The third ODI between India and England is scheduled to be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Sunday. The series is evenly-poised at 1-1, with England winning the second game after a dominating batting performance on Friday. Riding on Jonny Bairstow’s purple patch with the bat, the visitors chased down 336 with 39 balls to spare. However, England will need their bowlers to step up in the series-decider.
The visitors will be expecting some performances from Reece Topley and Adil Rashid, both of whom had decent outings in the second ODI. On the other hand, India has given a good account of itself in both ODIs. While KL Rahul and Virat Kohli have scored 50+ scores in both games, Rishabh Pant’s blitzkrieg in the second match adds value to their explosiveness in terms of batting.
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However, the Indian bowlers will also need to come up with the goods if the Men in Blue are to clinch the series. Both India and England are well-matched on paper, but the hosts might just hold the edge ahead of the final game. Either way, we should be in for a cracking game of cricket in Pune, with both teams eyeing a series win to end the tour with a win.
Here are some fantasy XI predictions for the game:
Wicket-Keepers
Jos Buttler seems to be a better pick as he has been known for making a strong comeback and he will be much more effective on pitches in Pune. However, for India, Rishabh Pant will be keeping the wickets as he is known for playing match-winning knocks, but in order to maintain the balance of the Fantasy XI, Buttler seems the better pick.
Batsmen
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jason Roy, and Eoin Morgan have always been the prime contenders for fantasy cricket. Even, Shikhar Dhawan also is added in fantasy cricket and that will depend on the balance of the squad. Apart from them, there are some useful batsmen in the line-ups as well, like Sam Billings, and Suryakumar Yadav.
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All-rounder
There are some really reliable all-rounders in both teams but citing the pitch in Pune, Hardik Pandya, Moeen Ali, and Ben Stokes seems to be the perfect fit. Apart from them, the good all-rounder for fantasy cricket is Sam Curran.
Bowlers
Both the teams don’t have decent bowling line-ups but they don’t have practiced a lot. Bowlers like Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Mark Wood become the obvious choices for the Fantasy XI on the dusty track at the MCA Stadium. Apart from them, some crucial bowlers can be like, Kuldeep Yadav, Reece Topley, and Adil Rashid.
Fantasy Suggestion #1: Jos Buttler, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (c), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Hardik Pandya, Sam Curran, Ben Stokes (vc), Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, and Reece Topley
Fantasy Suggestion #2: Jos Buttler, Virat Kohli (vc), Rohit Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Jason Roy, Hardik Pandya, Sam Curran, Ben Stokes (c), Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, and Reece Topley
