23 Aug 2014 | Cricket
As the England team prepare for the Royal London One Day Series against India, SWALEC ambassador and former England international bowler Robert Croft has indicated that despite England's recent successes, the contest between the two teams is far from decided.
India have been absolutely demolished by England in the latest test series, so there is now a lot of good feeling amongst the England camp and I imagine they will be feeling very confident about the forthcoming One Day series. That being said, India are the current ICC World Cup Champions in the 50 format, so to underestimate the challenge ahead would be foolish.
India must be under immense pressure, from the media, their fans; everyone. It will be very interesting to see what effect that pressure has on them, it could help them turn things around, or crumble them even more. The first two games will be crucial.
'Electric' atmosphere expected at SWALEC stadium
The second fixture in the One-Day International series will take place at the SWALEC Stadium on Wednesday 27th August. Whilst the jury is still out on which team will put in the winning performance, it's good news for fans travelling to Cardiff who can look forward to an exciting and unpredictable game.
India has visited the Welsh capital four times in the course of the last three years, and that includes three matches in 2013 as part of the ICC Champions Trophy, where the atmosphere was just electric.
Add to that the fact that Ravi Shastri, who used to play for Glamorgan back in the late 80's, has just been appointed India's Director of Cricket and will be commentating on the match during the day. That should make the whole event even more enjoyable.
Cricket is to India what rugby is to the Welsh, and that's why we love having them here. We also have a pitch that India will enjoy as it will provide them with a bit of spin, a bit of bounce - which should make for an interesting days cricket.
Personally I can't wait to see what happens and I really can't predict the outcome. It should be a really exciting match that could go either way.