INDORE: India set 293-run target for England the second One day international today at Maharani Usharaje Trust Cricket Ground, Indore.Just when England's bowlers seemed to exercise control over India's powerful batting line-up, they were once again attacked by Yuvraj Singh, who scored his second hundred of the series in Indore. England were decidedly on top early in the game, having reduced India to 29 for 3, but the hosts recovered despite the difficult batting conditions through a brisk partnership of 134 between Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj.England tried to salvage the situation towards the end of the innings by dismissing Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj just as India were beginning to go for broke. They conceded only 37 off India's Powerplay, taken between the 43rd and 48th over, but were assaulted by Yusuf Pathan, whose late surge included brutal hits over the long-on and midwicket boundaries. Pathan reached 50 off 29 balls, his maiden ODI half-century, and scored 18 off the final over. India ended with 292 for 9, leaving England with a tough task to win their 500th ODI.Dhoni had said after winning the toss that it was difficult to predict a good total on this pitch but added that it was definitely not a 380 to 400 surface. This pitch, unlike the batting paradise in Rajkot, was two-paced and had variable bounce. Several deliveries reached Matt Prior on the second bounce, while others surprised batsmen with sudden lift. Driving and hitting through the line - a feature of several innings in Rajkot - was hard, for the speed at which ball came on to bat was slower than the batsmen expected. There was spin as well for Kevin Pietersen, who turned the ball across the left-handers from leg stump.Stuart Broad used the conditions cleverly, holding his length back and getting the ball to move into the right-hander, and was rewarded with three wickets in his first spell. Virender Sehwag, who had survived an inside edge off James Anderson in the first over, played too early and dragged one on to his stumps; Suresh Raina closed the face of his bat too early and got a leading edge to square leg; Rohit Sharma, promoted ahead of Yuvraj to keep the right-left combination going, was early on the hook and offered an easy catch to square leg.India's situation bordered on dire when Yuvraj began his innings in the eighth over and he got a lifter from Broad straightaway. He hit his stride in the next over from Andrew Flintoff, glancing a no-ball off his pads to four and pulling the free hit into the stands at midwicket. Those couple of balls seemed to settle him down and thereafter he placed a flurry of pulls and drives into gaps in the outfield to give the innings direction.Partnering Yuvraj was Gambhir, who grasped the nature of the pitch early and played accordingly. He rarely went hard at the ball and did not play away from the body. His offside options were restricted because of a strong field but he did not get bogged down, instead nudging and pushing for runs while waiting for the boundary opportunity. England, and Anderson in particular, bowled several deliveries on leg stump which Gambhir flicked to find the boundary either side of the fielder at long leg. His confidence grew and he eventually stepped out to Steve Harmison and lofted towards the deep square leg boundary.India scored only 57 off the first 14 overs but Yuvraj and Gambhir took 106 off the next 16. Gambhir reached his half-century off 56 balls, brought up 1000 runs in 2008, and left England ruing a missed run-out opportunity off the very first ball off the match. Yuvraj took longer to reach his fifty - 61 balls - but his next 61 balls produced 66 runs as he attacked England's weaker bowlers. There was no trace of the back injury that had troubled him in Rajkot as Yuvraj peppered the leg-side with 12 out of his 17 boundaries
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