
Blame it on the rain, on Duckworth-Lewis or on a Yuvi storm, the visiting Englishmen have been done in by a relentless Indian ODI outfit. For the second time running, England have conceded a seven-match ODI series to the hosts with only four matches gone 8212; they lost 5-1 on the 2006 tour 8212; and now have three opportunities in Cuttack, Guwahati and Delhi to salvage some pride and carry some momentum into the Test series.
But if England were expecting any leeway from the hosts from hereon, the noises coming from the Indian camp aren8217;t too encouraging for the visitors. Virender Sehwag, who has been in great form this series, said after the Bangalore ODI that his team would be treating the remaining three matches as a separate series, and look to win that as well.
8220;We8217;ve played brilliant cricket so far. But Gary Kirsten has asked us to concentrate on winning at least two of the next three games and clinch that series as well, and hopefully even aim for a clean-sweep,8221; said Sehwag, who was named Man of the Match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
The Delhi opener attributed a lot of his success 8212; he8217;s scored three 50s so far 8212; to his relaxed mindset at the crease, and complimented Kirsten. 8220;I8217;m a changed player now, and Gary has been instrumental in fine-tuning my game,8221; he said. Sehwag8217;s leg-side play, often considered his weakest point, has come in for a lot of praise.
England, on the other hand, have had very few positives to take from the series so far. Their bowlers have constantly been under the hammer, while their batsmen have shown only glimpses of form. Owais Shah played a destructive innings in Bangalore, and has been the most impressive batsman for the visitors. Flintoff continues to be their most consistent performer, but has failed to come up with a match-winning performance.
8220;We8217;ve been done in by an Indian side which is playing fantastic cricket at the moment,8221; captain Kevin Pietersen said. 8220;We came here on a high after the 4-0 win against South Africa back home and I guess we have to adjust to this series defeat now.8221; Pietersen, though, was hoping to get back to winning ways soon. 8220;We have to make sure that this competition stays competitive. We have to win a few games. We came here to win the series but we have not won the series. So we have to make sure we win a few game at least.8221;
The English skipper is renowned for his exuberant lifestyle back home, and perhaps it8217;s time for him to bring some of it onto the cricket field and save England the blushes.
Wicket-keeper Matthew Prior, who has done nothing to write home about so far in the series, could make way for Warwickshire8217;s Tim Ambrose. Off-spinner Graeme Swann will be looking for a longer bowl in the remaining three games after showing good control at Kanpur and picking up two crucial wickets at Bangalore.