Can England avoid whitewash? (Preview)

What was dubbed as the revenge series for India after the disastrous England tour has exactly gone according to plan. The four games so far have all gone in India’s favour and the way MS Dhoni and his men have operated with clinical efficiency thus far, England would do well to lend some respectability to the 4-0 score line in the last match. While the men in blue have reinforced the notion that they are the hardest team to beat at home especially in limited overs format, England have done nothing to improve their dismal ODI record in recent years.

There is a clear pattern as to why England failed to stop the Indian juggernaut; the batting was not adept enough to post big totals on the Indian pitches, the bowlers didn’t adapt quickly enough and conceded too many runs at crucial junctures and the worst shock has been their fielding. Catches have gone down regularly; even a glove-man of Kieswetter’s class has made frequent mistakes.

Contrarily, India have been better than their opponents in almost all the departments: batting has shone with the likes of Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina scoring runs on a consistent basis, the relatively inexperienced bowling line-up backed up by energetic and lively fielding has stepped in at the right time. Call it home advantage or the effect of coloured clothing, the same Indian outfit which was clobbered in England is dictating terms to their tormentors. It seems a simple role reversal has taken place.

Amidst all this, some new faces have grabbed everyone’s attention. Umesh Yadav looks like one of those rare Indian bowlers who can make a batsman think about his pace. Ajinkye Rahane gives the impression of a solid cricketer ready to serve India for some time. Virat Kohli and Steven Finn, names already known on the international circuit, have also done pretty well. Given that the series is already decided, both teams may want to do some experimentation in the last match, Graham Onions or even Ian Bell may get a game. The hosts might replace Parthiv Patel with Manoj Tiwary.

A white wash in the 50-over format can never compensate a win less tour, yet Indian team will feel lot better if they see a 5-0 scoreline and may be momentarily forget horrors of the English summer. For England, the focus would be to avoid a second successive thrashing in India after they lost the 2008 series 5-0.

India Squad: MS Dhoni (Capt & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkye Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Abhimanyu Mithun, Vinay Kumar, S Aravind, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Praveen Kumar.

England Squad: Alastair Cook (Capt), Jonathan Bairstow, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Tim Bresnan, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Stuart Meaker, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott