After beating Pakistan convincingly at Kanpur by 46 runs and taking 2-1 lead in five match ODI series, Indian team looking to wrap up the series at Gwalior. Lat time when Indians played against Pakistan at home soil they lost the series by 4-2 after taking 2-0 lead, so Indian team don’t want to repeat the same and leave it to lat encounter at Jaipur. India will start the fourth ODI with their nose slightly ahead as little has been going right for Pakistan since the past season or two. Pakistan though will take heart from the rich form of Salman Butt and Younis Khan, who have struck sparkling centuries in the series. Gwalior is very much favorable ground for the Indians; they have won six out of eight matches they played here. So far in the series we have seen batsman from both side dominated throughout the individual matches and no surprisingly at Gwalior we may see another 300 plus run score from both the side. The Indian management will be extremely pleased with the way Sachin Tendulkar has played so far in the series. More than the runs, it has been his approach which has been a treat to the eyes. Indian middle order is also in sparkling form with the likes of Yuvraj Singh, M.S Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir. If any of the two able to continue their good show at Gwalior then we may hope to wrap up the series here in Gwalior. By seeing the condition here at Gwalior Indian think tank might go with four bowlers and seven batsman. Indian bowling line up looks inconsistent through out the series till now. After a disciplined effort in Guwahati, they were belted around pretty severely in the next two games. With the Pakistan batsmen slowly but surely getting in to the groove, the Indian bowlers must get their act right. Gwalior has a small ground, the pitch being a batting paradise and the fire power in the both the sides, there is a good chance that bowlers from both sides will be running for cover in Gwalior. As the series between the traditional rivals reaches a climax, the Gwalior tie would be a test of nerves for both the teams. So all in all the scene is set for nail biting battle between two arch-rivals at Gwalior. Match will start from (14:30 PM India time which will be Day/Night Encounter) Likely Playing XI for Both Teams: India: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C & WK), V.Sehwag, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh. Pakistan: Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi , Yaseer Hameed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, , Shoaib Malik (C), Misbah-ul-Haq, , Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Abdur Rehman, and Sohail Tanveer. |
