Unfortunately, the only things of interest in the final ODI between India and England will be whether India decide to give a look-in to newbies Sanju Samson and Karn Sharma, and also if England can avoid a 4-0 thrashing at home. With the series already in their pocket, a rampaging India would look to keep the foot on the pedal and press for a clean-sweep when they take on England in the fifth and final One Day International.

In a remarkable turnaround following their humiliation in the preceding Test series, India have called the shots in the ODI series, with England struggling to match the visitors be it with the bat, ball or on the field.

India

After the first game was washed out, world champions India have asserted their supremacy in the 50-over format by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead to seal the five-match series, which is their first in England since 2002, if the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy is neglected on account of being a multi-team tournament. In fact, that 2002 win was a tri-series win as well with Sri Lanka as third participants. You have to go back all the way to 1990 for a bilateral ODI series win by India in England, when they took the Texaco Trophy 2-0.

MS Dhoni will look to end this series on a winning note then. And they should be successful in their bid because England haven't really put up a worthy challenge in any of the matches. So much so that the hosts 2015 ODI World Cup plans lie in tatters.

India's batting line-up has regained much of its confidence, thanks to England's inadequacies. If there is one big positive to come out of this series for the line-up, then it is in the newfound opening pairing of Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan. Dhoni had hinted that going ahead it could mean that Rohit Sharma - when he returns - will possibly bat at number four. If that is true then India, in their ongoing preparations for the World Cup, need to strengthen their middle order once again. Rahane moving up means they have one less option. Ambati Rayudu has done well in the limited opportunities afforded, but the think-tank will do well to give Sanju Samson a run-in as well.

This dead-rubber also gives Team India a chance to rest Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami and presenting Umesh Yadav and Karn Sharma a much-wanted go at the opposition. However, in the past, MS Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher - has been very reluctant in handing out rest to over-worked bodies. They tend to play the same eleven at every opportunity possible and it remains to be seen if the newly-appointed director of cricket, Ravi Shastri will have a say and bring about a change this time around, particularly keeping Australia-New Zealand in mind.

Time and again, Dhoni has stressed that his bowlers - especially medium-pacers - need to get better in the death overs when the opposition has wickets in hand. Neither have the wickets been very placid, perhaps barring Edgbaston, and with some purchase in them for the spin bowlers, they have done quite well. This is in sharp contrast to how this same bowling attack suffered in New Zealand.

England

Nothing seems to be going right for England in the ODIs. To make matters worse, their captain Alastair Cook doesn't want to accept that selection or strategy is at fault for the string of defeats.

Their new opener Alex Hales has been found out already against the in-swinging delivery. Their middle order is in shambles despite which is further compunded by Ian Bell being unavailable for this last game due to a toe injury. Gary Ballance has done well in Test cricket but doubts persist over his ability to perform in limited-overs cricket. Their top-order has not scored enough runs quickly to provide a cushion to their upcoming batsmen. Furthermore their middle-order has been unable to counter spin in the overs leading to the second power-play. They either lose too many wickets in the first 20 overs or before the 35th over, thus not putting any pressure on the opposition at all. They had lost 8 wickets before the last 15 overs commenced in Cardiff, 5 wickets in Nottingham and then another 5 wickets in Birmingham. In effect, this has meant easy-going for the Indian bowlers.

England's bowlers too have been left handicapped with the batsmen's inability to score big. James Anderson has hardly replicated his stunning form in the Tests, while the likes of Chris Woakes and Steven Finn have hardly proved to be a bother for India's batsmen. Moeen Ali too proved to ineffective with the ball, although he did his bit with the bat, and England will hope one of their bowlers have a storming outing and end the series on a winning note.

(Cricbuzz)