SCORE FLASH: First ODI - India (387-5) beat England  (229 all out) by 138 runs.

As India and England took to the field at Rajkot today in the first of the seven one-day internationals, there was huge anticipation with fans all over expecting to see some exciting cricket.

While India have rested Sachin Tendulkar for the first three matches, both teams will miss the men with the longest hair. England left-arm pacer Ryan Sidebottom is still not fully fit and India have decided to exercise caution and give Ishant Sharma’s sprained ankle some rest.

Captains charismatic might have been hogging all the limelight till now but both teams have flamboyant and at the same time elegant batsmen at the top who will be looking to give their innings a brisk and stable start.

If Kevin Pietersen is touted to be the next great thing, Yuvraj Singh could make the best bowling in the world look mediocre. While Yusuf Pathan and Andrew Flintoff will add spice to their batting line-ups, Paul Collingwood and Captain Cool MS Dhoni will lend solidity to their teams.

Steve Harmison reverse swung Australia out of the Ashes in 2005 and Zaheer Khan had them asking for respite in India. Just seeing how early in the innings the Indian bowlers got the ball to reverse in the Border-Gavaskar trophy, it could play a big part in this series as well. Since the SG and Duke balls are pretty similar in seam, structure and behaviour, England too must not have any problems maintaining and using it.

The rule changes regarding the power-plays have brought in some more interesting possibilities to the game. While the fielding captains are likely to keep the same trend and employ the power-play from the 11th over itself, it would be interesting to see what the batting teams decide to do. Batting teams may ponder overtaking their power-play in the 35th over after the mandatory ball change and try to take advantage of a comparatively harder ball.

If England hold back their power-play while batting, Dhoni may introduce spin from the 16th over which until now he has been doing after 20 overs. Harbhajan may enjoy bowling with a harder ball. If the ball spins, England might have some questions put before them and India will ride an edge.

But the thing that in all likeliness will decide the outcome of the matches is whether the Indian top order can handle and tame the English pacers up front. Even if the men in blue can quietly play out the initial spells without losing more than one or two wickets, they are likely to dominate.

Another area the Lions will look to target is the not-so-experienced trio of Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli/Pathan.

All in all, it promises to be a six-course meal for a cricket-hungry fan with two of the better sides in world cricket facing off.