Fiery Finn to take the wickets to keep England’s India series alive
Published:Steve Finn’s bowling figures may read 1-117 across the opening two one-day matches with India, but this should not put punters off backing him to be England’s top wicket-taker in the third clash between the pair in Mohali.
The Mohali pitch is largely expected to favour the quick bowlers more than the spinners and is considered to be one of the most pace-friendly pitches on the whole of the sub continent.
It is the added purchase and bounce that will get the pace attack most excited and Finn looks the best of the English bowlers to exploit the surface, particularly with the likes of Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett absent from the tour.
England have suffered back-to-back heavy defeats on Indian soil and know that they must achieve victory in Mohali to avoid the certainty of a early series loss.
It is 5/4 that England beat India and if Finn can benefit from some extra luck, this certainly represents their best chance of a victory so far.
Finn may have not taken a wicket in the latest defeat in Delhi, but the fact he clocked 93mph at times will keep India on their toes, while the short ball should be more of a factor in Mohali.
Meanwhile, if any of the Indian batsmen are particularly out of form then it is opening duo Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane and with Finn taking the new ball, this may prove easier wickets to collect than the in-form and more stubborn middle order.
Finn’s hat-trick in the warm-up clash with a Hyderabad XI also suggests that he is perhaps more likely to be a factor in Mohali then England’s other bowling options.
It is 7/2 in the cricket odds that Finn is England’s top wicket-taker in the third one-day clash with India.
