JOIN USIndians aim to clinch series
An unassailable lead in their pocket, India would look to clinch the one-day series against England by putting up another dominating display when the two sides square off in the fourth match here on Tuesday.
The visitors have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series after 133-run (D/L) and six-wicket wins in Cardiff and Nottingham in the second and third ODIs respectively. The first ODI at Bristol was abandoned due to incessant rain.
At Edgbaston then, the Men in Blue will be hoping to wrap things up with one match remaining in the series. Their confidence will stem from the simple fact that England have been unable to challenge them in the two matches played so far. On current evidence, in limited-overs cricket, the hosts appear to be a completely different animal that takes the field as compared to the Tests. Like every other team they too are building up to the 2015 World Cup in Australia-New Zealand, but they are beset with problems.
A lot of quarters have criticised Alastair Cook’s batting at the top of the order but along with Alex Hales, he has put up two fifty partnerships in two games.
That isn’t the trouble though. His captaincy has been under the scanner and while the 3-1 Test series win helped silence his critics, even his closest supporters -- read Graeme Swann -- do not believe that he should lead his country in the World Cup. Cook’s captaincy is quite unimaginative in the sense that he doesn’t feel the need to play two off-spinners in the same eleven.
This conventional thinking has always been England’s downfall in limited-overs cricket, and that is the summation of their problems.
Does this mean India’s upswing in form in last two ODIs is a miscalculation? It could be, since this same team struggled a lot in South Africa and New Zealand, wherein conditions were more similar to the ones that will be prevailing in the quadrennial event next year.
India’s openers found it tough to get starts against more disciplined bowling attacks. The middle order couldn’t take the subsequent pressure and only Virat Kohli and Dhoni himself were among the runs in New Zealand.
Here, the former’s poor run-of-form has been shaded by the Indian success riding on others’ shoulders.
India’s own World Cup plans have been hit by Rohit Sharma’s finger injury. This is their last overseas ODI assignment before the tri-series in Australia later in January, a dress rehearsal for their title defence.