England End India Tour On Winning Note

England End India Tour On Winning Note

Kevin Pietersen (left) scored a half-century as England beat India in Kolkata

©REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri (INDIA - Tags: SPORT CRICKET) Picture Supplied by Action Images

England 121-4 (Pietersen 53) beat
India 120-9 (Raina 39) by six wickets
Twenty20 International, Kolkata
Scorecard

England ended their dismal tour of India on a winning note by clinching a six-wicket win in the one-off Twenty20 International at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Kevin Pietersen defied a fractured thumb to score a fine half-century as England overcame India's score of 120 for nine with eight balls to spare.

On a slow track, India packed their side with batsmen and all-rounders but still failed to post a competitive score as Steven Finn returned three for 23, Tim Bresnan two for 19 and Ravi Bopara two for 16.

Samit Patel also took a wicket as only Suresh Raina (39 in 29 balls) and Ravichandran Ashwin (17 not out in 11) were able to dominate the bowling for any length of time.

Robin Uthappa made just one on his return to international cricket while Ajinkya Rahane's first Twenty20 International on home soil saw him fail to score while Ravindra Jadeja and Praveen Kumar also registered ducks.

In reply, Alex Hales (11) and Craig Kieswetter (12) gave England a good start but it needed Pietersen's stroke-filled 53 in 39 balls to put them into a winning position.

He hit five fours and three sixes before he was trapped in front by Raina but innings of 21 from Samit Patel, 14 not out from Bopara and two not out from Jonathan Bairstow were enough to ensure England took the spoils.

© Cricket World 2011