The ongoing three-match ODI cricket series between England and India is all square at 1-1 after England thrashed India by 100 runs in the second match at Lord’s on July 14, Thursday. The decider will be played on Sunday in Old Trafford, Manchester.
England put up a strong bowling display at Lord’s, defending a total of 247. Tall left-arm pacer Reece Topley dismantled the Indian batting line-up and finished with figures of six wickets for 24 runs in 9.5 overs. Unsurprisingly, he was awarded the Man of the Match.
In the first ODI at The Oval, it was the Indian bowling line-up, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, that ripped through the English batters. India bowled the hosts out for 110, courtesy of Bumrah, who picked up six wickets for 19 runs in 7.2 overs. India chased the target down in 18.4 overs and ten wickets in hand. With two strong performances from two different teams in the two games, the decider promises a thrilling contest.
What have they done so far?
Reece Topley was at his absolute best for England in the second ODI
After a huge defeat, the hosts finally made a successful comeback in the second ODI by winning the match by 100 runs margin. Topley was the star who picked up six wickets and returned with his best figure in ODIs. Meanwhile, it was also the best figure by any English player in ODIs. Buttler will be now looking to grab the momentum and win this game and series as well. Although, Jos Buttler is still struggling with his batting performance.
England’s top order failed except Bairstow who scored a valuable 38 runs in the last game. David Willey and Moeen Ali then took England to the average total before Topley single-handedly destroyed the visitors.
For team India, it will not be as easy as they thought after dominating in the first ODI. However, things turned around in the second ODI as Rohit and his army lost the game by a huge margin of 100 runs. It will be interesting to see who shines in the third and final ODI on Sunday.
In spite of the loss in the second game, some positive things were also there for India as Yuzi Chahal picked up 4 wickets in his spell, the best spell ever by an Indian at Lord’s. Let’s hope the best team wins at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Head to Head Record
India has a significant advantage over England in men’s One Day Internationals. The two sides have played each other 105 times in the format and the Men in Blue have been victorious in 56 of those games. England, meanwhile, has won 44 of the encounters played between the two sides. Two games played between the two sides have ended in a tie whilst three games have had no results.
However, things are totally different when it comes to games played between the two sides in England and Wales. Here, the hosts have an upper edge between the two teams in terms of matches won. England has won 23 of the 44 games played between the two sides here. On the other hand, India has won merely 17 games. One game played between the two sides has also ended in a tie whilst three games have been abandoned and have had no results.
Key Players
David Willey (England): David Willey has been a revelation with the bat in this ODI series. In both the games, he has tried to be a better version of himself as a batter. His score of 41 and his partnership with Moeen Ali and then Craig Overton got England to a total they could eventually defend with ease.
In the second game, he was brilliant with the ball, too, as he kept troubling Kohli with the fourth stump line and eventually got his wicket. Thus, in the third game, he would be expected to be a great all-rounder and try to win the series for his team.
Yuzvendra Chahal has been at his absolute best for India in white ball format recently
Yuzvendra Chahal (India): Yuzvendra Chahal has been in phenomenal form of late as he was the player of the series against Ireland and did well in the T20Is against England too. In the first game, Chahal did not get to bowl much since Bumrah was all over the English batting line-up.
But the way he trapped the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes, making them play false shots at will, makes Chahal a very dangerous customer at the spin-friendly Old Trafford wicket.
Predicted Playing XI
England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (C & WK), Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Craig Overton, David Willey, Reece Topley
India: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna
Prediction
The stage is set for what will be a snorter of a contest which decides this three-match ODI series at Emirates Old Trafford. Both England and India have each secured an emphatic victory, but this deciding encounter is not expected to be as one-sided as the previous two ODIs. England has momentum in their favour, but India will play the role of the wounded animal ready to strike back as their opponents did so strongly at Lord’s.
However, there may be a few more question marks within the Indian batting, especially when taking into account the form of Kohli as well as Rishabh Pant failing to replicate his Test match scoring in the limited-overs game as of yet. Combine this with England having home advantage in their favour and it looks like the shrewd play would be to back Jos Buttler’s side to narrowly overcome their opponents.