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Billed as the "payback series", Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men defeated England with consumate ease in the first two ODIs played in Hyderabad and Delhi. While India thrashed England by 126 runs in the series opener in Hyderabad, the Men in Blue scored an equally emphatic eight-wicket win in the second ODI in New Delhi on Monday. And the young Indian outfit will be keen on maintaining their supremacy over England, who have vastly improved as an ODI team.
Going into Thursday`s day-night encounter, the Indians will also take heart from the fact that they have leapfrogged England to the fourth place in the ICC ODI rankings with the 2-0 lead, and one more win will only further consolidate their position. But come what may, the third ODI promises to be yet another engrossing encounter on a pitch which promises to be a belter with the fast bowlers getting more purchase from it than the spinners.
With a host of seniors, including Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan missing the series due to injuries, it was left up to the young brigade to shoulder the responsibility of the team in the first two matches and they did not disappoint, prompting the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to name an unchanged squad for the remaining three games of the series.
For the visitors, tomorrow`s match is a do-or-die affair as they cannot afford to lose another match in the series. England have faltered in all departments of the game so far in the series and it`s high time that they get their acts together to keep the series alive. This English team is a pale shadow of the one which demolished India at home in this summer but has shown a lot of character in the recent past and is capable of bouncing back anytime in the series.
What has been surprising is England batsmen`s inability to bat 50 overs in the first two matches. It is not that England don`t possess firepower in their bating department but they have lost wickets at regular intervals in both the games. With the likes of captain Alastair Cook, Craig Kieswetter, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara in their ranks, the tourists have a formidable batting line which only needs to click as a unit.
But what has been surprising is that England have left out a solid batsman in Ian Bell from the playing XI in the first two ODIs and going by indications Bell`s inclusion in the team for tomorrows match is almost certain.
England`s bowling too has been ordinary in the series so far. Pace trio of Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach and Tim Bresnan have failed to trouble the Indian batsmen up front which makes it quite clear that the visitors are missing their two leading bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad`s experience in the Indian conditions.
The spin duo of Graeme Swann and Samit Patel also failed to utilize the Indian conditions and proved to be bread and butter for the Indian batsmen in the two games. With the dew likely to play a role in evening, the team which wins the toss might just opt to bowl first and try to take the initial advantage of the Mohali wicket.
