India Seek a Win in Dravid Farewell

Cardiff: With the series lost before it's over, the fifth and final one-day international on Friday gives the Indian team the last chance to record a win in the England tour.

However, if fail in securing even one win against the English, Dhoni and his boys will have to wait till the time the Englishmen come to India for a return series. Despite the humiliating Test series loss, India have performed with some quality in the ODIs even though they have not won any of the matches so far.

They were in a commanding position at Chester-le-Street, but rain deprived them of a positive. In Southampton too, rain played foul though the English were in fighting form. Rain was to blame at the Oval, as well, and kicked in just as the Indian spinners were getting a grip of things. At Lord's, India lost out in what went down to the wire before it was declared a tie.

The team's composition - most boys are emerging players with years of play ahead of them - gives the side some energy and resilience. For them, this series has been a test, not the final exam. Their mentors are taking heart in the positives shown by some talents on field even though they couldn't power their side to victory.

Captain courageous Dhoni has been one of India's luckiest leaders and has had great success in various formats. This series has been an exception in his otherwise stellar career over the last four years (he was named captain on September 14, 2007). However, despite the outcome, MSD is an unchanged man.

He's not wilted under pressure, nor complained about all the small but significant factors that have gone against the Indians. He has not been able to play his natural game and been under pressure to perform from the time his team had arrived in England.

Against all odds, Dhoni has waged a battle despite severe limitations that has plagued his side through the tour. He has ensured that his players got enough exposure to grow as international players. The final ODI is of grave importance to the boys.

Dhoni, meanwhile, would be praying that the elements are fair, for once, to both sides!

There is urgency among many youngsters in the team as they hope to be picked for the return series at home. Besides, with nothing to lose, India can be lethal.

One more reason why India would want to do well is that this is Rahul Dravid's final one-day international. The players would surely want to give the great batsman a triumphant farewell.

Teams from

England: Alastair Cook (capt), Craig Kieswetter (wk), Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Ben Stokes, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Samit Patel

India: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Parthiv Patel (wk), Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, Amit Mishra, Subramaniam Badrinath, Vinay Kumar, Varun Aaron, Manoj Tiwary

Pitch and conditions
The weather is expected to be clear for the evening of the match, though Wales in September is no time or place for making assumptions. When asked how the wicket looked, Cook replied, helpfully: "22 yards long!" However, he did concede that two spinners was in his mind.

Stats and trivia

• The four-wicket victory against Australia at Cardiff last year was the first time in three attempts that England had completed an ODI match at the venue, after washouts against Pakistan in 2006 and South Africa in 2008.
• India is the only Test team yet to play an international fixture in Wales. Each of the first five matches at the ground were neutral ODIs involving Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, West Indies and Bangladesh.
• Suresh Raina needs 22 more runs to reach 3000 in ODIs.

Match facts
Friday September 16, 2011 (day/night)
Start time 1400 (1300 GMT, 18:30 IST)