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ShareOver the last couple of years or so, India has fared extremely well, even in one-day internationals. Beating Australia in Australia and Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka were some of our finest victories in recent times. Now, as they take on this strong England team, one hopes that the Indians can maintain the momentum.
And there's no reason why they cannot. In a friendly fixture the other day, the same England lost badly to a second string Mumbai. It was a great opportunity for Mumbai's fringe players, and I guess they grabbed it with both hands to humble the mighty English.
Be that as it may, you just can't write off this England outfit as pushovers. They have in their rank world class players like Flintoff and Pietersen besides, of course, Collingwood, Shah and Ian Bell. In fact, they have better depth in all departments compared to the Australians who played the recent Test series.
However, it remains to be seen if they can transform their potential into match-winning performances. Mind you, that won't be all too easy, not when they're up against the present highly motivated and successful India squad.
With most of the matches starting at 9 am, the toss will play quite a crucial role and more or less decide which way the match will go. For, there's always something in the wicket for the new ball bowlers early on, though it eases up as the match progresses. Will Dhoni have the luck of the toss as he did during the Test series? We'll just have to wait and watch.
This series will provide a great opportunity for Yuvraj Singh, RP Singh, Munaf Patel and Yusuf Pathan to come good. They've been out of the Test squad and missed out on the joy of beating the Australians at their own game. Now, I'm sure they must be eagerly looking forward to establish themselves at the highest level.
Injuries to fast bowlers is surely a matter of great concern for the selectors, for they're the ones who win you Test matches. The selectors must use them judiciously in the one-dayers, and make sure they're not over-worked. India can ill-afford to lose out on bowlers like Ishant and Zaheer so early in the season. Besides, it's a good opportunity to blood promising youngsters at the international level. The selectors would do well to believe in the young talent and groom them for the future.
