There was no end to India's misery in what has turned out to be an abysmal tour of England as they went down by six wickets in their one off Twenty20 match, paying the price for yet another stunning batting collapse here.
Debutant Ajinkya Rahane shone with the bat with a 39-ball 61 but the Indians lost nine wickets in the final eight overs to be restricted to 165 in 19.3 overs. The visitors rode on Eoin Morgan's quickfire 49 to chase down the target in 19.3 overs yesterday.
Morgan, who struck 49 off 27 balls, was the hero of England's chase, striking seven fours and a six while Ravi Bopara chipped in with a useful 31 to ensure that the hosts maintained their dominance over the hapless visitors.
Morgan put on 73 runs for the fourth wicket with Bopara off only 49 balls to lead England to a comprehensive victory despite Rahane's 61 off 39 balls.
Jade Dernbach (four for 22) and captain Stuart Broad (two for 37) helped the hosts with a flurry of wickets as the visitors scored only 61 runs, losing nine wickets in the final eight overs.
Thirty-three of these runs were scored by Suresh Raina who marked Tim Bresnan and Broad for special attention, smashing them for three sixes, as he took only 19 balls for his cameo.
The hosts, who won the Test series 4-0, gave Indians a lesson in Twenty20 cricket as well, scoring their runs with a mix of defence and attack.
The visitors, in contrast, appeared to play to the gallery and largely got their runs in fours and sixes — as many as 92 of 165 came off boundaries.
