Airtel Trophy 3rd ODI Ind vs Eng Cricinfo

India will look to wrap up the series

Alastair Cook needs to look for a new recipe to make his teammates hungry for victory once again. He knows only too well that the Indians are once again ready to feast on friendly offerings like they did on way to massive victories at Hyderabad and New Delhi.

The England captain did express “concern” after India doubled its lead in the five-match series on Monday night.

Still, it was clear that in spite of the magnitude of thesedefeats, Cook was not going to be any less positive ahead of the crucial clash here on Thursday.

Indeed, it will be hard to claw back from two losses, but England has reason to be optimistic. After all, earlier this summer, England bounced back from 1-2 at home to beat Sri Lanka 3-2.

At present, England is looking to stay afloat in the series. Cook believes the team has the batsmen to make up for the inadequacies in the bowling department.

The team is also clearly missing the injured duo of Stuart Broad and Eoin Morgan, apart from James Anderson who has been rested.

Given the successive batting failures, England can well be expected to bring in the tested and trusted Ian Bell.

Psychologically, it will not be easy for the Englishmen to cope with the defeats.

The England captain mentioned that his batsmen were learning from the way Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir batted the other night.

At the same time, the English camp believes that the difference between the strengths of the two sides is much less than what the results so far suggest.

Despite having been outplayed in every department of the game, England sees a chance of a turnabout here.

The fresh and firm pitch at the PCA Stadium sports a ‘green' look. The fast, lush-green outfield, is surely the best maintained in the country. The evening breeze should assist swing and seam.

Dew factor

Dew is a factor that the team batting second will have to deal with though curator Daljit Singh was certain it would not make a decisive difference.

Kevin Pietersen, who scored 144 on this pitch three years ago in a Test, is unquestionably the biggest threat India faces.

Pietersen is due for a big score and M.S. Dhoni and his men would hope that it does not come over the next week.

In the last match, Pietersen took his time to settle down but fell before he could assume the role of destroyer.

Similarly, Jonathan Trott, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, if retained, and Jonathan Bairstow will be keen to make amends for failing to build on the starts they got.

Craig Kieswetter is yet to live up to the reputation of a big-hitter in the opening slot.

Cook, of course, has troubled India often. How the English fast bowlers bowl on this pitch to the upbeat Indians may well impact the result.

Unlike Cook, Dhoni does not have to do anything different or differently.

The side has managed to put runs on the board as well as chased down a target with plenty to spare. The spinners did the job in the first match and medium pacers in the second.

The Indian captain needs no reminding the fact that the job is far from over.

Any sign of complacency will have to be dealt with quickly and firmly. Dhoni will be expecting the openers — Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane — to fire.

The bowling, in spite of two good days at work, lacks muscle.

The combination involving Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja could find it really tough to contain the rival top-order should a couple of them get going.

Overall, England will try to make things happen in order to save the series.

India, on the other hand, can expect the first serious challenge of the week.

The teams (from):

India: M.S. Dhoni (captain), G. Gambhir, A. Rahane, P. Patel, V. Kohli, S. Raina, M. Tiwary, R. Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, R. Vinay Kumar, R. Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, V. Aaron, S. Arvind and Rahul Sharma.

England: A. Cook (captain), C. Kieswetter, Ian Bell, J. Trott, K. Pietersen, J. Bairstow, R. Bopara, A. Hales, J. Buttler, S. Borthwick, Samit Patel, G. Swann, T. Bresnan, J. Dernbach, S. Finn, C. Woakes and S. Meaker.

Umpires: Billy Bowden and Sudhir Asnani; Third umpire: Shavir Tarapore.Match referee: Roshan Mahanama.