England vs India 2018: 4 possible India changes for the series decider
After a convincing victory in the 1st ODI at Trent Bridge, India lost the chance to clinch the series at Lord's, losing by a healthy margin of 86 runs. In a must-win game for the home team, the England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and decided to bat first on an unusually dry Lord's pitch.
England had a good start in the powerplay, reaching 69 runs for no loss in 10 overs. However, the damage was inflicted by the Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, dismissing both the openers in quick succession. Struggling at 86-2, Joe Root and Morgan led England's recovery with a 103-run partnership for the 3rd wicket.
Root tackled Kuldeep very well at first and attacked him towards the end of his spell. A resilient century from him, and a rapid 31-ball 50* from Willey propelled England to 322-7.
A flunked chase
With a daunting task of chasing 323, India made a solid start until they lost Rohit, Dhawan and Rahul cheaply in a span of 3 overs. With the chase master, Virat Kohli, at the crease, Suresh Raina played a supportive role to rebuild the Indian innings. Due to an unusually hot English summer, the pitch at Lord's looked sticky and provided more assistance for the spinners.
Unfortunately, Virat didn't last long in the chase, and was out LBW against his RCB team-mate Moeen Ali. After the loss of Virat, the Indian team lost their way in the chase as Plunkett rattled the middle order with 4 wickets in the match.
Joe Root was presented with Man of the Match award for his match-winning century against Kuldeep and Co. Though India lost the match, Kohli will be looking to seal the series in the decider, continuing his unbeaten run as captain in ODI series.
For India to clinch the series, they will be looking upon for these possible changes in the ODI XI in the 3rd match:
#4 Dinesh Karthik in for Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina looked rusty in the 2nd ODI against England, struggling against both the spinners and pace bowlers. In his innings of 46 off 63 balls, he was dropped twice by England team before getting knocked over by Rashid.
Dinesh Karthik would be an ideal replacement for Raina. He was in imperious form in the IPL, racking up 498 runs at an average of 49.8 in 16 innings. Karthik will offer solidity in middle order and will relish his role as a finisher at the end of the innings along with Dhoni and Pandya.
With Karthik in team as a wicket-keeper, Virat can even derive a 6th bowler from Dhoni, who is indeed a decent medium-pace bowler which will be suitable for the English conditions.