India v England – 2nd ODI – Match Preview
After being hammered in the first One Dayer, Alastair Cook’s led http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780, today, October 17, 2011.
England’s start to the tour has not been ideal, suffering to a 126-run defeat in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hyderabad-c792, which have somewhat raised alarm bells on the team’s stance on relying on their youngsters. Despite a solid start, the middle-order just couldn’t cope with the spin
and faltered easily.
The captaincy of Cook was weak, failing to assert his authority on the proceedings after having their opponents on the back foot. His bowlers conceded 150 runs in the final 15 overs, the same amount they gave away in the first 35.
Also, the batting composition again came under scrutiny with Jonathan Trott’s position the main talking point. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/IR-Bell-c1597 exclusion from the first game even baffled the commentators, who believed that his experience and strike rotating ability could have been
crucial in the middle-stages.
However, it is the form of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Flower-c44362. Although they have so far resisted the temptation of axing him, they will quickly have to re-think their position, if he does not deliver today. His ability is hardly
a question but it is the lack of runs, which is a cause of concern.
Also, the bowling needs to tighten up in the death overs. Everyone went for a real pounding, especially from the bat of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028, and in order to make a swift comeback, the bowlers soon need to find a way in restricting the opponents and finishing
off, while remaining in the ascendency.
The key player for the Poms will be their skipper. After making a half-century, the left-hander could have gone on, however threw his wicket away. More importantly he remained an anonymous figure when his counterpart kept on hammering his troops so his leadership
qualities are certainly on show.
The smiles are finally back on the faces of the Men In Blue contingent, who found their old winning ways and struck first blood in the five-match series. The sub-continent is truly their home where they are such a difficult side to beat. Still without many
of their first team players, the youngsters performed appreciably, especially with the ball.
However, it was the partnership of Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, which kick started their innings, with the latter playing some superb Helicopter heaves, which were a treat to watch.
The Indian skipper rallied his bowlers extremely well and the spin of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/R-Ashwin-c2228 was the main difference. His spell of 3-35 again earned him praise, which is likely to extend Harbhajan Singh’s affiliation with the national team.
Apart from Dhoni, one will have to commend http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SK-Raina-c2539. After so much criticism hurled at him for his failure to counter bounce, the left-hander was again back to his best and scored a crucial 61 off 55.
The pitch at the Shah Kotla will again be on the slower side, however, the bowlers will not get much assistance and so will have to vary their pace and keep the batsman guessing.
With ODI supremacy high on the tourist’s agenda, the win will give them a real boost for the remainder of the series so one expects a much closely fought encounter as compared with the first.
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