England vs India 2018: Five things India should do ahead of the third ODI

The One-Day International series between England and India so far has been the tale of a side outplaying the other comprehensively. India began with a bang before England came back to turn the tables. As the two teams head into the decider at Headingley, Leeds, it remains to be seen which of the two sides can hold their nerve better and seal the series with a win.

England skipper Eoin Morgan has spoken about the side learning to deal with pressure as they were knocked out by Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 despite having a very good campaign. He spoke about the players learning to perform under pressure of a knockout and the third ODI provides them with an opportunity to do the same.

It was the same tournament which taught India their harshest lesson till date when Pakistan outsmarted them in the final to set the alarm bells ringing. The changes have reflected in a stupendous run of form. They had a forgetful time at Lord's though and will be itching to get back to winning ways and take the series. What can they do to win the decider? Let's get into it.

#1 Owning the Powerplay with the ball

India will expect more wickets from Umesh Yadav with the new ball

Twice in as many games, India have let the England openers off the hook very early which has resulted in them gaining an upper hand going into the overs against the spinners. The two new-ball bowlers in Umesh Yadav and Siddarth Kaul will have to get their lines right to ensure they keep the pressure on the two aggressive England openers and set the game up for the spinners to follow with some early wickets.

Umesh Yadav, in particular, can look forward to the chance to lead the bowling attack in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. He's had a very good IPL season but now is the time to show his skills with the new ball and set the tone for India.

#2 Use Hardik Pandya as an attacking option

Hardik Pandya celebrates dismissing Ben Stokes

While it may not sound foolproof, Hardik Pandya has grown leaps and bounds as a cricketer, more so as a bowler. His impressive bowling during the Indian Premier League 2018 season also saw him don the Purple Cap once as well. He often bowled the tougher overs for Mumbai and came out trumps.

A naturally aggressive player, Pandya has shown that he can take responsibility and strike at key intervals to ensure his side stays on top for Mumbai and Virat Kohli and co. might be well advised to use him in the same manner which will allow the spinners to dominate the proceedings even more.

#3 Use Kuldeep Yadav as a death bowler

Kuldeep Yadav

While death overs usually mean the last ten overs of an ODI, in recent times and the way England have played ODI cricket, the entire duration of the innings have sometimes felt like death overs. While India have employed a set pattern with their bowling changes, they can be a bit smarter while using Kuldeep Yadav.

His first spell should ideally be when there is a new man at the wicket or India wants to break a stand but for the rest of the innings, it might not be a bad ploy to use Kuldeep sparingly and in short bursts if the England batsmen are reading him like Joe Root and Eoin Morgan showed in the previous game.

Kuldeep's returns are valuable to the Indian side and hence must be used with utmost care. Him bowling when the batsmen are desperate for quick runs could result in them making more mistakes than expected.

#4 Attack the England opening bowlers in Powerplay

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

The two openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have been prolific at the top of the order for India and usually take their time to get going. With a vulnerable middle order to boot, the case might be to be a bit more cautious but desperate times often call for desperate measures and it would not be a bad ploy if the two take the attack to the England bowlers early.

While being on the attack need not mean taking unnecessary risks, both are more than capable of ensuring the pressure is not on them which would then allow the likes of KL Rahul, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni to express themselves and make the most of the blazing start.

#5 Bat MS Dhoni at 4

MS Dhoni

Ever since India's exit from the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, India have had more batsmen batting at Number four than expected from a top ODI side. From Manish Pandey to Dinesh Karthik to KL Rahul, the spot seems vacant forever. KL Rahul, who showed tremendous promise batting in the top three, hasn't quite got going batting at second drop and has looked ginger in his approach.

While dropping him is not the solution it seems harsh to make him bat at Number 4 when India have a capable batsman doing the job at the required position at least till the 2019 World Cup. Yes, we are talking about MS Dhoni. The man in question during the second ODI never got going and had many people calling for his head once again. India though might want to use Dhoni better.

Dhoni had a stellar run in the IPL 2018 since he batted at the No. 4 position with the assurance of the presence of Dwayne Bravo and Sam Billings after him. For India, he has often been shunted down the order which has not helped his case one bit.

It's not that Rahul isn't a good option but when you have someone who has batted in the middle order all his life, why not use that and get in someone like Dinesh Karthik who has been in brilliant finishing form.