After a whitewash in the recent Test and One-day series in England, India will be looking to return the compliment against a confident but cautious side.
India will be looking for revenge as they take on England in first of the five match One-day series at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday.
After a whitewash in the recent Test and One-day series in England, India will be looking to return the compliment against a confident but cautious side.
Without top players Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel, the home team will be pinning hopes on the bowlers, who will be led by medium-pacer Praveen Kumar.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who will be under pressure to arrest the slide, feels the series would be a great opportunity for the fresh-looking bowling line-up in familiar conditions.
Gautam Gambhir, who returns to the team, is expected to boost the batting line-up as Dhoni will also be looking to Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli to fire up the order.
Dhoni believes his team has the advantage of playing in home conditions. "Some of the youngsters got off to a very good start in England but wickets were very different there and for some of them it was completely a new venue to play," said the captain.
"While good performances help, it is important to perform as a side in all the three departments of the game.
"We will try our best and that is what we have been doing. It is not only about the result. The process is also important," he added.
Delighted over the comprehensive win in the two warm-up matches and satisfied with the 10-day practice here, England captain Alastair Cook is confident of his team's chances in the reverse series.
"We have a huge challenge on our hand. It is a different series under different conditions," said Cook, who sees a no connection between his side's 3-0 win in England last month.
Cook considers India a strong side, especially in home conditions, even without its key players.
He agrees that picking up 11 from a bunch of 15 talented players is a tough task for him and the coach. "We will pick up players who are best suited for the conditions," he said.
India will be looking for their first win at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. They have lost all the three ODIs (one against South Africa and two against Australia) played at the venue.
A keen tussle appears on the cards as the pitch is expected to be flat but offer some help to spinners. Curator Y.L. Chandrasekhar expects the ball to come nicely onto the bat.
The pitch for the matches during recent Champions League Twenty20 had come in for a lot of praise.
"It is a re-laid wicket. It looks different from the usual Hyderabad wicket. It does not seem it will be as flat as some of the other tracks we have played on," said Dhoni.
The teams:
England: Alastair Cook (captain), Jonathan Bairstow, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Tim Bresnan, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Stuart Meaker, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes.
India: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Sreenath Aravind, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary and Praveen Kumar.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}