England vs India 3rd ODI Preview: Team India needs to fight back

Can he turn the tables??!!

Just less than 3 weeks ago, India faced one the most humiliating series defeats in history and surely the most humiliating one in recent times. It was in Oval, where Dhoni’s men lost to the determined and talented England by an innings and 8 runs, to hand them a whitewash. And now Dhoni’s men return to the venue at London to redeem atleast a little bit of their lost pride. This team has a completely new look and more than half of the first choice players left back to India because of injuries. This team is depleted even when compared to the deliberate second-string team sent to the Caribbean less than 2 months ago.

The first ODI brought out a good performance by the Indians for the first time on this disastrous tour. But as it has happened for India at every step since their arrival onto the English soil 3 months back, nothing went the right way, and the rain played spoilsport in what would have been the tourists’s maiden victory. The 2nd ODI was all but washed out ending in a 23-over encounter. A decision by the English thinktank to drop Jonathan Trott to accomodate Samit Patel to suit the shortened game was really a bold one. And Cook’s decision to bowl first must have created a lot of butterflies with the Indians going off to a flyer ending up with a competitive total of 188. But the hosts make a mockery of the Indian “pace” attack winning the game with utmost ease.

The match on 9th September is going to be a real challenge for Dhoni as a captain. He has to marshall his resources well and get the best XI to play the match. Dhoni has been persisting with the 7-4 combination, but this time he might want to reconsider that. The Indian bowlers have been exceptionally awful and have shown very little promise throughout the series. Ravichandran Ashwin, from whom a lot was expected after his bowling in IPL, has been terribly off-color, bowling with poor line and length. It reminded many of the line Harbhajan bowled throughout the test series. It will be interesting to see if Dhoni takes a bold decision in playing 5 frontline bowlers and consider Varun Aaron in the scheme of things. India have really not benefited from their 7th batsman in recent times. It might help if someone like Yusuf Pathan filled the No.7 spot,but the selectors have become cranky over the last 2-3 weeks bringing in a lot of horrid replacements.

Showing Great Promise

The brightest thing in the last 2 ODIs and the T20 that was seriously missing in the test matches for India is that the openers have clicked really well. The left-right combination of Parthiv Patel and Ajinkiya Rahane has been really fruitful for the World Champions. Patel seems to have made his strongest comeback to the international side. His knocks of 95 in the first ODI and 29 in the 2nd, showed a lot of character. The sheer confidence in his strokes made Bresnan, Broad and Anderson look as mere bowlers and not the fearful stuff that they were made to look as in the test series. Rahane on the other hand,with his amazing technique, style, elegance and adaption to the international scene, has been more than a handful. His six off Broad in the 2nd ODI clearly showed he belonged to this level and would stay put for quite sometime.

Dravid has shown why he is the best player for all situations. He has shown he is never too old to leave the game and is fit for all the formats.Kohli has really not got going and him being such a great fighter,a fabulous knock is definitely on the cards.Raina and Dhoni have played the brutal cricket they are known for in the shorter form of the game. Dhoni should understand that it is sometimes ok if Dravid or Kohli do not get to play in their assigned positions if the game demands it. Ashwin should look to play more positively with the bat and not throw his wicket by mad running.

Dhoni’s captaincy has come under scrutiny with the bowling changes in the T20 match and the 2nd ODI. It will be interesting to see how he shuffles his bowlers during the 50-over course. The captain’s worries kept increasing when his two most dependable bowlers, Praveen Kumar and Ashwin,were disappointing in the match at Southampton. When the Indian skipper has very little options for his 5th bowler, the problem increases manifold when half of the front-line bowlers do not perform to their potential. Varun Aaron might be a refreshing change to the slow Indian attack. He has proved he can bowl real fast and has told would not reduce his pace as it is his strength.

It is going to be a daunting task for the Indian team to smell a victory in the 3rd ODI. But this is going to be their only chance to seize the series as the lone winners. The optimism seen in the young players should continue. The most versatile captain for India so far has been tested and will be tested more in the games to come. He has to hold his cool as he has done throughout his the time he has led Indian Cricket team. India is definitely capable and the fans are expecting a win on the tour.The Indian team needs to show the world that it is not a cakewalk to reach the pinnacle and they deserve to be there for long. For that to happen, India should play to their best.