The English team would be a happier lot with the exclusion of the dangerous Indian batsmen, Virender Sehwag, who has been left out of the squad after a string of inconsistent performances. The Englishmen must be high on confidence after their win against the Indian side in the Test series. It was primarily the English batsmen who dominated the Indian bowlers and they would like to come up with a repeat performance, especially with batsmen such as Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen in prime form.
The Indian team has always been a good batting unit, so if the Indian team wins the toss, they would love to bat on a pitch that is projected to be cricket friendly. Indians would want to make the first use of it. But, dew might settle in the latter half of the game, as it is a day-night match. The dew factor if it comes into play might be easier for the batsmen to score runs as bowlers would not be able to grip the ball firmly. But nothing is certain, as the stadium would make debut with this ODI match between England and India.
The series is going to be an important one for India, especially as they have not only been defeated by the Pakistan team on home soil but also the English team who thrashed the Indians in the Test series as well. It just summarises the performance of the Indian team collectively in the last 10-12 months. India is under pressure to win the series and change fortunes of their team as well.
Merinews Picks
