4th ODI, Edgbaston
Birmingham: 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 cricket one-dayer 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.
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.
Pressure on Cook
On current evidence, in limited-overs cricket, the hosts appear to be a completely different animal that takes the field in the Test arena. 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 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. However, that is done and dusted, he will do so, and England’s problems mount from there.
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.
Meanwhile, 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.
As such they would have wanted Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan to play all these five matches. While one is out injured, the latter is struggling to string together any semblance of form.
It is an intriguing problem for India. Ajinkya Rahane has often stepped in as part-timer opener but when both Rohit and Dhawan have been selected, he has batted at number four.
At Trent Bridge, the think-rank opted for their part-time arrangement and moved Rahane up again. It afforded Ambati Rayudu another opportunity, and he responded with a career-best 64 not out.
Meanwhile, Murali Vijay has joined the team as Rohit’s replacement and it becomes an interesting selection headache, one with long-term implications.
If Vijay doesn’t play, will that mean Rahane is the firm third-choice opener for the World Cup? If Vijay does play, is he the alternate opener for Australia-New Zealand in 2015 then?
All these questions and many more are waiting to be answered. (PTI)