Fourth ODI, Lord's: India 280-5, England 270-8; match tied (D/L method)

Ravi Bopara left frustrated as England tie with India to win series

• Essex batsman hits 96 before being caught in the deep
• Match ends in tie on Duckworth/Lewis method at Lord's
Ravi Bopara walks off after hitting 96 for England against India
Ravi Bopara walks off after hitting 96 for England against India, although he was left frustrated with the result. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

Nothing has come easily for Ravi Bopara during his international career. England had won the one-day series against India and Bopara's highest one-day score had paved the way. It should have been the cause for celebration but he looked deflated. "I am down that I didn't finish the game. I want to win games for England not tie games for England."

As Bopara conceded, "the bigger picture is that we've won the series" but the picture embedded on his mind was that of Ravindra Jadeja pedalling back at deep midwicket to hold the catch that stopped him achieving the boundary that would have brought him his first ODI hundred.

As Bopara walked off, the heavens opened for the last time and the Rain Gods of Duckworth and Lewis, who will surely spend eternity perched on a threatening black cloud, devising arithmetical tables, further ruled that Bopara had failed to win the match. Life will always be like that for him, one fancies. He has played 63 ODIs and he could play 200 more without ever being certain if he has made the grade.

Alastair Cook, his England captain and Essex team‑mate, was on hand to offer supportive words. "It's difficult enough trying to keep your nerve in normal circumstances," he said. "On days like this you end up batting against Duckworth Lewis ball by ball and the way Ravi and Graeme Swann set about it was fantastic."

Bopara did not feel fantastic; Bopara felt drained. Two metres short of fulfilment is no fulfilment at all. "I never quite knew when to accelerate with big black clouds lurking round the back of the stand. I knew over by over what we needed if it rained, not ball by ball. It gets too confusing if you look after every ball.

"The main thing out there is still to watch the ball. When Swanny got out I wasn't going to take any chances by just knocking it about. I was just trying to finish the game as soon as I could. I took on the shot and it didn't come off. He [Jadeja] looked very casual but he just sort of backtracked and when he was about 15 yards away I knew he was going to get a hand on it. I just hoped he'd put it down."

England were ahead during the first rain stoppage and had little appetite to play on; India were ahead during the second stoppage and suddenly they were content to call it a day. Cook and his opposite number, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, agreed that it was the nature of things and that the umpires had managed it as well as they could.

"We saw the ugly side of cricket," Dhoni said. "Whichever team has the upper hand doesn't want to play. The other team would even play football if it gave a chance of the result changing. That's what people do — that's just the nature of cricket. Both the sides did that. At the end, some of our guys were confused and thought we had won it. Some had no idea what was going on."

Cook confirmed that Stuart Broad was heading for a scan on a triceps injury but would not be drawn on whether he expected to captain England, if Broad is unfit, in two Twenty20s against West Indies at The Oval this week.

"We will cross those bridges when they arrive," he said. "Stuart will go for a scan tomorrow and we will see how it settles down in the next couple of days. He was padded up and had taken a few painkillers but I'm not sure how much use he would have been."

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