BRISBANE - Having both been beaten with some comfort by Australia, England and India will seek to regroup at the Gabba, scene of a pair of heavy defeats for them in the past two Test matches at the same venue. Brisbane seldom holds happy memories for touring teams, but both visitors will on Tuesday find conditions conducive to aggressive cricket, with the pitch hard, the outfield fast the and the weather warm.
India have much the better record over England in recent times, their batting power overwhelming the more conservative English approach in encounters including the 2013 Champions Trophy final, which seemed to be going the way of the team then led by Alastair Cook until a late flurry of wickets at Edgbaston. But the variation in conditions between India, England and Australia is vast, meaning different shades of each player will be revealed to one another, just as the methodical ways of Cook and Andy Flower were found wanting down under last summer.
The greatest issue for England and India following their recent losses may well be confidence to attack. Eoin Morgan sounded particularly downcast following his opening defeat, while MS Dhoni's batting in Melbourne showed a level of anxiety his calm visage before the press could never reveal. Given that this tournament features only four pool games each, there is little time to pick up the sense of purpose after its early shake at Australian hands.
After taking a catch late in Australia's chase on Friday, Ian Bell tossed the ball away with visible frustration. England would lose, and Bell had made a golden duck, albeit one shaded by the strong suspicion of an inside edge to Mitchell Starc's first ball of the match. On a Gabba pitch expected to offer useful pace to work with, Bell's correct method and ability to score off both front and back foot may be critical in allowing England to make enough runs to keep pace with India's blazing top order.
MS Dhoni has committed to batting No. 6 in this series and the World Cup beyond. He seems to be playing without his usual freedom, responsibility weighing heavily on the captain's mind and his choice of shots. Until Ravindra Jadeja is back fit, or Axar Patel shows himself to be a lower-order player of merit, Dhoni will need to strike a better balance between attack and defence than he showed in Melbourne.
James Anderson is set to return in place of Steven Finn after sitting out England's opener against Australia, while the tourists are set to retain faith in the batting order chosen for the SCG despite an awful start against Starc. India may keep an unchanged side, given the fact that neither Ishant Sharma nor Jadeja are fully fit and Axar bowled tightly to Australia's middle order.
SQUADS:
INDIA: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, M Shami, Umesh Yadav.
ENGLAND: Ian Bell, Moeen Ali, James Taylor, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.