India will certainly feel that rain denied them a chance to reverse their fortunes. After having put 274 on the board, India picked up two wickets early to put pressure on the home team. No point going into the probabilities and possibilities now. We need to wait for the second ODI at Southampton. India should go into the game carrying whatever positives they can from the first ODI, and that is substantial. The batting of Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli should be enough encouragement for the India camp.

Parthiv is a gutsy little cricketer. He burst on to the international scene at a very early age and since then has been surviving and delivering at that level. He has always been a good player of fast bowling, which is important at the highest level, but one area he needs to improve is when the ball is pitched up.

He is also the ideal second wicketkeeper to Dhoni. He can really keep Dhoni on his toes, as he is good at the Test level.

India is once again hurt by injury, this time to Rohit Sharma, who broke his finger. This gives Bengal's Manoj Tiwary a chance to take fresh guard. He has had a good series in the Emerging Players' tournament in Australia and should be high on confidence.

India need to focus
With Sachin Tendulkar going back, he should be mentally ready to take the field straightaway. A spate of injuries, debate about technology and how India is suffering because of that will continue. But India needs to focus on the game. They will have to lift their game in the remaining four matches and try to finish the tour on a high.

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