England take series lead

Cricket : England made light of the absence of Andrew Flintoff to defeat India by 42 runs in the third NatWest Series contest…

Cricket: England made light of the absence of Andrew Flintoff to defeat India by 42 runs in the third NatWest Series contest at Edgbaston.

All-rounder Flintoff was ruled out due to a knee injury but Paul Collingwood's team went 2-1 ahead in the seven-match campaign nevertheless.

Ian Bell top-scored for the third consecutive one-day international, hitting 79 on his home ground, and some good catching from England meant 281 for eight was plenty.

India appeared to be marginal favourites, despite the sizeable target, when Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly both struck half-centuries in a 104-run stand for the third wicket.

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But Chris Tremlett returned from the city end and removed both in quick succession.

Any glimmer of hope for the tourists was snuffed out when Yuvraj Singh (45) was run out in a mix-up with Zaheer Khan.