Opener today, India may give it that familiar twist

England captain Andrew Flintoff put up a brave front to mask the spin paranoia with talk about specialised practice to counter spin at nets, but it remains to be seen if the quick fix for the chronic aliment could work. But it isn8217;t just the 90 degree spin or the 35 degree temperature that may give India the edge tomorrow, there are a couple of other reasons to say that the English, like the last time here, might suffer a reversal.

Earlier this year, England lost the ODI series here 1-5 despite the fact that Sachin Tendulkar was busy elsewhere making an appointment with a surgeon, while Flintoff topped the all-rounders category. Today things are different, Tendulkar is not just back but has shown signs of vintage form and as Flintoff confessed, 8220;I certainly wouldn8217;t bowl tomorrow since the ankle wouldn8217;t allow me too.8221; Flintoff the bowler went for about three runs per over in that series and his absence will mean a void in the pace department. Besides, his batting prowess too will be severely tested, considering he will be batting at the unfamiliar No.3 spot.

That also means Flintoff might not be around when England negotiate the tricky mid-overs to try and manoeuvre the ones and twos against the spinners. The England captain confessed that it was one area they faltered in during the 1-5 loss.

And that is where Powar8217;s role becomes important if India want to exploit this weakness. Going by form, Harbhajan is expected to be a handful but support from the other end will be decisive. Powar with his orthodox off-spin 8212; loop, flight, turn and no doosra 8212; had seven wickets from the five games and averaged just above four against England. But things didn8217;t go his way in the West Indies while in Malaysia the only time he was on the field was when the golf cart brought in drinks. Powar needs to get over his loss of form in West Indies and shake off the Kuala Lumpur experience.

Except for Tendulkar, that will be true for the entire Indian team, too. Selective amnesia is something they should be mastering tomorrow. Forgetting the away losses and keeping in mind the home triumphs could help India start well.

Theoretically, the Indians seem to have sorted out the English, but this isn8217;t book cricket. Flintoff dropped a hint that in a competition of this nature, one good day can change a lot 8212; they might not have secured a series win but they have one-off wins against top teams. So India can have the cushion of that 5-1 win, but in case tomorrow is a one-off kind of game and not the fiver-sort, the Diwali break that India get after this game wouldn8217;t be that festive.

INDIA VS ENGLAND

India: Rahul Dravid capt, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Mongia, Irfan Pathan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ajit Agarkar and Munaf Patel

England: Andrew Flintoff capt, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Chris Read, Jamie Dalrymple, Michael Yardy, James Anderson, Rikki Clarke, Sajid Mahmood, Jon Lewis, Ed Joyce and Steve Harmison

Officials: Umpires: Simon Taufel Australia and Daryl Harper Australia; Third umpire: Billy Bowden New Zealand; Fourth umpire: Steve Bucknor West Indies; Match referee: Jeff Crowe New Zealand.

Hours of play IST: 2.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 6.45 p.m. onwards