MATCH: India v England 3rd ODI
DATE: Thursday, October 20, 2011
TIME: 1430 hours local (0930 hours GMT)
VENUE: PCA Stadium, Mohali
India v England 3rd ODI to be played at PCA Stadium in Mohali. To know of India v England 3rd ODI odds, read ahead.
Past Record:
India (8/13 at
Boylesports) have been runaway winners in the first two ODIs of the series and suddenly everyone is talking of how under-prepared England have been away from their home. To be fair to them, their bowlers have not found the length as quickly as one would have expected out of them – they allowed India (11/8 at
SportingBet) to rake up almost 300 in the first game before the hosts chased down 234 in the second with utmost ease against a surprisingly toothless England bowling.
Team News:
If there is one pitch in the country that could assist the English bowlers, it is the one at Mohali, where the slowness of the pitch at the previous two venues will be inconspicuous. Instead, expect the batsmen to have a merry time – and that could dictate the English strategy.
As was in evidence in that well-reported World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan, pace bowlers had a role to play. Ashish Nehra, picked almost out of nowhere delivered the goods and the English pace bowling will take heart from that. Especially after being collared in the first two ODIs of the series. This is where they may not want to make any changes.
Where England might want to look to tweak things around a bit is with their all-rounder Samit Patel, after he has failed to create an impression with the ball. For England to go in with four pace bowling options will be difficult to fathom but Patel could well be replaced by the other spinner, Scott Borthwick.
India will see no reason to change things around but for the second game in a row, one thought that Gautam Gambhir could have batted up the order. Parthiv Patel, who isn’t keeping the wickets given MS Dhoni’s presence in the side, will feel the pressure to get the runs at the top of the order. What will paper over his twin failures is the 2-0 scoreline.
There have been calls for Vinay Kumar’s head from the bowling department, but it was his four-wicket haul at Delhi that made all the difference for them. He would have won over his captain’s confidence for now. There shouldn’t be any change in the bowling line-up either.
Players to look out for
Virat Kohli’s (9/2 at
Victor Chandler) batting class was a talking point in the second ODI, usurped only by his consistent squabble with the English bowlers. He had won that battle hands down. England need their middle-order to get going with a partnership, a chip off the Gambhir-Kohli stand in the second game. Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara (8/1 at
Ladbrokes) could be the key here.
Prediction:
India will be favourites to make it 3-0, extending their home domination over the English.
