A demoralized India would be greatly looking for a win when they take on England in the second match of the
ODI series today.
The tourists have been decimating by injury and hard-done by the weather-gods in the opening one-dayer, the world champions will be eager to list their first win against England this summer.
MS Dhoni's men were in a good place to win the first one-day international on Saturday before rain played spoilsport but there was sufficient from the game for India to get involved in its bench strength.
But the match also bring fresh injury concern for India as
Sachin Tendulkar, who had a flare-up of an old toe injury and
Rohit Sharma, with a cracked index finger, were totally ruled out of the series.
On the positive side, openers
Parthiv Patel and
Ajinkya Rahane caught the eye right away and made England`s pace battery wait for the first get through longer than they have all through the summer.
Vinay Kumar, in the little he bowled, also showed good control.
India would be look to add
Ravinder Jadeja in the mix in the day-night fixture a cricketer they expect to give his bit in all three departments of the game.
Jadeja is primarily known for his miserly left-arm spin bowling and sharp fielding in the ring. He also showed promise with the bat in the last
Indian Premier League (IPL).
Still, he would be a poor man`s
Yuvraj Singh in the line-up as his last 10 international matches for India have shaped only 87 runs.
In the present scenario, one can`t be too critical of Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s men as most of their top stars are on the upset list
India presently has a frightful record with injuries as only four of their
World Cup winning squad are left standing on their feet Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Munaf Patel.
It is thus difficult to expect them to strike the winning chord and the tag of being world champions isn`t much of a help.
The key for India will be to bat in the same forceful manner as they did at
Chester-Le-Street even though batting in cold conditions, especially if it`s under floodlights, could be a difficult task next to the England bowlers.
India clearly has a good pacer in
Praveen Kumar in their corner. The right-arm swing bowler is proving a hard customer for England openers.
Both Alastair Cook and Craig Kieswetter have reasons to fret about him, more so since opening slots have been worrying for England in recent times.
The hosts have tried as many as 19 pairs in the last 96 one-day internationals but are still anxious on them. The ideal condition for India would be to bat first in this game.
If they can post a good total, their bowlers could be a handful beneath lights against England batters, more so since the pitch at Rose Bowl would not be as benign as the one in the first game was.
England would be buoy by the return of Graeme Swann. The off-spinner, the best bowler in one-day internationals in the world, is said to have improved from his stomach bug.
Left-arm spinner Samit Patel has to to make way for the senior spinner.
England is also keen to have a look at Ben Stokes at the international level. The young Durham cricketer is said to be a fierce striker of a cricket ball.
He is also a helpful fast bowler but a finger wound would prevent him from bowling in the near future.
England is keen to end the summer on a winning note and could put in a better performance.
They would be hoping the Rose Bowl offers them logical swing which was missing at Chester-Le-Street.
The second one-day international, like the first one, has also drawn huge interest among the fans and is previously a sold-out affair.
Teams
England: Alastair Cook (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Ben Stokes, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott.
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Manoj Tiwary, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Vinay Kumar, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Parthiv Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Aaron.
Today match will start at 6.30 p.m.
Gaji
