Bell strikes 79 to take England to 281 for eight

BIRMINGHAM, England, Aug 27 (Reuters) Ian Bell anchored the England innings again today to take the home side to 281 for eight in the third one-day international against India at Edgbaston.

Bell struck 79 from 89 deliveries, including two sixes, to ensure England reached a competitive total after Rahul Dravid had won the toss and elected to field.

England raced to 76 in the first 14 overs. Matt Prior (34 from 40 balls) again got a start but failed to carry on and the introduction of spinners Ramesh Powar and Piyush Chawla soon accounted for Alastair Cook (40) and an unusually hesitant Kevin Pietersen (9).

Cook swept too soon at off-spinner Powar and was caught at square-leg by Yuvraj Singh while Pietersen was adroitly stumped by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, pushing forward at a looping delivery from 20-year-old leg-spinner Chawla.

Captain Paul Collingwood helped Bell steady the innings with 44 from 53 balls before he was caught off Powar from an ugly reverse sweep. Collingwood had been fortunate to survive a confident lbw appeal from part-time left-arm spinner Singh.

Owais Shah (19 from 15 balls), Stuart Broad (10 runs from 11) and Chris Tremlett (19 from nine) swung effectively in the latter stages of the innings against the pace bowlers.

Powar finished with two for 45 from his 10 overs while 20-year-old leg-spinner Chawla took one for 50.

England all-rounders Andrew Flintoff and Dimitri Mascarenhas were both ruled out of the game through injury.

Flintoff injured a knee fielding in the second one-dayer while Mascarenhas took a blow on his hand during the warm-up. They were replaced by Shah and left-arm spinner Monty Panesar.

Left-arm pace bowler Zaheer Khan replaced Ajit Agarkar in the India side. The seven-match series is tied 1-1.

Reuters BJR GC1906