England were pretty ordinary in Nagpur. Their batting seemed okay but let us not forget it was playing Holland that did not have a great bowling attack. The fielding was very shabby to say the least - they dropped catches and their ground fielding was pathetic. One got the feeling that they thought the rule had changed in one day cricket and you needed three in the 30-yard circle. The number of times they had just three fielders in the circle and had people running up and down was embarrassing and funny.
England can only improve but India will have to play badly to lose that game.
In their opening game, India could not have asked for anything better. Obviously there is some fine tuning needed and I am sure they will iron them out in the game against England in Bengaluru. They will be happy with the Quick Start that scored 144 on the Castrol Index.
It is a matter of time before Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir get among the big runs. For me, the highlight of that match was Viru's application. He usually gets India off to flyers but in Mirpur he got to 40-50 quickly and managed to carry on and get the big score.
The Quick Start Bowling was not as much as India would have liked but that was bound to happen as there was some rust and some returning from injuries. Those are the areas they will want to improve. I can't see India playing three fast bowlers against England and I would like to see the team pick two specialist spinners.
I think it is the way to go, especially in Indian conditions. The choice will depend on what the team thinks about the track. If the belief is that the track will help spin, Piyush Chawla will be a good option but if it is flat then perhaps Ashwin should get the nod. I won't be afraid to unleash Chawla, especially against England. > Ravi Shastri
