England Captain Paul Collingwood won the toss and decided to bat first at Oval. India needs to win this match to stay alive in the seven match ODI series. England team made two changes in their Squad. They have included Luke Wright and Dimitri Mascarenhas in place of injured Ravi Bopara and John Lewis. India have made only one changes in place of Gautam Gambhir they are playing with Robin Uthappa. After 30 overs England were 134/4 with K.Pietersen not out on 50 and Owasis Shah not out on 19. Match had started from 2.45 PM (Indian Time which will be Day Match) Final Playing XI for Both teams: Indian Squad: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, Rahul Dravid (C), Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (WK), Piyush Chawla, Zaheer Khan, Ramesh Pawar, Ajit Agarkar England Squad: Aliastar Cook, Matt Prior (WK), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood (C), Owasis Shah, Luke Wright, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Stuart Broad, Monty Panesar, James Anderson Earlier Post: Indian team who is down by 2-3 in the seven match ODI series need to win Oval match to stay alive in the series. Indian chances are brighter due to few injury concerned of England players. Andrew Flintoff chances to play the sixth match of the series is doubtful due to pain in his left Ankle. Ravi Bopara is also doubtful for today’s match. So England have to find some one else to replace them and beat the Indians to clinch the series. Rahul Dravid's Indian team doesn't have injury concerns but there is enough to cause headaches. The fielding woes are well documented but also of concern is to keep the winning momentum going. India have won only two out of the nine ODIs they've played at The Oval but they can't afford to slip up this time and let go of the momentum gained at Headingley. For the sixth time in two weeks Dravid was asked if India would play seven batsmen or five bowlers. He has never wavered from his answer, saying it doesn't really make that much of a difference, and conveyed the same today with a big smile. However, it was down to a choice between RP Singh and Dinesh Karthik and the left-arm seamer was likely to get the nod. Indians have to play really well to beat the Englands. There main are of concerned is their fielding so they have to tighten this department to win the match at Oval and stay a live in the series. And of course the big question that has featured at all media interactions: five bowlers or four? Six batsmen or seven? |
