Stuart Broad during practice on Thursday

Rajkot: Ryan Sidebottom’s absence notwithstanding, England captain Kevin Pietersen believes his bowling attack capable of delivering the goods against the strong Indian batting line-up in the first of seven One-Day Internationals here Friday.

“This is the most stable attack, since Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff have come back into the team. Then, we have (Stuart) Broad, (James) Anderson and Samit Patel who have been bowling brilliantly,” Pietersen said.

“I think our bowling has been the best in the last month or so and if we can bat well, it will be a good match,” he said ahead of the first one-dayer at the Madhavrao Scindia ground here.

He also justified the inclusion of Ravi Bopara in the playing XI ahead of Luke Wright.

“It’s unfortunate for Luke, because he’s done nothing wrong to be honest, but Ravi Bopara is better on these wickets,” he said.

The gangling batsman also hoped that the return of seniors like Flintoff and Harmison would bring to the side the necessary experience for the upcoming battles.

Pietersen brushed aside queries over a ball landing into their practice nets on Thursday and said, “I don’t think too much needs to be read into it. At the end of the day, both players were practising their shots,” he concluded.