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Friday, January 18, 2013

India vs. England 3rd ODI


India vs England, England tour of India 2012-13, 3rd ODI

Venue: HEC International Cricket Stadium Complex, Ranchi
Date: January 19, 2013   Start Time: 12:00 pm IST

India

1MS Dhoni (c & wk)
2Ajinkya Rahane
3Gautam Gambhir
4Virat Kohli
5Yuvraj Singh
6Suresh Raina
7Ravindra Jadeja
8Ravichandran Ashwin
9Bhuvneshwar Kumar
10Ashok Dinda
11Shami Ahmed
12Ishant Sharma
13Rohit Sharma
14Cheteshwar Pujara
15Amit Mishra

England

1Alastair Cook (c)
2Craig Kieswetter (wk)
3Ian Bell
4Kevin Pietersen
5Joseph Root
6Eoin Morgan
7Samit Patel
8Chris Woakes
9James Tredwell
10Steven Finn
11Jade Dernbach
12Tim Bresnan
13Stuart Broad
14Stuart Meaker
15Jos Buttler
16Danny Briggs

Commentary

Preview by Nikhil Narain

The stage is set, the stakes are high and the expectations even higher as India take on England in the crucial 3rd ODI in the hometown of the Indian skipper, MS Dhoni. Rest assured, thousands would storm the stadium hours before the actual start of the match and there would be a similar number outside, just waiting to get a glimpse of Ranchi's and for that matter Jharkhand's favourite son - Mahendra Singh Dhoni. His pictures - of all shapes and sizes, would be all over the hoardings leading in to the stadium. The atmosphere is expected to be electrifying with chants of 'Mahi, Mahi, Mahi...' bursting out from the roof of the stadium. With the series tied at 1-1, both the teams have everything to play for and establish supremacy in the 5 match ODI series.

India

Most of the Indian batsmen have looked impressive in the series thus far. India would look for a good start from their openers, Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir as that would provide the base for their explosive middle order to launch an attack on the English bowlers. Virat Kohli is perhaps the only Indian batsman, who is playing way below his potential and ability and he would certainly look to make amends for that. Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh look in great touch and with Ravindra Jadeja producing a cameo in the previous match, the batting looks a class apart.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shami Ahmed have brought with them the energy and spark much required in the Indian bowling. Their ability to swing and seam the new ball would stand them in good stead. Ishant Sharma has been in rather indifferent form and might be replaced by Ashok Dinda. Ravindra Jadeja has been a revelation and along with R Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh would add variety to the spin department.

England

The visitors would want to erase the memories of the 2nd ODI. Alistair Cook and Ian Bell are a formidable opening pair as they displayed in the first ODI at Rajkot. Kevin Pietersen has shown us glimpses of his class and destructiveness and would be hoping to convert his starts into triple figures. India should be wary of the firepower in the English lower middle order with the likes of Eoin Morgan and Samit Patel well capable of turning a match on its head in a matter of overs.

The bowling is a worry for England and looked rather flat, both at Rajkot and at Kochi. They would be particularly concerned about the number of runs they conceded in the death overs in the previous ODI. The fast bowlers have been poor and guilty of bowling a touch short. The spinners - James Tredwell and Samit Patel have been impressive with the former being the stand out bowler for the visitors thus far.

Look out for

Virat Kohli has been a patch of the player he is and he would be desperate to prove a point or two and knowing his penchant for performing in crucial encounters, England need to be wary of this flamboyant Indian batsman.
Teams:
India (From): Ajinkya Rahane, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Shami Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Amit Mishra
England (From): Alastair Cook(c), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Joseph Root, Eoin Morgan, Craig Kieswetter(w), Samit Patel, Chris Woakes, James Tredwell, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Stuart Meaker, Jos Buttler, Danny Briggs

Match details
Umpires
Steve Davis (Aus) and S Ravi (Ind)
TV umpire
: Vineet Kulkarni
Match referee
: Andy Pycroft(Zim)
Squads
India:  
MS Dhoni(c & wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Shami Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Amit Mishra
England:  
Alastair Cook(c), Craig Kieswetter(wk), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Joseph Root, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Chris Woakes, James Tredwell, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Stuart Meaker, Jos Buttler, Danny Briggs