England Wins Natwest Series

England won the deciding match in the NatWest Series at a chilly Lord's by seven wickets with more than 13 overs to spare. After the drama in the sixth ODI at The Oval, the game turned out to be an anticlimax as the weight of expectation once again got to India. Their batting, with the exception of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was uninspiring and they lacked the firepower to trouble England's strong middle order.
Their total of 187 on a decent pitch was never enough, and it was only thanks to Dhoni's belligerent late onslaught that they mustered an even half-decent score. The ease with which Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen, who added 114 for the fourth wicket, kept the scoreboard rattling along underlined the difference between the sides on the day.Rahul Dravid's decision to bat raised more than a few eyebrows, especially given the low cloud cover.

Between the 20th and 35th over there was only one boundary and England's change bowlers were able to operate largely unmolested as the innings hit the doldrums. Dimitri Mascarenhas proved almost impossible to get away, taking 3 for 23 in his ten overs from the Pavilion End.Of India's top eight, only Dravid failed to make a start and yet none of them were able to play the commanding innings that was called for. In the end Dhoni, who showed that he was able to do just that, was left with the tail for company. His exciting strokeplay hinted at what might have been but by then India needed fireworks from both ends.

Defending a low total, India's only chance was to bowl England out, and RP Singh gave them a great start by dismissing both openers in his first over, Luke Wright mistiming a pull and Prior steering a catch to Dhoni. At 11 for 2 England, briefly, were on the back foot.Pietersen and Ian Bell, who weathered the onslaught with few alarms then began to open up, but the real damage was done by their running between the wickets which was sharp and risk-free, sapping the fielders' resolve.

The end came quickly in a flurry of fours, and to the delight of those with more than an eye on England's football and rugby sides, Pietersen hit the winning run almost at the moment their games got underway.