India vs England: Virat Kohli aims to iron out middle-order frailties

India's MS Dhoni trains on the eve of the third ODI against England at Headingley, Leeds yesterday. Pic/Getty Images

One day on top of the world and the other, down in the dumps. That has been India's story on the tour so far, be it the T20Is or the ODIs. After being level in the T20I series, India clinched the decider with a commanding performance. The visitors are now in a similar situation in the ODIs and must win today's third match at Headingley to pocket their 10th successive series victory and win bragging rights ahead of the five-match Test series.

Dent in confidence
But the problem India face is that the heavy defeat in the second ODI at Lord's has dented their confidence, exposing a weak middle-order. One of the top-four batsmen need to play a big one and guide the batting right till the end, because the middle-order does not seem to have the gumption to carry the fight to the opposition if the top order fails. The Indian think-tank will surely be thinking of strengthening the middle-order, may be by bringing in Dinesh Karthik or Shreyas Iyer for Suresh Raina.

But the problem is that neither has played any game on the tour and bringing them in now is a risk that may not be worth taking. Also Mahendra Singh Dhoni's batting position at No. 7 serves no purpose, as he is not the same finisher he was a couple of years ago. India need to play him up the order to let him anchor the innings to get the most out of him.

Lack of options
On the bowling front, there is nothing much India can do. With Jasprit Bumrah unavailable due to injury and Bhuvneshwar Kumar under a cloud with a stiff back, there are not many options available other than to go with the same attack and hope that they, especially the two wrist spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, do the job. If England bat first again, the bowling attack will have to ensure that they do not bat India out of the game. A much-improved performance is needed from India in a match that will decide the fate of the ODI series and take the momentum into the all-important Tests.

Catch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates