Pune: Sam Curran's fighting knock (95*) went in vain as India beat England by 7 runs in the third and final ODI, to clinch series 2-1, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, here on Sunday.
Invited to bat first, brilliant half-centuries by Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya took India to a challenging total of 329 in 50 overs despite losing wickets at regular intervals.
Rishabh Pant top-scored with 78 off 62 balls while Hardik Pandya (64 off 44) and Shikhar Dhawan (67 off 56) also scored half-centuries for India, before India lost their last four wickets for a mere eight runs in last few overs.
For England, Mark Wood was the most successful bowler with figures of 3 for 34 while Adil Rashid took two wickets.
In reply, Sam Curran put up a brave fight for England as he hammered 95 runs in 83 balls to take the visitors close to a win, which once looked improbable.
However, young T Natarajan (1/73) held his nerve to bowl a superb last over to restrict England to 322/9 in 50 overs and ensure that the hosts ended the tour by winning in all three formats.
For the hosts, Shardul (4/67) and Bhuvneshwar (3/42) also shined with the ball.
Brief Scores:
India: 329 all out in 48.2 overs (Rishabh Pant 78, Shikhar Dhawan 67, Hardik Pandya 64; Mark Wood 3/34).
England: 322 for 9 in 50 overs (Sam Curran 95 not out; Shardul Thakur 4/67, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/42). (UNI)
