England v India

At Lord's, September 5. India won by 23 runs. Toss: India. One-day international debut: K. D. Karthik.

India ended a run of four defeats and a washout with an overdue, if not wholly convincing, victory. They limped past 200 thanks to a 93-run stand between Ganguly and the unflappable Dravid, who were alone in passing 14. Ganguly, occasionally at his lordly best, made 90, as he needed to after running out Kaif, the only Indian batsman in decent touch, for two. (If a call from Denis Compton was "the basis for negotiation", a shout from Ganguly is surely no more than talks about talks.) Harmison did most damage with a limited-overs career-best four for 22, while Gough became the first England bowler to 200 one-day international wickets when he removed Harbhajan Singh. Needing a fraction more than four an over, England, having won their last 13 games batting second, were clear favourites, but not at 62 for six. A partnership of 92 between Vaughan, putting a run of paltry one-day scores behind him, and Giles kept the game alive, though they were always behind the rate. Vaughan's innings was eventually ended by an acrobatic legside stumping by the 19-year-old debutant Dinesh Karthik and England - sorely missing Flintoff, who was with his girlfriend for the birth of their first child - were heading for defeat. Flintoff got a result, though: a daughter called Holly.

Man of the Match: S. C. Ganguly. Attendance: 25,529; receipts £785,575. Man of the Series: S. J. Harmison.