England beaten in practice match

England siffered a crushing 124-run defeat against Mumbai in their last practice match before ODI series against India at Mumbai today. Chasing a modest 223 to win, England folded up for just 98 runs in 25 overs. Fast bowler Kshemal Waingankar was the wrecker-in-chief for the local side with a five-wicket haul. Waingankar, along with fellow pacer RP Verma (2/12), ripped through the England top-order. Ian bell (6), Matt Prior (3), Skipper Kevin Pietersen (0) and Paul Collingwood failed to touch even the double digit mark. Soon, the visitors were reduced to six for 38 and had it not been some resistance by off-spinner Graeme Swann (unbeaten 24) and James Anderson (20), England innings would have suffered more ignominy. Earlier, S Marathe (65) hit a brilliant half-century for the hosts and shared a 91-run stand with opener PC Valthaty (44) to provide his side a steady, if not, speedy start. Brief scores: MCA XI: 222 for seven in 50 overs (S Marathe 65, P Valthaty 44, S Harmison 2/38, S Patel 2/50) beat England: 98 all out in 25 overs (G Swann 24 n.o, J anderson 20: K Waigankar 5/37, R Shaikh 3/35).