After winning the three-match T20I series by the 1-2 margin, visiting team India will now face the three-match ODI series challenge against the hosts England, starting from Thursday (July 12). The first one is a day/night game that will be played on Thursday at Trent Bridge (Nottingham).
It is the fight between the two top-ranked teams. In the latest ICC ODI ranking, England is on the top with 126 rating points while India is in the next position (second position) with 122 rating points. So, it is hard to choose the favorite team for the short ODI series.
The hosts England is currently in a very good form in the ODI format. Apart from suffering a stunning defeat against Scotland, England has performed very well in both as a host nation or as a visitor. In their last 10 games, England won eight matches and lost only twice.
A long powerful batting line-up provides a dominant attitude for them in this format. And the big point is, most of them are currently in a good form.
However, their bowling line-up is struggling to get consistent success in the ODI format. While their opponent India has a strong batting line-up, the English bowlers will face the tougher competition. To win this short series, English bowlers will have to work very hard and need their consistent improvement.
Meanwhile, Indian team is also running in a great form in the ODI cricket. While they are always one of the best home teams, their recent performances outside the Asian soil were also quite dominative.
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India’s last ODI was in South Africa when they were playing six-match ODI series that India won by 1-5 margins. Like England, India also won eight games in their last 10 ODIs as they suffered only two defeats in that period.
Indian batting line-up is long but hugely depended on the top-order batsmen. While Rohit Sharma has backed in the form during the last T20I series, Indian batting is becoming more dangerous.
However, in recent days, Indian bowling is dominating very much. Though India will miss Jasprit Bumrah’s crucial service in the ODI series as he has been ruled out from the ODI series due to the left thumb fracture, Indian captain Virat Kohli has enough good bowlers in the stock. However, another in-form Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s recent injury is raising stress in the Indian dressing room.
However, the main fact is, the opponent batsmen are actually facing trouble to face two Indian wrist-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. Both are dominating even outside the Asian soil and showing no mercy against their opponent batsmen.
While Trent Bridge has produced some big totals in the recent ODIs, it is expected that the series opener will be an entertaining high-scoring game.
Full ODI Squads:
England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Jake Ball, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Mark Wood.
India: Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shreyas Iyer, Siddarth Kaul, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
