After beating England 3-2 in the T20I series, India is set to face England in a three-match ODI series starting from 23rd March. This ODI bilateral series is also part of the World Cup Super League 2020-23.
England is a strong team in the limited-overs as they have a long batting order. Having won the World Cup 2019, England has been a dominant side in the world for quite some time now. England in the third position in the points table of the world super league.
India, on the other hand, hasn’t shown significant interest in the ODI format in recent years. Because of the fact that the ODI World Cup is after three years in 2023, the major focus for India is on the T20 format for the upcoming World T20. That’s the reason why India has retained a lot of T20I players in the ODI squad.
“ODIs aren’t too relevant this year compared to Tests and T20s, but to find people who can play that way under pressure is a big revelation for us and a big plus, “said Virat Kohli during the New Zealand ODI series 2020.
However, many of the cricket pundits have criticized that statement by the captain for not showing importance in the ODI game irrespective of the fact that the upcoming world cup is a T20.
India is currently ranked 10th in the World Super League points table, which is quite low by their standards.
Team news
England
Fast bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the ODI series due to elbow injury; therefore, England will miss his services in the pace-bowling department.
England’s ODI skipper Eoin Morgan has denied the rumors that Ben Stokes is resting in the ODI series after playing 4 test matches and 5 T20I matches on the trot.
“Given that we play three games in five days, if we rested Ben, it would have literally Ben was staying in his room in Pune or Mumbai, sitting around as IPL is near. Ben was very keen to play so it was not considered,” said Morgan pre-match.
England will have to find ways to fit in Moeen Ali, who has been out for a long time in the playing 11 since the start of the T20I series.
Red ball skipper Joe Root has also been rested in this tour. It looks like England wants to look for options beyond Root to try some new players like those who have consistently delivered in the county championship [England’s domestic cricket].
England Probable 11 for the 1st ODI – Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Tom Curran/Reece Topley, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid
India Team News
The Indian team in ODI is well balanced, and with terrific performances of few players in the T20I format, India has the problem of plenty to be addressed.
Virat Kohli has defended and backed out-of-form players like KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan. He has not allowed unnecessary criticism on the basis of the one bad series to enter into the minds of the players for outside. (media and experts)
He has said that “I feel there is a lot of impatience. People themselves are thinking what is going on the minds of the players and there is a judgment. People tend to enjoy hearing criticism of players.”
“In the team, we understand how to manage players. If the player is going through a tough phase, we understand what we need to do. The outside noise does not matter to me,” – he added.
Probable 11 – Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer / Suryakumar Yadav, Rishab Pant, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Pitch and Weather Conditions
The Maharastra Cricket Association pitch is good for batting, so we can expect to see a high-scoring encounter.
There are chances of rain to interrupt the match; however, only 10-15 % chances of precipitation are forecasted during the entire match, but the forecast might change later.
Due to rising cases of COVID-19, all the matches will be played behind closed doors.
It will be competitive series to watch out for. England will be hoping to return home with at least one series win from the Indian tour. At the same time, India will try to continue their good momentum in the ODI series as well.
Because it is a short 3-match ODI series, the first match of this ODI series is crucial as it will set the entire series’ tone.
Contributor
Edited by Jesus Chan
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