Shah's ton in vain as England are trumped

England seemed to have put themselves in the driving seat after Dimitri Mascarenhas thumped five sixes off the last five balls of their innings as Paul Collingwood's team set an unlikely winning target of 317.

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But India's star-studded top order hunted England's bowlers down before allowing their new breed of stars to take over and finish off their prey.

Robin Uthappa, playing his first game of the series, hit the winning runs off the unfortunate Stuart Broad, while Sachin Tendulkar was named man of the match for a breathtaking innings of 94 that rolled back the years.

India deserved their win, but that the likes of Mascarenhas, Owais Shah, who made a brilliant maiden hundred, and England debutant Luke Wright finished on the losing side will feel forever unjust.

Shah batted magnificently, shrugging off an unfortunate run out involving Kevin Pietersen, to rescue England from a position of 137 for five in the 31st over.

Mascarenhas's assault on Yuvraj Singh at the end of the innings was also worthy of a victory in itself, but England must dig deep and go again in what promises to be an enthralling deciding game at Lord's on Saturday.

Several late fumbles in the field ultimately cost England dear, as India edged home with two balls to spare.

In a game packed full of incident, including an unseemly head-to-head between Sourav Ganguly and Broad, England's inexperienced side will have learned an invaluable lesson from the way India chased down the total.

Ganguly was certainly not daunted by England's total. In 2002, he set India on their way with 60 from 43 balls before "doing a Flintoff" by tearing off his shirt to celebrate at the point of victory.

He kept his clothes on at The Oval yesterday, and in conjunction with Tendulkar set off at a rattling pace in search of glory.

The pair put on 150 at better than a run-a-ball as England's shell-shocked young bowlers had no answer to two of the finest ever exponents of one-day cricket.

Ganguly eventually fell to Broad for 53 when he drove loosely to Pietersen at cover, and his opening partner departed six runs later when Monty Panesar deceived the Little Master in the flight and Paul Collingwood took the catch.

A flurry of wickets in the middle of the innings put England back in charge, but Uthappa and Mahendra Singh Dhoni restored parity.

When Dhoni was bowled by Broad for 35 to leave India 294 for five, they still needed 23 from the last two overs. Ajit Agarkar was run out in a comical mix-up that ended with James Anderson throwing down the stumps.

With 10 needed from the final over, the game still hung in the balance and despite another run out, Uthappa kept his nerve to crash two successive boundaries and carry India home.

That England were in any position to make a fight of it in the first place was down to Shah, Wright and Mascarenhas.

Wright, playing only because of injuries to Andrew Flintoff and Ravi Bopara, looked to the manner born after coming to the crease with England wobbling after Pietersen's needless run out when Shah sent him back.

Pietersen was the second England batsman to be involved in a run out after skipper Collingwood, who was involved in a bizarre mix-up that ended with the correct decision, if not the due process.

Collingwood was clearly out of his ground when substitute fielder Gautam Gambhir made a direct hit, but umpire Peter Hartley chose not to give him out.

Once the big screen replays revealed his mistake, Hartley referred the decision to the third umpire, and Collingwood was sent on his way.

No matter, Pietersen and Collingwood's departures allowed Shah and Wright, 22, to strut their stuff.

After a shaky start that saw the Sussex all-rounder take eight balls to get off the mark, Wright soon found his feet to cut and drive India's spinners to distraction.

His 106-run partnership with Shah was all the more impressive for England's parlous state when the pair came together.

Shah, too, showed impressive temperament to forget about Pietersen's dismissal and score a maiden one-day international hundred, in his 25th game, full of wristy flicks and clever deflections into the leg side.

Shah was the third England batsman to be run out, bringing Mascarenhas to the crease to light up The Oval. But it proved to be in vain as India's batters showed their class.