Nottingham: In the third ODI at Nottingham, India will look to achieve an unbeatable lead over England in the five-match series. Team India won the second ODI at Cardiff by a massive 133-run margin and they currently lead the series 1-0. Follow live updates here. (Scorecard)
India's success at Cardiff was a great starting point in the five-match ODI series vs England.
© AFP
A game-changing century from Suresh Raina finally gave India a win in the second ODI vs England at Cardiff after a long gap since the Lord's Test. However, as Team India now shift base to Nottingham for the third ODI, it remains to be seen whether India can fight their reputation of 'not being able to close out series after an early advantage'.
For the first time, however, Alastair Cook and his England side seem to be on the backfoot. Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan's bad patch still continues to be a bother for India and the loss of Rohit Sharma due to an injury will also be a problem. However, India will have enough options at the opening slot in the mature Ajinkya Rahane, who has the capability to face the new ball and also Test opener Murali Vijay, who has been called in as a replacement for Sharma. (Also read: Cook turns on 'friend' Swann)
Cook admitted at the post match presentation after the second ODI that his team did not play well and letting India slip by after having them 19/2 at one stage were not good signs. However, Raina's 75-ball 100 had a huge role to play in that as he made the England bowlers look ordinary. England's batting also looked ordinary in response to India's 304 as they were bundled out for 161 in just 38.5 overs. Worse still, Cook was also fined 20 percent of his match-fee for maintaining a slow over-rate in the match.
© AP
Another interesting observation that can be made from the ODI series is that in the two ODIs so far, it has panned out in a similar way as the Test series, where the controversial first match at Trent Bridge did not produce a result; India won at Lord's and then lost the five-match series 3-1.
Another Indian batsman who will be key at Nottingham is Ajinkya Rahane, who is becoming one of the mainstays of the team in the crucial middle-order. Much will also be expected from the Indian spin combination of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, who troubled English batsmen plenty in the 2nd ODI. England's batting looks very weak with only Alex Hales doing a relatively good job in the 2nd ODI at Cardiff. Skipper Cook, Ian Bell and also Joe Root, who was the batting star of the Test series will have to step up for the hosts. (Also read: Dhoni confirms Raina will bat at No.5)
The third ODI promises to be an exciting battle also for the reason that it is the same venue (Trent Bridge), where the infamous James Anderson and Ravindra Jadeja controversy took place. The Nottingham pitch was also given an official warning by the ICC for not being up to Test standards on the back of complaints from England that it favoured India more than the hosts.
Track all the live updates from Trent Bridge here.
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