Daijiworld Media Network

Cardiff, Aug 27 : Second ODI between India and England.

Hales will make his ODI debut today. He had a forgettable T20I debut against the same team - he was out for nought. Cook handed his maiden ODI cap earlier in the day. No fresh faces for the visitors though. Rayudu also misses the cut.

England have won the toss and have opted to field

Dhoni: 'We were looking to bowl first as well, considering the pitch and rain forecast. It is good to have fresh legs. What is important is to play well in the 4 ODIs. It is important to survive but we have to commit to our shots. The freedom of playing shots is very crucial.'

Cook: We are going to have a bowl first. It is because of the surface. It will do a little bit early on. We have to put the ball in the right areas. We have gone for Jimmy, Woakes, CJ and Ben Stokes. It is a great opportunity to attack these next 6 months and peak at the right time. He (Alex Hales) will remember this day. He has been in fine form with the bat.

Teams:

England (Playing XI): Alastair Cook(c), Alex Hales, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler(w), Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, James Tredwell, James Anderson

India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma

Pitch report: 'It is what you call a typical English day. Typical English pitch as well. There is some grass but it has a bit of moisture. It has been raining for the last couple of days. With two new balls, the ball will seam around for the first 15-20 overs. Win the toss and bowl first' prescribe Sanjay Manjrekar and Wasim Akram.
Live pictures show that conditions are chilly. The Indians have their jumpers on as they undergo their warm-up exercises.

For more news on the weather check out Gautam Bhimani's tweet: Promising start over Cardiff Bay. Forecast brightening by the hour

It's time to wrap up this segment. And today is the 106th birth anniversary of Sir Donald Bradman. The greatest ever batsman? I'll let you call all the shots on this.

'Among the bowlers, leg-spinner Karn Sharma rolled his arm over the most, and consequently he got hammered more often than the others (Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Suresh Raina). In between, however, he did get applause from coach Duncan Fletcher and director Ravi Shastri for the odd delivery. Nets aren't definitive indications of what a playing XI is going to be like, and perhaps Karn bowled as much as he did because India were looking to practise against spin. However, the way Shastri singled out the leggie early on for a little pep talk triggered speculation.'

He writes, 'Cardiff is a venue that offers decent assistance to spinners, and the Indian drill looked like a plan not to allow Moeen Ali and James Tredwell settle in.'

Daksh Panwar's special for the Indian Express has the headline: Spinning wheels of fortune

He adds 'Shastri, in any case, isn't the type to play second fiddle. That's just not him, for he likes to call the shots. Those who have worked with Shastri, in one capacity or the other, are bound to vouch for that without a second thought. As first reported in these columns, from London last week, Shastri himself made it clear that Fletcher would report to him.'

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's comments in Bristol on Sunday may have come as manna from heaven for head coach Duncan Fletcher, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India isn't on the same page as the captain. In an interaction with the media, on the eve of the ODIs against England, Dhoni said: He (Fletcher) will lead us into the World Cup... Also, he is still the boss.

Lokendra Pratap Sahi, writing for the Telegraph, Calcutta throws the spotlight on Shastri and Fletcher.

'This is what the Indians need to do at this moment. A lot of things are happening in Indian cricket, too much is being written about and talked about and the players just need to get away from it. India will be happy to go back to Cardiff. They have great memories there and had an outstanding Champions Trophy last year, writes former India skipper, Sourav Ganguly for the Hindustan Times

'It's important on such long trips to take time off from the game and get to the calmness of the countryside as it helps rejuvenate and come back fresh. Sometimes, such opportunities help to get away from the nets and think about the game which helps to come back as better players.'

'Wales is a fabulous place, not only beautiful but the people are unbelievably friendly. It's a beautiful part of South of England and the India boys will be happy to get away from the city life to the brilliant water sides, wharfs as they say here. It is a great opportunity to have the best fish and chips of the country.'

'But with the other opener being skipper Alastair Cook, Bell knows he is the man who will have to make way for the change. Ever adaptable, Bell has batted in every position bar eight and 10 in England's one-day team, says Dean Wilson in his piece for the Daily Mirror.

'Ian Bell has revealed he is happy to give up his one-day opener's slot for Alex Hales to lead England's World Cup charge. Hales has made a deafening case for inclusion at the top of the order and will give England the firepower they need to challenge for the trophy next March.'

'There are only three England survivors from that 2011 game in Cardiff this week: Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Steve Finn. So much hinges on a successful opening partnership and England will, if the rain goes away, reveal their latest model in Cardiff: the Cook/Hales combo. Both will find themselves under intense scrutiny throughout the series. Cook, for whom there is no respite in 2014, is being advised by some of his mates that he should not be leading England in ODI cricket. Goodness knows what his enemies are advocating.'

He writes, 'Wales has always been a happy hunting ground for England at least as far as cricket is concerned. In one-day internationals, England have never lost there; in seven matches they have won four and three, rather ominously, have been no results. After the downpour at Bristol on Monday, which caused the first match of the series against India to be abandoned, another no-result in Cardiff would test the patience of cricketers, punters and preview writers.'
Vic Marks' piece for the Guardian wears the headline: Cook and Hales feel the heat as England prepare to face India in Cardiff

As is the norm, let us plunge into what the newspapers have in store for us before the action begins.

The likes of Eoin Morgan and Chris Jordan are fine ODI players as well. Coming back to India, they had a few bright sparks in the tour match versus Middlesex. Kohli and Rayudu scored fifties each while Karn Sharma took a 3-fer. Kohli will also have fond memories of Cardiff where he has scored a ton and a fifty in the three matches he has played here. In fact, India's deputy captain averages close to 100 in ODIs at Cardiff, the most by any batsman at this venue.

Meanwhile, England have a few issues of their own. They have not won an ODI series at home since 2012. Graeme Swann and Michael Vaughan have lashed out at the team for the lack of firepower. Bopara's exclusion has raised a few eyebrows but Alex Hales, who will make his ODI debut today, injects that X-factor to the team. With Hales set to occupy the top slot alongside Captain Cook, Bell will shift to one drop.