India v England: The preview

The T20 cricket is now over and with that it brings the return of International cricket. One of the many series starting is India v England. A fixture that is considered as one of the best. It has been described by a few in the England team as the final frontier, this is because they have never been able to do well in India. For India it is a chance to avenge the thrashing they received in England two years ago. At that time India were the number one team and England dethroned them. 

The Teams:

It is to be seen if England will play two spinners in any match. That would mean Monty Panesar or Samit Patel could do a job. I personally think they would play two spinners as India play Swann relatively well. India have a pretty settled team but will need to decide if Raina should keep his place. The main competition comes in the form of Yuvraj Singh, who should get the role. England will have to decide between Joe Root, Compton or Trott to fill the boots of Strauss. If they do go with two spinners they may decide to use Trott as the opener allowing for the experienced batsmen to play. 

The captains:

It is a first chance for Alastair Cook to make an impression as the new skipper. He comes up against Dhoni who is very experienced and used to the conditions. It all points for a hard job for Cook, one I'm sure he will relish. 

Players to watch:

England have not seen much of Umesh Yadav, he is a good young bowler who has taken to test cricket very quickly. He was by far the best bowler on the tour of Australia as well as performing well against New Zealand. Ashwin will also be important, if England can play him then they have a chance.

Johnny Bairstow is a talented batsmen, he could be the fall guy if England decide to play one of the new openers and a second spinner. He has made a good start to international cricket and this should be his toughest test yet. Much depends on Finn and Anderson. Jimmy Anderson has in the past looked very average on the sub continent, this is something he would want to right. 

Predictions:

I would say that India will take it as they are used to the conditions. I think that on the sub continent they are the best team and very hard to beat. England have a good team and could cause a surprise but it will be very hard for them.