England v India: 4th Test – Match Preview
World number one http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 will look to whitewash India, winning the final Test of the four-match series at the Kennington Oval, London in England starting from Thursday, August 18, 2011.
The hosts have dominated the series until now, winning the first three games convincingly. They have bettered the winning margin with the passage of time and will look to humiliate the opposition in the final encounter as well.
India lost the first game by 196 runs at Lord’s followed by a 319-run defeat at Nottingham. The team continued to disappoint in the third Test at Birmingham, losing it by an innings and 242 runs.
However, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 and his men will look to perform well in the final Test in order to survive the humiliation of a whitewash defeat. The team will have to make a significant improvement in order to challenge the hosts.
India’s bowling has never been a strength in the past and the team has won mostly because of their batting. Coming to England, the team expected the batsmen to deliver and win matches in not so batting friendly conditions.
The former number one Test team will be expecting their openers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/V-Sehwag-c2739 to post a challenge to the English new ball bowlers. The latter returned to the team in the previous game with high hopes, but managed a disappointing king-pair.
One player who can be trusted in the Indian-11 is http://www.senore.com/Cricket/R-Dravid-c2229. The veteran scored two back-to-back centuries in the opening two Tests and proved to be the main threat for the Poms.
Apart from Dravid, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/VVS-Laxman-c2772 has also batted well in the series. However, he has failed to make a significant impression until now. He will be looking forward to make a big one in the upcoming match.
The biggest disappointment for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Tendulkar-c2556, who has only scored one half-century in six innings so far. The Master Blaster has been chasing his 100th international ton, but does not appear to be in the best
of forms of his career.
However, there was one positive sign for the Men in Blue from the previous match. Dhoni returned to form with the bat, scoring consecutive half-centuries. He will look for some support from his top-order in order to overcome the English team.
The tourists will also need a solid effort from their bowlers. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/P-Kumar-c2143 has done a decent job until now, but has lacked support from the other end.
On the other hand, England have been simply outclass in the series until now. The team might lose pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JM-Anderson-c1705 due to an injury, which can be a positive news for the Indian team.
However, injuries have not worried the Poms so far, as they have plenty of back up. The team had earlier lost Chris Tremlett and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/IJL-Trott-c1576, but still managed to be dominant in the series.
Considering the current form of the English team, it seems unlikely that the visitors can win the upcoming Test. However, a few good performances can lift the morale of the team.
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