Face of Nation : BIRMINGHAM: The India-England match was always going to be a massive game between two pre-tournament favourites. It remains a marquee contest but the dynamics have changed. A month is a long time in cricket and as the two heavyweights clash on Sunday, the two teams are standing at opposite ends of the spectrum.
India need just one more point in three remaining league games to make the semifinals although they would like to keep their win spree going and finish top of the standings.
The hosts are facing an unexpected early exit after crashing to three defeats in their seven games so far. Failure to make the knockouts will be nothing short of catastrophic for England, who many experts thought had the best chance of breaking their World Cup title drought this time around.
Pakistan’s defeat of Afghanistan on Saturday has only increased the pressure on England. Pakistan are now fourth on the table with nine points, one more than the hosts.
With their backs to the wall, England are set to bring back injured opener Jason Roy for Sunday’s game even if he is less than hundred percent fit.
Captain Eoin Morgan said on Saturday that Roy will be assessed on match-day morning and the team was ready to risk a short-term repercussion for the opener. Roy will not play only if he risks a long layoff, Morgan said.
England have not been able to plug the hole the opener’s absence has created. Roy has been the enforcer at the top of the order, often building the platform for the likes of Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler to wreak havoc in the middle and end overs.
Their predicament apart, England remain a formidable team and India will be more than wary. One doesn’t know if desperation will get the best out of England or enormous pressure will sink them. England have been found to be feeble and even clueless when faced with pressure at various times in this tournament.
They can be sure that India will try and put them under the cosh. The Indian bowling attack is superbly balanced and has been at the forefront of driving the team’s charge. Besides, in the last game hosted by this ground between Pakistan and New Zealand, the pitch aided a lot of spin. In fact, New Zealand were left ruing not picking leg-spinner Ish Sodhi for that game. Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav must be licking their lips in anticipation.
Having travelled around England for World Cup games, Birmingham is the first city India have come to and actually experienced summer. It’s hot and dry, something the Indians won’t mind. Going by the support captain Virat Kohli extended to Vijay Shankar at the pre-match media interaction, India are likely to repeat the eleven which was on the park against West Indies.
India had an optional practice session on Saturday where MS Dhoni once again spent a lot of time playing spinners. In the adjacent net, Kedar Jadhav also had a long stint with the bat. The middle order has been a slight concern for India, especially the failure to rotate the strike in the last two matches.Net sessions at Manchester and here indicate that the team is addressing the issue.
Edgbaston has been a happy ground for India where they have a 7/10 ODI score. Against England too, they have a favourable record having won three out of four. Kohli has an enviable record here – he averages 243 in five innings, thanks to four not outs. You see, even history is against England.
