India look to finish disastrous tour on a high (Preview)

Though test series turned out to be a no contest in the end with England whitewashing India 4-0, the visitors have fought well in the ODI’s but have nothing to show in the victory column. India’s search for first win on the tour continues. On a couple of occasions, India were in driver’s seat before rain spoiled their party-the most notable being Lord’s ODI where England needed 11 from ball with only two tail-end wickets in hand. And rain came to halt the game for good and India had to contend with a tie thanks to calculations from D/L method. To be fair, luck has deserted India to some extend in the limited overs’ cricket on the tour but take nothing away from the home team though.

Alastair Cook led side, despite having some star names in batting missing, is keen to make a mark in ODI’s which hasn’t been their forte for last decade or so. Head Coach Andy Flower has been long stressing need for England raise their game to different levels in their 50-over cricket as well. And it is showing, a series win against quality Sri Lanka side early this summer has been followed with another win against world champions India. England’s main focus in the last game to be played at Cardiff will be to maintain a clean sheet against India this summer. England haven’t lost to India on this tour in any format and all eyes will be on fifth ODI to see whether MS Dhoni’s men will have to leave Britain without a win or not. This adds some spice to the contest.

One man who must be under spotlight will be Rahul Dravid. India’s batting icon will be donning color clothing for one last time for India to bring an end to illustrious ODI career. The Wall, as he commonly referred as, will be playing test cricket though. For Dravid and his team mates a win be a perfect farewell to the man and end their winless stay in England on a high.

India are highly unlikely to change their eleven that played in Lord’s. All their seamers looked in good rhythm and spin duo of R Ashwin and Ravindu Jadeja should be retained for Cardiff is known for offering assistance to the slow bowlers. The team management might be tempted to field in Varun Aaron-labeled as India’s fastest bowler at the minute.

India would be keen to cut down on high risk shots in the middle overs that have led to the middle order collapses. It would also want its batsmen to make full use of good starts as most of them have thrown their wickets away after doing the hardwork to ward off initial difficulties at the crease.

For India to get off the mark, their need to buck up in all three departments and challenge strong and very confident looking English side. Like India, England have had their fair share of injuries. The latest to join the list is their in-form paceman Stuart Broad who, thanks to his shoulder injury, will be out of action for next six weeks. In all likelihood, left arm spinner Samit Patel will make the cut for he brings extra spin option and some batting prowess in the later order to the set-up. If England want seamer to replace Broad, then Jade Dernbach should be part of the playing eleven for the final ODI.

India will want Cardiff to be spin-friendly and hope their spinners come into play to halt England’s march. England, on other hand, would feel that in Graeme Swan they have the world’s best spinner who has got ability derail any opposition.

As of now, India leaving England without a win is a real possibility. But then, India would want Dravid’s last hurrah in ODI’s memorable one. There can’t be better result than a victory to give the icon a farewell and also save the team from the blushes of being not able to defeat England in any format.

England Squad: Alastair Cook (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter (wk), Samit Patel, Ben Stokes, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott

India Squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Ravindu Jadeja, Ajinkye Rahane, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel (wk), Amit Mishra, R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, S Badrinath.