Preview: England v India – Fifth ODI
First Published : 15 Sep 2011, 00:19
Last Modified : 15 Sep 2011, 18:49
What
The fifth and final One-Day International of the five-match series between England and India
When
September 16, 2011. The game begins at 18:30 pm, IST. It is a day-night affair.
Where
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, a ground where the mighty have fallen. Mohammad Ashraful of Bangladesh scored his first ODI century at this venue, pulling off an audacious run chase against Australia in the second match of the 2005 NatWest series. Before that, Geoff Allott delivered the best ODI bowling spell at this venue (10-0-37-4) when New Zealand humbled Australia in a 1999 ODI World Cup encounter. Perhaps there is a lesson here for India who are yet to win a game against the hosts on this tour.
The Teams
With the series lost, India can now only play for pride. They would like to leave England having vanquished the hosts on at least one occasion. There is no harm in trying the likes of Varun Aaron in the pace department while giving Manoj Tiwary another shot in the batting lineup.
There is also the prospect of Rahul Dravid playing his last ODI game for India, should he big picked in the playing eleven. For someone who didn’t exactly appear to be a batsman in the one-day mould initially, Dravid has done exceptionally well for himself in the 50-over format, ending amongst the top 10 run-getters of all time. In the 2003 ICC ODI World Cup in South Africa he even took on wicketkeeping duties, giving the Indian lineup much needed flexibility. His contribution went a long way in helping the team finish as runners-up in that tournament. His absence from the one-day arena will be genuinely missed.
With the injured Stuart Broad ruled out of the final ODI and England not having named a replacement for him, the hosts are down to a 12-man squad. That could mean Jade Dernbach, who was replaced by Steven Finn in the fourth ODI, will return to the side. But with Dernbach not having fared particularly well in the first three ODIs, Samit Patel could be a more viable all-round option for England.
Trivia
Dravid has the opportunity to retire from ODI cricket on a high since he needs only 57 runs to complete 1,000 runs against England. If he attains this landmark in his final ODI game, he will become the fourth Indian to do so after Sachin Tendulkar (1455), Yuvraj Singh (1187) and Virender Sehwag (1008).
Alastair Cook has won eight out of 12 games in which he has led England. His winning percentage (66.66) is the second highest for an England captain who has led the country in at least 10 games, behind Mike Gatting (70.27%, 26 wins in 37 games).
Venue Stats
England – played - 3, won - 1, lost – 0, tied – 0, no result – 2
India – played - 0, won - 0, lost – 0, tied – 0, no result – 0
Highest total in an innings: Australia 258/3 in 45.4 overs v Pakistan - June 9, 2001
Lowest total in an innings: Zimbabwe 174/8 in 50.0 overs v South Africa - July 5, 2003
Best individual score in an innings: Mohammad Ashraful (Bangladesh) – 100 v Australia - June 18, 2005
Best bowling figures in an innings: Geoff Allott (New Zealand) 10.0-0-37-4 v Australia – May 20, 1999
Average first innings score at Sophia Gardens (in D/N matches): 221*
* Although three day-night ODIs have been played at Sophia Gardens, one of them was abandoned only three overs into the first innings. The average first innings score is therefore from the other two games.
Result summary at Sophia Gardens
|
Type |
Total no. of matches |
Won by side batting 1st |
Won by side batting 2nd |
NR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Day matches |
5 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
|
Day-night matches |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
Head-to-head
|
Matches |
Played |
India won |
Eng won |
No result / Tied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Overall |
75 |
38 |
32 |
3/2 |
|
In England |
32 |
11 |
17 |
3/1 |
Last meeting at Sophia Gardens between England and India: The teams haven’t played here before
Form guide (most recent listed first):
India: Tied, Lost, Lost, No result, Lost (3 losses)
England: Tied, Won, Won, No result, Won (3 wins)
The Squads
India: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Suresh Raina, Varun Aaron, R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Rahul Dravid, R Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, RP Singh, Manoj Tiwary & R Vinay Kumar
England: Alastair Cook (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Samit Patel, Ben Stokes, Graeme Swann & Jonathan Trott
All stats are as on September 15, 2011
