INDIA beat England by 16 runs in a match curtailed by bad light to take a 3-0 lead in their seven-game one-day cricket series in Kanpur, India, on Thursday.

India was 198-5 after 40 overs when the umpires decided that no more play was possible, giving it a victory under the Duckworth-Lewis system for deciding matches affected by adverse weather.

England was bowled out for 240 with two balls of its 49 overs unused. The match was delayed for 45 minutes and reduced from the usual 50 overs because of smog early in the day.

“Some of our batters got in, but it would have been good to go on and get a century,’’ England captain Kevin Pietersen said at the post-match presentation. “We haven’t done that in this series. There’s still four matches to go, you just never know.’’

England, which lost by 158 runs and 54 runs in the first two games, must now win all the remaining matches to take a series victory. The next match is in Bangalore on Nov. 23.

England reacted to its earlier losses by promoting all-rounder Ravi Bopara to open its innings. The Essex player responded by top-scoring with 60 — his best one-day international total.

(SD-Agencies)