Prewiew of ENGLAND V INDIA AT Kanpur

One-day cricket is also about flexibility and adapting to conditions and England were muddled by team selection in Indore - Kevin Pietersen showed no faith in bowling the spinner Samit Patel during the final Powerplay, while keeping himself down instead of trying to solidify a shaky top order. Pietersen insisted England had not made a mistake in picking an unchanged team after slumping to another heavy defeat, terming the display in Indore as a sign of progress. England were marginally better in that they reduced the margin of defeat from 158 runs to 54, but they need a drastic shake up.

Graeme Swann, who played a key role in a famous away win in Sri Lanka a year ago, has been drafted into England's playing XI to bolster a weak attack. That's one plus for a struggling side, but Pietersen also needs to bat himself at No. 3 - he is England's best one-day batsman. Despite trailing India 2-0 in the seven-match series, Pietersen expressed faith that the side which beat South Africa 4-0 this summer could come back strongly here. There are even whispers that a disastrous trip to the Caribbean has destabilised Pietersen's unit.

India, conversely, find themselves on top at home again, under an energetic captain. This ODI team has continued the good work shown in the Asia Cup and in Sri Lanka, with the younger players stepping up admirably. Undoubtedly India have been lifted magnificently by Yuvraj Singh's displays in the last two games, but this side is brimming with intent. Gautam Gambhir has powered India's starts, Yuvraj has scored the most runs, and Yusuf Pathan blasted India out of a middle order collapse to a large score in the last game. Zaheer Khan has been naggingly accurate and among the wickets, while Munaf Patel has kept a lid on the runs. Harbhajan Singh hasn't been that successful, but Yuvraj, Virender Sehwag and Yusuf have kept a check with their variety of slow stuff. It will take something special to stop India going up 3-0 on what is expected to be a batting track.

Form guide (last 5 completed games, most recent first)

India WWLWW
England LLWWW