India vs England 1st ODI Predictions and Series Preview

It’s been a series of triumphs for India, with the Men in Blue fighting adverse odds successfully to come back every time. Following victories in the Test and T20 series, India will now take on England in the format in which they are the World Cup champions. The home side are hot on the visitors’ heels in the ICC ODI rankings, and with ICC Cricket World Cup Super League points also at stake, this series promises to be a thriller just like the T20 leg. Before the two teams duke it out on the field, let’s take a look at how they measure up on paper.

India

Full squad for ODI series vs England

Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Thangarasu Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur.

India predicted XI for 1st ODI vs England

Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur.

Preview and form

• KL Rahul somehow still makes the squad despite a disastrous T20 series, but Rishabh Pant will most likely don the keeping gloves, and finally get a chance to flex his considerable batting chops. 

• Three uncapped players have also made the cut - Suryakumar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, and Krunal Pandya. 

• After his excellent opening knock in the first T20, Virat Kohli has apparently decided to open the batting, and he will be joined by Rohit Sharma there. 

• The only thing to worry about in the squad is that while the batting portion has vast experience, only Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Pandya out of all the bowlers have extensive experience.

• India haven’t been in very good form as far as ODIs go lately, losing both of their last two series in the format, and 4 of their last 7 overall. However, prior to that they were absolutely dominating, and this could be their chance to get back to winning ways.

India key players for 1st ODI vs England

Virat Kohli: The hero of his team’s comeback in the T20s, Kohli will be looking to hunt down that long-elusive 44th ODI century. 

Rohit Sharma: It’s hard to keep the man with the highest ever ODI score out of this list.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: With no Bumrah or Shami available, Bhuvneshwar will have to step up and fill their shoes.

Shardul Thakur: Although we’re not sure whether it will be Thakur, Natarajan, or Siraj who gets the call, but we’re guessing it will be Thakur and he’ll do well.

England

Full squad for ODI series vs India

Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings (wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Livingstone, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.

England predicted XI for 1st ODI vs India

Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.

Preview and form

• As far as morale is concerned, it will be difficult for England to recover from two back-to-back series losses.

• The apparent lack of form for Eoin Morgan, and consistency as far as the other batsmen go will be a problem they will have to address.

• It might be a good idea to try out Sam Billings for once while also keeping Buttler in the playing XI, as the former has plenty of firepower. 

• English spinners were highly disappointing in the T20s, and will have to redeem themselves in the ODIs - especially since their pace department is lacking Jofra Archer due to injury.

• Although they lost their last series against Australia, England have been dominating the ODI format since well before their World Cup win with only three bilateral series defeats out of their last 20.

England key players for 1st ODI vs India

Jos Buttler: With Joe Root still absent, Buttler will have to take charge of matters.

Eoin Morgan: After a thoroughly underwhelming T20 series, Morgan must do better in the ODIs, or risk losing his captaincy.

Mark Wood: With no Archer, Wood must strike several times to restrict the aggressive Indian batsmen.

Sam Curran: Curran has been underwhelming throughout this series, and must do better to justify his spot on the team.

India vs England head to head

With 53 wins to England’s 42, India are well ahead in the equation between the two sides, two tied matches notwithstanding. Additionally, although England won the last time these two teams met for a series, India came out on top the four previous times. 

India vs England pitch report and weather conditions

The pitch at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium is one that can yield quite a lot of runs, with the ball coming on to the bat quickly. Fast bowlers should enjoy bowling on it early on, but as the game progresses, spinners will be more effective. Expect teams to bat first upon winning the toss, and look to get around 300 to defend.

Other than a slight chance of a few drops in the afternoon, the weather in Pune should be excellent for cricket. It will be quite hot in the first few hours, but the temperature should come down after sunset. The humidity will be a non-issue, and a slight breeze will make the heat easier to bear.

Can India start off the ODI series with a win unlike the others? Or will England continue their trend of beating them to the chase? Find out if our India versus England predictions come true on Tuesday!