M A I N   N E W S

Run riot in Bangalore, no one hurt

Bangalore, February 27
A sloppy India got their act together in the nick of time to escape with a dramatic tie against a spirited England in a nerve-wracking World Cup league match here today.

The Indians rode on Sachin Tendulkar's (120) record fifth World Cup century to pile up 338 all out but a heroic batting display by England captain Andrew Strauss (158) and some toothless bowling allowed England to leave the match tied at a jam-packed Chinnaswamy Stadium.

With 14 needed off the last over bowled by Munaf Patel, Graeme Swann collected three runs before Ahmal Shahzad sent the bowler straight down the ground for a six. That reduced the difference as England needed five off three, and then two off the last delivery. Swann drove the final ball but could not clear mid-off as the match, which saw two magnificent knocks, came to a thrilling end.

The 37-year-old Tendulkar provided the sparks in a scintillating Indian batting display. It was vintage stuff by Tendulkar as he unleashed 10 boundaries and five sixes in his 115-ball 120 to lay the platform for the Indian onslaught.

Tendulkar's milestone moment came in the 35th over when he glanced Tin Bresnan to the boundary to record his fifth World Cup ton, surpassing former India captain Sourav Ganguly, current Australia captain Ricky Ponting and his former teammate Mark Waugh who had four hundreds to their credit. But things took a dramatic turn with England making a strong reply. — Agencies