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Colombo: India's listless bowling attack will aim to put up an improved performance ahead of the Super Eight stage when they take on England in their final group league encounter in the ICC World Twenty20 on Sunday.
Both India and England are through to the 'Super Eight' but the contrasting manner of their respective victories certainly makes Stuart Broad and Co favourites ahead of a clash that has gained marquee status over the years.
While the Indian team management will be looking to plug the loopholes that appeared in the match against Afghanistan, England, after a facile 116-run win, will look to repeat that performance against a much better team.
The cause of concern for India across all formats has been their bowlers and it is no different in Twenty20.
33-year-old Zaheer Khan, who has manfully shouldered the burden as the leader of the attack, seems to have reached the fag end of his career and is increasingly looking pedestrian.
Add to it, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's penchant for playing only four specialist bowlers always leaves the team in a high risk zone where it is expected that the part-timers need to perform above expectations.
The Mumbai-pacer has looked totally out of sorts in the net sessions so far.
Although it is too early to predict whether Zaheer will be benched considering that both Irfan Pathan and Laxmipathy Balaji have bowled better than him, but it can be said that he is playing the shortest format on borrowed time.
The 22-yard strip at the R Premadasa Stadium has been of great help for the pace bowlers but the 'Men in Blue' are more reliant on their spinners.
The big question, however, will be whether senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will get a chance in the playing XI. Knowing the perennial weakness of the English batsmen against spinners, Dhoni might just feel tempted to play the veteran of 98 Tests and 229 ODIs.
The batting line-up looks more or less settled but for Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina who have complaints regarding sore throat and stomach bug.
In case one among the two misses out, Manoj Tiwary is expected to replace that particular player. The performances of openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir will also be closely watched as the formidable duo hasn't done anything noteworthy in recent times.
The England team, on the other hand, bears a much settled look after their comprehensive win against Afghanistan was a testimony to that.
Luke Wright, who has always been considered as great potential, finally showed his mettle at the biggest stage with a fantastic unbeaten knock of 99.
That Wright can bat at No 3 - a position held by none other than Kevin Pietersen and also bowls handy medium-pace gives Broad a chance to play around with his options.
Apart from Wright, the likes of Craig Kieswetter, Alex Hales, Jos Butler, Jonathan Bairstow can all hit the ball a fair distance which makes this team a handful proposition in this format.
With three potent pacers -- the skipper himself, Steven Finn and Jade Dernbach -- the bowling also bears a settled look. The two specialist spinners in Graeme Swann and Samit Patel would like to show that the Indian batsmen can be kept under tight leash.
Teams from:
India: MS Dhoni (captain & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Ravichandran Ashwin, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Piyush Chawla, Ashok Dinda, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Yuvraj Singh.
England: Stuart Broad (captain), Jonathan Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter (wk), Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright.
Pitch and conditions
The R Premadasa pitch used for the England-Afghanistan game was an interesting one, with variable bounce looking threatening early on, but England still found enough value for their shots. An evening start might mean some assistance for bowlers, which England should like. Weather websites predict scattered thunderstorms, but it takes a lot of rain to rule out a five-over game.
Stats and trivia
Match facts
Sunday September 23, 2012 (day/night)
Start time 19:30 local (14:00 GMT)
