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The 4th ODI in the series between England and India is yet to take place In Mohali on the 23rd of January. While England had the upper hand when they won the first match of the series at Rajkot, India made an amazing comeback by beating the rivals at home turf in a landslide of 127 runs.

Following their embarrassing defeat at Kochi, the English were hoping to break even with another win in their favor at Ranchi; but the support and enthusiasm in favor of the Indians at Mahendra Singh Dhon’s native place coupled with India’s desperate need to prove themselves after the disastrous results they reaped in 2012, motivated the Indian cricket team to give the match their best shot. Surprisingly enough, their best shot was exactly what was required for India to claim victory and a lead of 2-1 in the One Day International Series.

With some of the best players retired or on the bench, India had a very few fixtures to look forward to. Ever since their shameful return home from the away test series, Indian captain Dhoni had come under fire and also close to being ‘fired’. Thanks to luck and most probably some officials at the BCCI, Dhoni captured back the captain position which was dangled in front of Virat Kohli in the mean time. Kohli has shown a level of consistency that has pleased both his fans and comrades alike. The 77 runs that he acquired while batting it out during the series at Kochi, earned him the ‘man of the match’ award.

With the heavy weights gone, lesser known cricketers are coming up and taking their places based on their talents. Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ashok Dinda and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are all legends in the making. Of these players, Kumar in particular has been making it extra hard for the English team to acclimate to the whole ongoing ODI situation. During the second ODI at Kochin, he bowled all of his ten overs on a roll to come up with a three wickets for twenty nine runs score. The three wickets that he took was equivalent to destroying the metaphoric pillars of the England team, because it didn’t take long after that for them to collapse. Another notable achievement in Bhuvneshwar Kumar profile will be the tag of the’ first bowler to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar for a duck’. Apart from being a bowler, he is also a middle order batsman.

It is the question in every football fan’s mind. It is one of the most mind boggling queries of all time. As a matter of fact, it is right up there with, “Is the world coming to an end in 2012?” But sadly, it is a question that sorely misses a unanimous answer. The question is “Who is a better football player, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi? When the great football team giants like the Barcelona and the Real Madrid collide, the real battle takes place between its respective titans- Messi and Ronaldo.

To come nearer to an accurate answer, one must take a closer look at the lives, accomplishments, statistics and setbacks of both the players. Let us start with the Portuguese forward and the Real Madrid player- Ronaldo. He hails from a small town, south of Portugal and became an accomplished football player by the time he turned a teenager. He has previously played with the other Premier League heavy weights such as Liverpool and the Manchester United. He constantly strived and pushed himself to the limits to live up to his idols such as David Beckham and George Best. He has amassed an astounding number of titles and awards in his time, which include PFA Player of the year, World Soccer Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year.

Messi, in all manner of speaking, is Ronaldo’s Argentinian counterpart. He is Barcelon’s defender and the captain of the Argentina national team. He was the winner of the prestigious Ballon d’Or in 2009. Lional Messi’s profile is cluttered with plaudits the likes of which include, FIFA World Player of the Year, FIFA Ballon d’Or and the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. He also has an Olympic gold to show for his victory in 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2005, Messi was the top scorer of the FIFA World Youth Championship.

When compared to Ronaldo, Lionel Messi’s statistics are not even a bit further behind. They stand neck to neck when it comes to skills, goals scored, remuneration and worldwide stardom. In 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo became the world’s most expensive player when he signed with Real Madrid for a fee of Dollar 131 million. That record was beaten by Messi when he recently renewed his contract with Barcelona at Euro 27.5 million. This has caused Ronaldo a great deal of frustration who in turn has retorted with threats that he would leave Real Madrid, unless and until he is compensated handsomely.

The stage was set and both the tensions and stakes were high. The score card was leveled with a victory to either team’s name. When the England cricket team scored 325-4 in the first ODI, it was a proud locker room moment for everyone involved. Even though they had just about nine runs over the Indian squad, the victory gave them a starting lead in the five match series.

Another reason why it was important to celebrate their victory in all its glory was because it was England’s first victory in 14 away matches against their staunch rivals. They won the toss, and the decision to bat first definitely turned out to be fortunate enough for the lot. Ian Bell and Alastair Cook took 158 runs in the opening stand, a combined effort with their 85 and 75 runs respectively. The timely wickets helped the team cement their victory against the Indian cricket team. After their win at Rajkot, England geared up for a similar encounter with the Indians in Kochi, but it seemed like God’s own country proved unlucky for the tourists who were at the receiving end of the competitive vengeance of the Indian cricket team. The home team won the match by an astounding 127 run margin, regarded as the second highest margin of victory against the England cricket team.

This leveled the series 1-1. Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s 72 runs from 66 balls, a feat that earned the praise of the ‘best skipper in the world’ from his English counterpart, Cook, was only preceded by Ravindra Jadeja`s top ranking 61 runs from 37 balls. It’s a no brainer why Jadeja was conferred the man of the match that day. The only silver lining for the English was latest record incorporated into Alastair Cook profile – that of the youngest batsman to reach 7,000 Test runs. Proud moment for the captain and the left handed opening batsman. He was appointed Captain of the England test team following Andrew Strauss’s retirement. He had prepped up his team and boosted their confidence since their crushing defeat in Kochi, to face the Indian team at Ranchi, on 19th January, in the third ODI of the England tour series.

But home soil proved fortunate for Indian who won the match by 7 wickets. Virat Kohli who was adjudged the Man of the Match, secured 77 runs. Now both teams brace themselves for the next ODI in the series set to take place at Mohali, on 23rd January.