ID :
31701
Sat, 11/22/2008 - 22:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/31701
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India hoping to clinch series by taking 4-0 lead
Bangalore, Nov 22 (PTI) After three straight wins, India
will seek to clinch the series by going for the kill in the
fourth cricket one-dayer against England here Sunday with a
batting line-up strengthened by the return of an in-form
Sachin Tendulkar.
India need to win just one more match to wrap up the
seven-match series and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his
bravehearts will be eager to maintain their winning sequence
in the floodlit encounter at the Chinaswamy stadium.
The visitors, on the other hand, have been left with the
daunting task of winning four matches in a row to clinch the
series and it appears extremely unlkely that they would be
able to stop the Indian juggernaut.
The return of Tendulkar has no doubt made the Indian
batting line-up more formidable but it would also force the
hosts to tinker with the batting order.
Tendulkar had been rested for the first three matches of
the series after playing in all the four Tests against
Australia and it remains to be seen whether he will open the
innings with Virender Sehwag.
It will be a tough decision for the Indian team
management as making Tendulkar open the innings would mean
tinkering with the highly successful opening pair of Sehwag
and Gautam Gambhir.
In case Tendulkar opens, the left-handed Gambhir, who is
in very good form, may come in to bat at the number three
slot.
For Tendulkar, it will be his first one-dayer in eight
months having played his last match against Australia in
Brisbane in March this year.
The champion batsman gave glimpses of his vintage form in
the recent Tests series against Australia and will be keen to
make his presence felt after the short break.
The Indian selectors have also brought back paceman Irfan
Pathan into the ODI squad but it appears unlikely that he
would get a chance to play Sunday with Zaheer Khan, Ishant
Sharma and Munaf Patel having bowled well.
The form of Yuvraj Singh, who has cracked two centuries
already, has been the heartening feature of the Indian batting
line-up and the hard-hitting middle order batsman will have to
fire again if the hosts want to clinch the series tomorrow
itself.
It has been smooth sailing for the Men in Blue so far
in the series but India can't afford to relax and must guard
against complacency.
On other hand, there is a lot at stake for the visitors,
who need more than an inspirational performance to turn things
around in the series.
England have a predominatly pace-oriented attack which
has not made much of an impact on the slow tracks. They have
now realised that an all-pace attack cannot do the trick and
will have to include at least one specialist spinner in their
playing eleven.
Captain Kevin Pietersen is likely to turn to off-spinner
Graeme Swann to not only stem the run flow but also get the
wickets of the Indian batsmen who are known to be good players
of spin, particularly at home.
England's batting has also been quite disappointing with
none of the top order batsmen being able to get the big
knocks. It's a crunch time and there is no denying that it's
a make-or-break situation for the visitors.
Time has come for England's bowlers to innovate, readjust
quickly, bring some variations in the attack and get a spark
or two to check the Indians who are in full flow.
The desperate and struggling tourists, hard-pressed as
they were, would also look to stop their tormentor Yuvraj,
whose batting and bowling have been a nightmare of a kind for
them.
England can, however, take comfort from the fact that the
third match at Kanpur was not a loss of face after two heavy
defeats in the first two one-dayers.
They may feel that the team was done in by the
Duckworth-Lewis system in Kanpur and may have robbed it of a
win, but the fact remains that Dhoni's men were also fancying
their chances as it was an achievable target.
What would make things a bit more difficult is that
unlike the first three matches, tomorrow's fixture is a
day-night affair and the Chinnaswamy Stadium promises to be a
batting paradise.
"It's a sportive wicket, which should assist the batsmen
more than the bowlers. The ball will come on to the bat nicely
although the first session might help some bowlers," said
pitch curator Narayan Raju.
Teams (from):
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag,
Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma,
Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan,
Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Virat Kohli, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan
Patel.
England: Kevin Pieternsen (capt), Ian Bell, Matt Prior,
Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara, Andrew Flintoff,
Samit Patel, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann.
Hours of play: 2 pm to 5.30 pm, 6.15 pm to 9.45 pm. PTI
will seek to clinch the series by going for the kill in the
fourth cricket one-dayer against England here Sunday with a
batting line-up strengthened by the return of an in-form
Sachin Tendulkar.
India need to win just one more match to wrap up the
seven-match series and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his
bravehearts will be eager to maintain their winning sequence
in the floodlit encounter at the Chinaswamy stadium.
The visitors, on the other hand, have been left with the
daunting task of winning four matches in a row to clinch the
series and it appears extremely unlkely that they would be
able to stop the Indian juggernaut.
The return of Tendulkar has no doubt made the Indian
batting line-up more formidable but it would also force the
hosts to tinker with the batting order.
Tendulkar had been rested for the first three matches of
the series after playing in all the four Tests against
Australia and it remains to be seen whether he will open the
innings with Virender Sehwag.
It will be a tough decision for the Indian team
management as making Tendulkar open the innings would mean
tinkering with the highly successful opening pair of Sehwag
and Gautam Gambhir.
In case Tendulkar opens, the left-handed Gambhir, who is
in very good form, may come in to bat at the number three
slot.
For Tendulkar, it will be his first one-dayer in eight
months having played his last match against Australia in
Brisbane in March this year.
The champion batsman gave glimpses of his vintage form in
the recent Tests series against Australia and will be keen to
make his presence felt after the short break.
The Indian selectors have also brought back paceman Irfan
Pathan into the ODI squad but it appears unlikely that he
would get a chance to play Sunday with Zaheer Khan, Ishant
Sharma and Munaf Patel having bowled well.
The form of Yuvraj Singh, who has cracked two centuries
already, has been the heartening feature of the Indian batting
line-up and the hard-hitting middle order batsman will have to
fire again if the hosts want to clinch the series tomorrow
itself.
It has been smooth sailing for the Men in Blue so far
in the series but India can't afford to relax and must guard
against complacency.
On other hand, there is a lot at stake for the visitors,
who need more than an inspirational performance to turn things
around in the series.
England have a predominatly pace-oriented attack which
has not made much of an impact on the slow tracks. They have
now realised that an all-pace attack cannot do the trick and
will have to include at least one specialist spinner in their
playing eleven.
Captain Kevin Pietersen is likely to turn to off-spinner
Graeme Swann to not only stem the run flow but also get the
wickets of the Indian batsmen who are known to be good players
of spin, particularly at home.
England's batting has also been quite disappointing with
none of the top order batsmen being able to get the big
knocks. It's a crunch time and there is no denying that it's
a make-or-break situation for the visitors.
Time has come for England's bowlers to innovate, readjust
quickly, bring some variations in the attack and get a spark
or two to check the Indians who are in full flow.
The desperate and struggling tourists, hard-pressed as
they were, would also look to stop their tormentor Yuvraj,
whose batting and bowling have been a nightmare of a kind for
them.
England can, however, take comfort from the fact that the
third match at Kanpur was not a loss of face after two heavy
defeats in the first two one-dayers.
They may feel that the team was done in by the
Duckworth-Lewis system in Kanpur and may have robbed it of a
win, but the fact remains that Dhoni's men were also fancying
their chances as it was an achievable target.
What would make things a bit more difficult is that
unlike the first three matches, tomorrow's fixture is a
day-night affair and the Chinnaswamy Stadium promises to be a
batting paradise.
"It's a sportive wicket, which should assist the batsmen
more than the bowlers. The ball will come on to the bat nicely
although the first session might help some bowlers," said
pitch curator Narayan Raju.
Teams (from):
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag,
Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma,
Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan,
Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Virat Kohli, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan
Patel.
England: Kevin Pieternsen (capt), Ian Bell, Matt Prior,
Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara, Andrew Flintoff,
Samit Patel, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann.
Hours of play: 2 pm to 5.30 pm, 6.15 pm to 9.45 pm. PTI
