India would like to end the England tour on a high as the Rohit Sharma-led side will need to win the series decider against England to take home the three-match One Day International series on Sunday. After 2018 and 2021, this will be the third time that an ODI series between England and India will enter a winner-take-it-all decider.
The Indian team is expected to change its batting pattern from cautious to fearless in the series-deciding third ODI against England in Manchester on Sunday.
Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli
The famous trio of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli will have to extend their hand to help the tourists tackle the swing and seam bowling of the England pacers.
Rohit’s approach isn’t a problem in most games, but the Indian team management under head coach Rahul Dravid will have its own set of issues if the 37-year-old Dhawan is their pick going into the 2023 ODI World Cup next year.
While the ODI World Cup is still 15 months away, it needs to be seriously considered whether Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli will be India’s No. 1, 2 and 3.
snapshot from #teamindiaNet session before the third and final ODI against England in Manchester.#Engwind pic.twitter.com/twA8AYKUgj
—BCCI (@BCCI) 16 July 2022
The scrutiny lens on talismanic batsman Virat Kohli is also set to go up a notch. Kohli’s tall slenderness has been a burning question and a subject of intense debate among cricket followers, especially with the men’s T20 World Cup in Australia just three months away. Another low score in Manchester will raise the decibel level on Kohli’s lean patch.
India’s bowling
Bumrah hits the straps and Mohammed Shami more often, not producing those unstoppable wicket-taking balls. Yuzvendra Chahal has changed his technique as he is bowling at a slower pace and deceiving the ball by hanging it in the air.
The famous Krishna, with his ability to bounce off the length too, will only get better and Hardik Pandya’s bowling pace has certainly brought back a smile to the Indian camp.
The only worrying aspect would be Ravindra Jadeja’s sharp decline as a powerful left-arm spinner, who might have gone unnoticed and stunned by the impressive performances of others.
squads
England: Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Harry Brooke, Brydon Karls, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Willey.
IndiaRohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Pranand Krishna, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj and Arshdeep Singh.
— the ending —