In deteriorating light, Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan (12 not out) played smart cricket to keep the team ahead in the Duckworth-Lewis chart before bad light interrupted match.

Earlier, for the first time in the series, England got off to a strong, if not spectacular, start with the Bell-Bopara duo raising 79 runs for the first wicket inside 15 overs.

It was a marked improvement by the visitors, considering the fact that the opening stand had yielded 12 and six runs respectively, in the last two matches.

With Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel maintaining a claustrophobic line, runs were not easy to come by, let alone boundaries. To their credit, Bopara and Bell did not panic.

The run rate was nothing to write home about but England crossed the 50-mark in 11 overs without any loss. Bell greeted the erratic Ishant Sharma with two boundaries in the first over, upsetting his rhythm by repeatedly stepping out of the crease.

With Bell on song, Bopara also chimed in. The Essex player proved the perfect foil for his partner and helped himself to occasional boundaries, including a couple of streaky ones.