England will be wary of India after scratchy show vs Dutch

Judging by their performance against Netherlands yesterday, England will have an uphill task against India who they play on Sunday

England have an uphill task against India, if their performance in their opening of the World Cup here yesterday was anything to go by.

England were expected to win comprehensively against the Dutch. However, though they won by six wickets, Andrew Strauss & Co were made to earn every bit of their victory by Peter Borren's side.u00a0u00a0u00a0

First, the Netherlands' batters, guided by Ryan ten Doeschate, who notched up his maiden World Cup century with a 110-ball 119, hit England bowlers all over the park to post a challenging 292 for six.

In reply, England made a promising start with Kevin Pietersen (39) and Strauss (88) putting on 105 runs for the opening stand. But, once the duo departed, there was a sudden dip in England's scoring rate.

The Orange team's never-say-die spirit kept England on the edge before Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara, both scoring unbeaten 30, steered them home with eight balls remaining.

Not surprisingly, England skipper Strauss wasn't exactly looking forward to the India game in Bangalore on February 27.

"Hopefully, India will take us lightly after this performance," he quipped before adding, "we are excited to play India. It will be a great occasion and the atmosphere will be amazing. We back ourselves to win."

The Netherlands star Doeschate felt England would have their backs to the wall against India, but expected them to bounce back. "Today obviously their (England) confidence was not good. They have three to four days to regroup before playing India. Being a professional outfit, I am sure they will work hard on their flaws. I back them to bounce back," Doeschate told MiD DAY.

Strauss hinted at a change in gameplan against M S Dhoni's team. "Playing two spinners is certainly an option for us, especially against India. We are yet to think about the best combination against them," he said.

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