Ravindra Jadeja’s all-round performance and hard hitting of Mahendra Singh Dhoni brought back India in the series as they beat England by 127 runs in the second ODI in Kochi. Another positive in the game was the Indian bowlers who rose to the occasion and delivered when it mattered the most.
Here we take a look at the players who will play a crucial role in the third ODI in Ranchi.
INDIA
Mahendra Singh Dhoni: The midas touch of our Indian captain is back and there can’t be a better place than Ranchi for Dhoni to display it. Captain Cool is going through a purple patch and playing at home will make him much more comfortable and help Team India take the English side down.
Yuvraj Singh: This south-paw is taking a nice start in every match but is unable to take it to the next level. But still Yuvi has got all the talent to be one of the best No. 5 batsmen in the world. Saturday can be his day to take a charge on English bowlers.
Suresh Raina: Five fifties in the past 10 matches is absolutely a brilliant display ofbatting by Raina, but he needs to convert those scores into a three-digit figure. His explosive batting has been very helpful till now and his brilliant fielding efforts can bring a difference to final score-card .
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: The young lad from UP had an awesome start to his career. His bowling spell of 10 overs at trot in two matches is a very rare site in modern-day cricket. His consistency of picking wickets makes him much more lethal. Though he has lost his pace but his swing will worry the English-batsman.
ENGLAND
Alastair Cook: He has been the cause of worry for Indian spin attack and his captaincy is going to get tested in upcoming ODIs .His team has the ability to respond to tough situation very well and that makes him much more confident in taking critical decisions. He can play any shot mentioned in a cricket book. He is the trump card for England team.
Ian Bell: He is one of the players who have performed well in recent matches and his attacking batting can simply change the course of the game. If he has his day, Indian bowlers will have to pay a heavy price for his wicket.
Eoin Morgan: “Mr. Cricket of England", he has not lived upto his reputation in this series. But good players like Morgan need just one match to change the scenario and he has all the fire power to do that.
Steven Finn: Being a leading bowler of England bowling attack, he is the player who can keep England's hope to win the series in India. His awesome bowling spell in his last one day was brilliant and if Hoakes starts bowling in tandem with him, then he can be a bowler to watch out for.
By Amit Chopra
Indian Sports News Network