England vs India 2014 - 3rd ODI, Trent Bridge: Match Preview

England would like to put up a better fight than Cardiff at Trent Bridge

July 9 – The start of this long series. Same teams, same ground, but a different format. It was termed as one of the worst pitches ever to host Test cricket. There was nothing in it for the bowlers. Ian Botham had termed this as a ‘corporate’ wicket. We are talking about Trent Bridge, a venue that will host the 3rd ODI between England and India in the 5-match series.

India and England go into the 3rd ODI with mixed morale. India dominated on all fronts after slight hiccups at the start. 10 overs into the first innings at Cardiff, India hadn’t scored even 30 and lost Kohli and Dhawan. But after that, it was India’s game all the way.

On the other hand, England struggled in batting after going on well till 54-0 in 11th over. The wicket of the skipper Alastair Cook triggered a collapse and gave India the 2nd biggest win over England in terms of runs.

Head to Head at Trent Bridge:

Both teams have a 1-1 record. India won by 5 wickets in 1990 and England levelled the tally with their win in 2004 by 7 wickets.

Pitch and Weather Conditions:

Fortunately, Trent Bridge has a better forecast compared to Cardiff and Bristol. Even though it will be partly cloudy throughout the morning, there are not many chances that rain and subsequently, D/L method will come into play.

The curators hope to give a better pitch than the Test, which was termed ”hopeless” for playing cricket. The winning captain would like to have a bat considering the cloudy situation later on.

India:

India’s confidence is sky high after thumping England, but have some issues for concern. The main problem is the opening pair. Rohit Sharma found form, but unfortunately will be out of the remainder of the series due to injury, and his replacement is Murali Vijay. Though Ajinkya Rahane is likely to be slotted in the opening position, with either Ambati Rayudu or Sanju Samson getting a chance in the middle order.

Shikhar Dhawan has just not lived up to the expectations after the Champions Trophy and the home series against the Aussies. Virat Kohli, surprisingly, has failed. Wonder what was going through his mind while playing that shot against Chris Woakes, charging down the pitch and giving a straightforward catch to Alastair Cook at short cover. A yard either side and it would have easily been a boundary.

Raina, Dhoni, Jadeja and Ashwin, the CSK unit, haven’t failed to disappoint. The spin duo spun a web around the English batsmen, which they were unable to crawl away from. Jadeja had instances where he should have got a 5-for, but he would certainly savour this spell for a long time. Raina and Dhoni, the deadly duo, proved once again why they are one of the best partners in ODIs. They start slowly, gain pace steady, and finally kill the bowlers off. No wonder India deserved 304, a total at the end of 10 overs was highly unlikely.

England:

England’s performance was dismal to say the least. The bowlers gave away runs cheaply in the end. Their batting collapsed completely, and their fielding too was just substandard.

Woakes, even though he picked up 4 wickets, would be utterly dismayed with himself that he gave 50+ in his quota of 10 overs. Anderson started off well, finished well, but his middle overs were not. Jordan would like to forget this match. He conceded 73 runs included a whopping 12 wides in his 10 overs without returning with any wickets. England really need either Steven Finn or Harry Gurney to make up for these bowling lapses.

Hales didn’t have a bad start to his one day career. He made 40+ before he top edged against Jadeja. All other batsman simply failed to get going. After the dubious dismissal of their skipper, they just collapsed like nine pins. The pacers Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar could have individually got 5 or more wickets. England need to seriously know how to play spin, if they are to overcome the spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja.

Expected teams:

India – Though Murali Vijay has been called in as a replacement for Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane will likely be pushed to the opening slot, having donned the cap earlier in 2011. Ambati Rayudu or Sanju Samson could be added to the middle order.

England – The hosts would like to include either Finn or Harry Gurney in place of Jordan, who looked absolutely jaded at the end of his bowling spell. The batting unit looks okay, but should start to counter spin effectively as they did in Indian pitches in 2012.