England take on India in the second One Day International (ODI) of a five-match series, at the Jawaharlal Stadium in the southern city of Kochi, on Tuesday. Alastair Cook have a 1-0 lead in the series after a nine-run win over MS Dhoni and co. in Rajkot last week.

Eoin Morgan
Reuters

Where to Watch Live

The match is scheduled to start at 6.30am GMT and live coverage will be on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1 HD.

Overview

The hosts are in crisis, with three defeats in the last four ODIs at home. Dhoni has had little time to change things around since the country lost a three-match series to arch-rivals Pakistan and that showed in Rajkot.

Battling half-centuries from Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina, coupled with quick-fire innings from newcomer Ajinkya Rahane and Dhoni himself were not enough to overhaul England's 325/4.

The problem remains with the bowling and particularly with a lack of pressure in the final few overs. England scored 89 runs from the final 10 overs of the first ODI (38 from the final two) and that is far too many for Dhoni's men to give away, even if they do boast one of the most explosive batting line-ups in the world. With the exception of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (0/46 from 10 overs) and Raina (1/18 from five) the Indian front-line bowlers were abysmal.

By contrast, the English bowlers were marginally better but, in the final analysis, it was the poor bowling in the first innings that gave Dhoni and the Indian batsman a target that was a tad beyond their best efforts.

Cook will not be too worried though, as the visitors begin the second half of their tour of India in winning fashion. England have already claimed a historic Test series win and drawn a two-match T20 International series.

James Tredwell's Man of the Match performance in Rajkot (4/44 from 10 overs) means he is likely to retain his place for the second match. The pace trio of Jade Dernbach, Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn were expensive, conceding 199 runs from 28 overs, but they took crucial lower-order wickets to stop the Indians.

MS Dhoni (batting)
Reuters

The English batsman fired, all together, to show just why they are one of the best in the world. Captain Cook led the way with a sparkling 75, carrying over his run-scoring form from the Test series. Fellow opener Ian Bell was equally classy with 85 and sizeable (and rapid) contributions all down the order - Kevin Pietersen 44 (45), Eoin Morgan 41 (38), Craig Kieswetter 24 (20) and Samit Patel 44 (20) - meant England were simply unstoppable.

Team News

India will likely make a few changes for this match, with Shami Ahmed a possibility to replace the misfiring Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the seamer's department. Ahmed made his ODI debut in the recent series against Pakistan, finishing with figures of 1/23, an encouraging start to his career.

The 22-year-old may not have experience but will be an unknown factor for England's batsmen to consider, at a time when the country's other bowlers are becoming a touch too predictable.

Ishant Sharma and Ashok Dinda may retain their places, with the latter the pick of the trio of seamers from the first match. He finished with 2/53 from eight overs. Sharma was poor but his combined haul of seven wickets for 109 runs from 29.2 overs in the three matches against Pakistan was brilliant enough to give him a second chance here.

Spin is a department that will worry Dhoni. Traditionally, the Indians produce fantastic spinners and they do have the very talented Ravichandran Ashwin. However, the off-spinner has been lacklustre in recent games and although he still enjoys his captain's confidence, the south Indian will have to up his game to retain his place.

The Indians are unlikely to tamper with the batting and top order though, given the impressive performances in the first match. However, a point of concern will be middle-order specialist Virat Kohli. Traditionally a big­-hitter and reliable run-getter, his form has dipped in recent games. Expect him to come to the party soon.

Possible Team: G Gambhir, A Rahane, V Kohli, Y Singh, S Raina, MS Dhoni, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, A Dinda, I Sharma, S Ahmed

The English are extremely unlikely to make any changes to their squad, unless injuries force Cook into substitutions.

Possible Team: A Cook, I Bell, K Pietersen, E Morgan, C Kiestwetter, S Patel, J Root, T Bresnan, J Tredwell, S Finn, J Dernbach