It maybe an inconsequentual match for India against England at the Eden Gardens on Sunday since they have already wrapped up the ODI series, but that does not take away the fact they still have a few areas to look at, so do England.
Here are 5 things to look forward to from the Eden Gardens ODI on Sunday:
5.Can Ben Stokes redeem himself at Eden?
8 months ago, Ben Stokes was on the verge of doing something really special for England. Running into bowl the final over with 19 runs in the bank, all he needed to do was to bowl 6 good balls and complete an amazing turnaround for England.
However, Carlos Brathwaite ensured that didn't happen, smashing the all-rounder for four straight sixes to help his side lift the title for a second time, in dramatic fashion.
It was a night which became as much as Brathwaite's as Stokes’s and on Sunday the latter will have a chance to redeem himself on the very turf, by giving England a consolation win and avoid a whitewash.
4.Can Billings make an impact?
Alex Hales was ruled out of the remainder of the limited-overs leg against India and that now provides an opportunity for Sam Billings to take his place at the top of the order. The Kent right-hander gave a glimpse of his potential during the first Warm-Up match against India A earlier this month, when in pursuit of 305 for a win, he made 93 runs to help his side edge past Dhoni’s men with 7 balls to spare.
Billings has the experience of playing in Indian conditions, having represented the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League last year and if picked, could put that to use on Sunday.
3.Can KL Rahul end the ODI leg on a high?
Much of the talk in the past few days has surrounded around the form of Shikhar Dhawan, who has failed to make it big in both matches.However, his opening partner KL Rahul has also had a quiet time with the bat in this series so far, having made 8 and 5 in the Pune and Cuttack ODIs to expose the middle order early.
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Kohli and Co. were banking on Rahul to come good as an opener, which would have given the management another option in case either openers don’t fire at the top.
At the 3rd game in Kolkata on Sunday, The Karnataka batsman will look to provide the side with a good start and also get himself a big score.
2.Will Virat Kohli tinker with the team again?
One of the aspects about Kohli’s captaincy so far has been not just the way he has led the side on the field, but the way in which he has constantly shuffled the side around. In the opening ODI, Umesh Yadav leaked a lot of runs and was replaced by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in Game 2 and that move paid dividends as he produced a fine spell in the death overs.
On Sunday, we can expect him to make a few more changes. Ajinkya Rahane, who sat out in Pune and Cuttack, could find a place in the playing XI and Ami Mishra too could be in line for a spot.
1.Will India make it 3-0?
There will be a great amount of anticipation among thousands of cricket -crazy fans who would throng the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday as well as the rest of the nation, who would watch the game live on TV on whether Virat Kohli can complete a whitewash in his maiden series as captain.
In the two bilateral series that he has led India in so far, Kohli has won both of them 5-0 and on Sunday, in front of a packed Eden Gardens, he will look to make it three in a row as a leader
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