Team India needs to be wary of few pitfalls in Champions Trophy final

While India have been in cruise control mode right through the CT, the final against England could be a different ball game. Dhoni & Co need to watch out for these pitfalls...

Jimmy's swing: Few bowlers in world cricket can seam and swing the ball in the manner that this Lancastrian does. Be it left or right-handers, he regularly knocks over quality players early. While India's openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are in form, they need to be a bit circumspect against Anderson early on, rather than go bang-bang and give away their wickets. Leaving the ball will be the key against Anderson on a pitch that should be seam-friendly.

Cook and Trott, the bulwarks: India found the England skipper impossible to dislodge when the two teams clashed in the Test series in India last November. The Essex southpaw has shown a marked improvement in his ODI game since becoming captain in the format after the 2011 World Cup and his strike-rate too has registered a spike. He has been well supported by Jonathan Trott in this tournament. The No. 3 batsman's approach to batting in limited overs is curiously unhurried, but his method enables the power-hitters in the lower half of the batting order to indulge in a bit of madness.

The spin trap: When England toured India last November, their spinners Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann outbowled the more fancied Indian tweakers. In James Tredwell and Swann, they have two contrasting finger spinners who can control the innings in the middle-overs. Tredwell was man-of-the-match in the first ODI between these two teams in Rajkot earlier this year and could again be India's bogeyman if the batsmen look to hit him out of the park.

Rusty middle-order: While Dhawan and Rohit have provided the team with robust starts, their success has meant the middle-order is a bit under-cooked. MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, generally the enforcers in the batting order, haven't had too much to do. If either Dhawan or Rohit or both fall cheaply, the middle-order could wobble.

No life at the death: England play ODIs like they were played in the 80s and early 90s: they start slowly, preserve wickets and go hell for leather in the slog. With batsmen like Morgan, Bopara and Buttler, who are capable of game-changing pyrotechnics in the end, it may be the perfect strategy. While India's bowlers have inflicted telling blows at the start, things haven't gone Dhoni's way in the final overs, with Ishant and Umesh bleeding runs. This phase may well decide if India win the trophy or lose it.                                                                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxHQ9J75K_c