IND vs ENG: 1st ODI Preview – World champions England face India’s stiff challenge
With the T20I series done and dusted, India and England will now lock horns in the three-match ODI series. Unlike the Test series which was a lopsided one in favour of India, the T20I series was closely fought. England won two of the first three games before India won the last two to seal the five-match series. In the series-decider, the hosts thrashed the visitors by 36 runs to clinch the series in style.
All eyes are now on the ODI series which gets underway on Tuesday. All three games will be played at the MCA Stadium in Pune. With both the teams in good form at the moment, the ODI series promises to be a cracker too. India will be slight favourites because of the momentum they have at the moment but reigning world champions England are more than capable of bouncing back after conceding the T20Is.
High-flying India will be looking to continue their dominance over England in the limited-overs format at home. England, on the other hand, will be desperate to improve their record in ODIs in India. They have not won a bilateral ODI series in India since their 4-1 win during the 1984/85 tour.
Match info:
1st ODI: India vs England
Date: 23 March (Tuesday)
Time: 01:30 PM (IST)
Venue: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Head-to-head record:
Team News:
India:
Barring Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, India have all the big names in their squad. The Men in Blue have handed maiden ODI call-ups to the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Prasidh Krishna and could try them out in the series. In Jadeja’s absence, Krunal Pandya could get a chance. Shikhar Dhawan is also set to open the innings with Rohit Sharma after warming the bench in four of the five T20Is.
England:
England will be without two of their biggest stars – Jofra Archer and Joe Root – for the series. Archer will miss the series after aggravating his elbow injury while Root has been rested. The tourists have recalled leg-spinner Matt Parkinson who has not played an ODI since playing twice in his debut series in February last year.
Probable XI:
