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Two games, two thrashings and both at the hands of one man - Yuvraj Singh. Suddenly, things are not looking so rosy for England. They have their backs against the wall and need to win four of the remaining five games against a strong Indian side to win the series.
Despite trailing India 2-0 in the seven-match series, captain Kevin Pietersen is confident his side can resurrect the form that saw them comfortably beat South Africa 4-0 in the five-match one-day internationals in September. "I just think we can be competitive and keep improving to get closer and win a couple of games," he said. "We want to try to win this series because that's what we're here to do."

Off-spinner Graeme Swann is set to play in the third one-day international against India after he was named in a 12-man squad on Wednesday. However, left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom's hopes of returning to the side for Thursday's contest were dented after he underwent a scan for a back problem, having just recovered from an Achilles injury that kept him out of the first two games.

"Because I haven't played in the first two games, I'm in quite a unique position and should I get in the eleven tomorrow which I hope to do, I can walk out as if it is a fresh series," Swann told reporters. Swann played a useful role in England's victory in Sri Lanka last year, picking up 7 wickets in four matches. "The series in Sri Lanka last year was a five-match series. That is a good length series for a spin bowler, doesn't get too tired and doesn't get worked out by the batsmen." All-rounder Ravi Bopara, one of the players who could make way for Swann, did not attend nets due to a stomach upset.

For the hosts, young paceman Ishant Sharma bowled in the nets, having missed the first two games due to an ankle problem. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his inclusion would be decided before the game.

Yuvraj Singh is in line to become only the fourth player to score three consecutive one-day hundreds, after scoring 138 not out and 118 in the last two games. Pakistan's Zaheer Abbas and Saeed Anwar and South African Herschelle Gibbs have achieved that feat.

"Hopefuly he will be doing it," Dhoni told reporters. "One thing about Yuvi is, when he gets going he is among the best." Bowlers seemed to be sorting out right-handed batsmen more easily and left-handers held an advantage when it came to big hitting in limited overs cricket, he added.

The Kanpur pitch is expected to favour batsmen after the slow pitch in the previous game in Indore saw nine England batsmen fall to spin bowlers, the other being a run out.

Teams:
India (From): Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Rudra Pratap Singh, Virat Kohli, Pragyan Ojha, Murali Vijay

England (From): Ian Bell, Matthew Prior(w), Owais Shah, Kevin Pietersen(c), Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Samit Patel, Ravinder Bopara, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Ryan Sidebottom, Stephen Harmison, James Anderson, Luke Wright, Tim Ambrose, Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Monty Panesar