England tour of India: 4th ODI Preview, Team news and Match Timing

The Indian cricket team will look to redeem itself by taking a 3-1 lead post the 4th ODI and hence, cinching the series. The two consecutive wins thus far will go a long way in bagging the 4th ODI.

The team seems to have finally found its footing after a series of disappointing performances, to say the least and will hope to sustain the improvement as it heads to the end of the series.

The young and inexperienced bowlers have been far too impressive and the seemingly hopeless form of the top order batsmen appears to be improving.

England will be under immense pressure as they desperately need the win at Mohali to level the series and to avoid a series defeat in what promises to be an exciting match.

Although India has the lead, there are still certain areas of concern that have to be addressed. The opening has been rather choppy as Gambhir never managed an impressive knock and Ajinkya Rahane got out cheaply every time. The opening never contributed significantly. The option of have Cheteshwar Pujara replacing Rahane is still out there but sentiments would twist the selectors’ arm into retaining Gambhir and Rahane as the duo have been a part of the two match winning squad. Besides, Pujara would require a longer stretch to regain his form.

Ravindra Jadeja cast a shadow upon England as he has been simply superb with the ball and bat. He was the all rounder that India desperately needed to maintain some semblance of stability in the team. One only hopes that he does not fizzle out like the most players. Skipper Dhoni will be particularly pleased with this find as the new restrictions have limited the number of overs that can be awarded to fairly seasoned bowlers such as Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina.

Kohli smashed an unbeaten 77 in the last game in Ranchi and will feel a lot more confident and relaxed when he takes guard at the Mohali track which is expected to offer something for the quick bowlers, particularly when the ball is new.

Yuvraj Singh has looked in fine nick in the brief cameos that he has played but will be looking for a big knock while captain Dhoni, who has been in red hot form right through the series, will hope to carry on.

In the bowling department, paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shami Ahmed have been impressive but Ishant Sharma has proved to be quite inconsistent and expensive. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had a good outing in Ranchi.

England have numerous issues to tackle as both the bowling and batting have suffered a severe slump in form.

England`s batsmen have struggled to counter the Indian spinners. Kumar and Ahmed have managed to make early inroads from which the Englishmen have not been able to recover in the last two matches.

But Cook reckons his team has enough quality to fightback and restore balance in the series.

Teams:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c and wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Shami Ahmed, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara Amit Mishra and Ashok Dinda.

England: Alastair Cook (c), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Craig Kieswetter (wk), Samit Patel, Chris Woakes, James Tredwell, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Stuart Meaker.

Match will start at noon on 23rd January at PCA Stadium, Mohali.

Tags: Dhoni, England, EPL, India, Pele, Preview, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj

Category: Cricket