail and ending up with figures of 4 for 18 off his 8.3 overs.
