England hope to finish off wounded India

THE temperature dropped to just 3°C with thick fog in New Delhi on Friday morning. It was colder than London.

But if England felt the chill as they practised for the first time since returning to India after their short festive break, it was nothing compared with the reception the Indian team received as they arrived in Delhi for today's third and final one-day international against Pakistan.

To say it was frosty would be an understatement. In losing in Calcutta on Thursday, the world champions conceded the series 2-0, their first defeat in a bilateral home one-day series in more than three years.

"New Year, New Low" screeched the headline in the Times of India. Changes are being called for in both management (with coach Duncan Fletcher's head on the block) and team personnel. Today's selection for the five-match one-day series against England beginning in Rajkot next Friday certainly should be interesting.

Former Pakistan captain Intikhab Alam reckons it could take "about 10 years" for India to recover as a team, given the recent retirements of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar (the latter just from one-day cricket). Delhi's fog is an apt metaphor for Indian cricket. No one can see a way forward.

Perfect time, then, for England to slip into the country attempting to soften a horrible ODI record in India, which stands at 13 victories from 40 matches. Their last two series have both been lost 5-0.

"We'll be looking to put that right," barked Tim Bresnan. "We love a challenge. We proved that in the test series, where it had been 28 years since we'd won here. This side under this establishment is capable of great things."

Not that India will be underestimated. "It's going to be tough," admitted Bresnan. "But it is definitely a challenge that we can overcome. The Twenty20 win before Christmas gave us a lot of confidence. If we play a similar sort of cricket over the longer format, we should go all right."