The one day series between India and England is due to start in 2 days time with India as hosts this time. The series is being touted as a "Revenge" series by all the Indian cricket fans. Before this series, India toured England where they lost all the matches they played in all the formats and were humiliated by the English team. Indians lost the no. 1 ranking in tests and were displaced from the no. 2 ranking in ODI's. So this series becomes all the more important to the Indian players and fans alike. The 5 match one day series starts on 14 October at Hyderabad. But can India actually take revenge from the English and beat them? Which factors favor them and which do not?
Venue- This is the biggest favorable factor for the Indian team and the reason why most people believe India can beat England in the series. The Indian team becomes an all-together different team when India is the venue. They have been playing non-stop cricket at home for the past 2 years. They played the ODI world cup in 2011(which they won), the IPL and the Champions league T20. Grounds in India are small and the boundaries even smaller with slow and low pitches. These are conditions tailor-made for Indian batsmen who simply love playing here. Also the bowlers have become habitual in bowling in these conditions and Indian spinners will come into play. On the other hand the English batsmen will find it a little difficult to adjust to these slow pitches from the seaming and lively pitches in England. Their bowlers are expected to struggle in India's "non bowler friendly" pitches.
Team- India's team is still not full strength and as many as 5-6 top choice players are facing injuries. Thus this might prove to be India's undoing in the upcoming series. This was the same reason why India lost the ODI series in England. India will miss Tendulkar, Sehwag, Zaheer, Rohit, Yuvraj and others. The young replacements look good but do not seem to be capable of taking India to victory. They play well in patches but certainly the lack of experience makes them throw the matches at crunch situations which was clearly visible in England. The pitches and conditions might favor the Indians but what can they do when the team itself is not at full strength.
Dhoni- It seems Dhoni has lost the Midas touch he had until a few months ago. Before the disastrous England series, Dhoni won almost every tournament he played in, be it the World cup, no. 1 test ranking, IPL or the champions league. But since 3 months, he has lost the no. 1 test ranking, no. 2 ODI ranking, succumbed to first test series loss and failed to make even the semis in the CLT20 with his dear Chennai Super Kings.. He looks badly fatigued and out of form. His body and mind clearly need rest. He was given rest for just the ODI series in West indies and before and after that he has been playing non-stop cricket. Even the luck seems to be turning its face away from him. Nowadays his keeping skills and his decisions on the field are also being criticized. In such a situation how can a team do well. Dhoni definitely needs rest and in this condition an Indian win looks highly unlikely.
Venue- This is the biggest favorable factor for the Indian team and the reason why most people believe India can beat England in the series. The Indian team becomes an all-together different team when India is the venue. They have been playing non-stop cricket at home for the past 2 years. They played the ODI world cup in 2011(which they won), the IPL and the Champions league T20. Grounds in India are small and the boundaries even smaller with slow and low pitches. These are conditions tailor-made for Indian batsmen who simply love playing here. Also the bowlers have become habitual in bowling in these conditions and Indian spinners will come into play. On the other hand the English batsmen will find it a little difficult to adjust to these slow pitches from the seaming and lively pitches in England. Their bowlers are expected to struggle in India's "non bowler friendly" pitches.
Team- India's team is still not full strength and as many as 5-6 top choice players are facing injuries. Thus this might prove to be India's undoing in the upcoming series. This was the same reason why India lost the ODI series in England. India will miss Tendulkar, Sehwag, Zaheer, Rohit, Yuvraj and others. The young replacements look good but do not seem to be capable of taking India to victory. They play well in patches but certainly the lack of experience makes them throw the matches at crunch situations which was clearly visible in England. The pitches and conditions might favor the Indians but what can they do when the team itself is not at full strength.
Dhoni- It seems Dhoni has lost the Midas touch he had until a few months ago. Before the disastrous England series, Dhoni won almost every tournament he played in, be it the World cup, no. 1 test ranking, IPL or the champions league. But since 3 months, he has lost the no. 1 test ranking, no. 2 ODI ranking, succumbed to first test series loss and failed to make even the semis in the CLT20 with his dear Chennai Super Kings.. He looks badly fatigued and out of form. His body and mind clearly need rest. He was given rest for just the ODI series in West indies and before and after that he has been playing non-stop cricket. Even the luck seems to be turning its face away from him. Nowadays his keeping skills and his decisions on the field are also being criticized. In such a situation how can a team do well. Dhoni definitely needs rest and in this condition an Indian win looks highly unlikely.
India will ofcourse win this series with Whitewash 5-0
ReplyDeleteseems so! The venue factor has outweighed all other factors.
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