Sport

Stage set for a humdinger

— Photo: AP

TIME TO TAKE FLIGHT: India’s plans could hinge on the spinners Piyush Chawla (in picture) and Ramesh Powar in the sixth ODI at The Oval on Wednesday.

London: This is the time for the End Game and the Finishers. The NatWest series is on razor’s edge.

England, leading 3-2, has the chance to close out the ODI series at The Oval. India too has an opportunity... if it wins here.

Wednesday’s game at a famous venue bristles with possibilities.

The dry surface at The Oval should provide an element of bounce. It should also, as India captain Rahul Dravid said, could offer assistance to the spinners — it’s the second half of the summer here — as the game wears on.

Batting first here could benefit India, since the two spinners, Ramesh Powar and Piyush Chawla, could come into the picture strongly in the second half of the game. Dravid complimented his spinners, who, creditably, operated with a wet ball at Leeds.

The teams practised under bright sunshine on Tuesday and the weather is expected to be mostly sunny, with a few spells of cloud cover, on Wednesday.

However, things are gloomy for England on the fitness front. Star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff batted at the pre-match nets but did not bowl. The chairman of the England selection panel, David Graveney, informed the media that Flintoff would consult a specialist later in the afternoon before a decision on his availability for the match is taken.

All-rounder Ravi Bopara, who dislocated his thumb at Leeds, has been ruled out for six weeks. And paceman Chris Tremlett, grappling with an injured foot, will miss the ODI here.

England has called up a fresh face in young pace-bowling all-rounder Luke Wright. And left-arm paceman Ryan Sidebottom, who had to sit out with a side-strain, has been declared fit. Dravid conceded it was a challenge meeting an England side with Andrew Flintoff in it, but quickly added that India had defeated England at Bristol when Flintoff was part of the team.

He also said, “sometimes new faces can help. But we are not looking at England. We are looking at our cricket. In one-day cricket, it boils down to form on the day.”

Despite the injury concerns in the English camp, India faces a mighty challenge. Dravid sought inspiration from India’s ODI series triumph in Belfast only months ago.

“We lost the first match, but won back-to-back games to win the series. We face a similar situation here. In fact, if we win the series here, we would have won three matches straight.”

India’s strategy to play the extra batsman worked at Leeds. Dravid, however, remained non-committal on the composition of the eleven. The skipper dropped a hint though when he said, “Sachin and Yuvraj could bowl here.”

But then, Ajit Agarkar has gone for runs even if he has struck, and India will keep its options open till it has a final look at the pitch and the morning conditions.

The side has to lift its fielding in the perform-or-perish game. Dravid reiterated that India could not transform its fielding overnight, but said the catching and the essential aspects of ground-fielding could improve. In what has been a largely successful summer, India needs to finish well.

England could induct Sidebottom in the eleven to add some left-arm variety to the attack; there is the danger of the paceman being a touch rusty. James Anderson and Stuart Broad should be together with the new ball again and Dimitri Mascarenhas could return with Bopara unavailable.

The influential, but out-of-sorts, Kevin Pietersen is due for a big score. Graveney said the lack of runs from Pietersen was not a great concern since the other batsmen were scoring.

India should not allow this match-winner to join the party in the last stretch.

The teams: