ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

In Stats: Can Virat’s ODI Team Match a Fiery English Side?  

India take on England in a three-match ODI series starting on 15 January. 

Published
Infographics
4 min read
story-hero-img
i
Aa
Aa
Small
Aa
Medium
Aa
Large
Hindi Female

The England cricket team’s tour of India resumes after the break for Christmas and New Year when they take on India in the first ODI of the three-match series on Sunday. The match, scheduled for a 1:30pm start, will be played at the MCA Stadium on the outskirts of Pune.

England – led by Alastair Cook - had a largely forgettable first leg of their tour of India; the visitors lost 4-0 in the five-Test series.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Apart from change in colours – from white clothing to coloured clothing, from natural light to flood lights, from red ball to white ball, from white sightscreens to black sightscreens – there will also be a change in personnel in both teams.

Just prior to the one-day series, MS Dhoni decided it was time he handed over the reins of the Indian team to Virat Kohli, while in the England set-up, Eoin Morgan will call the shots. Kohli has already captained India in ODIs in the past, but this will be his first full series as regular captain, and he will look to build on his already impressive record. Morgan has been in-charge of England for a while now, and it is under his time at the helm that England have turned into a competitive one-day side.

India take on England in a three-match ODI series starting on 15 January. 
(Photo: Rhythum Seth/The Quint)
0

From an Indian team’s perspective, this series is extremely important considering it will be the only three ODIs the team plays before the ICC Champions Trophy in June. With several regulars and plenty of talented cricketers available to choose from, the Indian team management will use this series to narrow down on its preferred XI and to identify its bench strength too. Among several other things, the Indian team management will try to find answers to the following questions:

* Which batsmen bat in the middle order?

* Which batting position does MS Dhoni bat at?

The regular opener Rohit Sharma is unavailable for selection having not recovered completely from the surgery on his thigh. This series therefore presents Ajinkya Rahane another opportunity to nail down his selection for the role of reserve opener. Indian coach Anil Kumble confirmed in the lead up to the series that Rahane, who slammed an 83-ball 91 in the warm-up match against England on Thursday, was indeed being considered as a top-order option.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

For KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav, this series is like an audition. They have all represented India previously and have showcased what they are capable of doing. But this series presents an opportunity to audition for a role that may fall vacant in the Indian team come June.

England is perhaps playing their best-ever one-day cricket at the moment. There seems to have been a marked change in attitude; they have moved away from the conservative way of playing the game and are now playing the 50-over game the way the rest of the teams do. Perhaps even better than a few teams do.

The English squad is packed with exciting players, individuals who are always up for a challenge, no matter how difficult the challenge is. The team comprises plenty of stroke-makers – batsmen who aren’t afraid to play the aerial strokes and are always in search of runs. That England are playing an entertaining brand of cricket in the 50-over format can also be established from the fact that in the last year they have posted the highest-ever total in one-day internationals.

India take on England in a three-match ODI series starting on 15 January. 
(Photo: Rhythum Seth/The Quint)
ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Evidence that England are playing some exceptional limited overs cricket can also be established from the fact that in 2016 they were the only team with an overall scoring rate of more than six.

India take on England in a three-match ODI series starting on 15 January. 
(Photo: Rhythum Seth/The Quint)

England have been extremely poor in bilateral one-day series in India in recent times and need to summon their form from last year and possibly more, to win against the home team. The last time England won a bilateral ODI series in India was when they beat the home team 4-1 in 1984-85. Since then, they have drawn two series and lost four other series.

India take on England in a three-match ODI series starting on 15 January. 
(Photo: Rhythum Seth/The Quint)
ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

England have given us glimpses of what they are capable of; in both the warm-up matches they have played in the last week, one got to see plenty of fireworks and aggressive cricket from their batsmen. The visitors cantered to a win in the first warm-up match, chasing down 304 with seven balls to spare, while in the second warm-up match, they scored 282 batting first. If the pitch happens to be a belter like it was in the only ODI to have been played there previously (India v Australia in 2013), expect a high-scoring contest.

Probable XIs:

India: Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav.

England: Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Liam Plunkett.

Follow all the live updates from Sunday’s first ODI on the The Quint.

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from news and infographics

Speaking truth to power requires allies like you.
Become a Member
3 months
12 months
12 months
Check Member Benefits
Read More
×
×