Cardiff, Sept 16: India lost the toss for the fifth time in a row as England elected to bowl in the fifth and final ODI here at Sophia Gardens.
India have brought in Vinay Kumar in place of Praveen Kumar, who has suffered an ankle injury, while England have made three changes to their squad.
Captain speak:
Alastair Cook (England)
On opting to bowl first: “History suggests the side bowling here wins more than it loses and also the dew [is a factor].”
On the team: “Jimmy [James Anderson] is being rested, Ben Stokes is out [due to injury], Samit [Patel] comes in and Jade Dernbach and Jhonny Bairstow [are] on debut. “
On Jhonny Bairstow: “He is a very attacking player and has had a very good year.”
On the young team: “It’s been great, the enthusiasm that they bring in to the side; [we] hope to get the right result today. It’s never a dead game when you play for England.”
MS Dhoni (India)
On Praveen Kumar’s injury: “He has got an ankle problem. Well deserved rest”
On Duncan Fletcher’s input: “It’s similar to the wickets that we may get in the subcontinent. Dew may have an effect as the game progresses.”
On Rahul Dravid: “He is a legend. In whatever format – Test or ODI. He is the best wicketkeeper-batsman that we have got as far as stats are concerned. When we were doing really well a major contribution was his.”
Playing XIs:
England: AN Cook(c), C Kieswetter(wk), IJL Trott, IR Bell, RS Bopara, JM Bairstow, SR Patel, TT Bresnan, GP Swann, ST Finn, JW Dernbach
India: AM Rahane, PA Patel, R Dravid, V Kohli, SK Raina, MS Dhoni(c,wk), RA Jadeja, R Ashwin, RP Singh, MM Patel, R Vinay Kumar
