India vs England 2nd ODI Predictions and Match Preview

Despite some hitches, this series has slowly been turning into a dream sequence of events for India. From being on the brink of being excluded from the World Test Championship final, to the cusp of being beaten in a T20 series at home, to being a step away from winning the third and final leg of the series and possibly taking the number one spot in the ICC ODI rankings, the Men in Blue have done exceptionally well. England on the other hand will be disappointed and downcast, with the next match being a must win if they are to avoid having insult added to their injury. With India looking to get to their fairytale finish, and England desperate to avoid losing all three series, this match is going to go down to the wire. Before the tension reaches fever pitch, let’s take a look at the two sides.

India

Predicted XI for 2nd ODI vs England

Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan, Krunal Pandya, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur.

Preview and form

Despite what the final stats suggest, it wasn’t a straightforward win for India by any means. Batting first, they got off to a watchful start, but brilliant innings by Shikhar Dhawan (98 off 106), Virat Kohli (56 off 60), KL Rahul (62 off 43, finally), and Krunal Pandya (58 off 31) saw the Indians put a powerful 317 on the board. Their defense started poorly, with the bowlers being dispatched for many a boundary, but a strong comeback saw debutant Prasidh Krishna take 4, Shardul Thakur pick up 3, and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar take 2 to bowl the opponents out in the 43rd over, 66 runs short.

India key players for 2nd ODI vs England

Rohit Sharma: After a disappointing turn in the first match, Sharma will want to bounce right back.

KL Rahul: It seems as though Mr. Strike-Rate-Doesn’t-Matter has finally gotten out of his shell, and he might just stay out for a while.

Prasidh Krishna: The debutant amazed, and we want to see more of him.

Shardul Thakur: After a brilliant performance, Thakur can be trusted to do even better.

England

Predicted XI for 2nd ODI vs India

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

Preview and form

Things were bad enough in the England camp without the news of Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings’ injury, and although Morgan has insisted he will play regardless, Billings may not be as lucky. Bowling first in the last match, some of England’s bowlers did well - such as Ben Stokes with his 3-wicket haul and Sam Curran with an economy rate of 4.80, some did moderately - such as Mark Wood who took two wickets but cost 75 runs, and pretty much everyone else did poorly. Chasing 317, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow started superbly, scoring 46 off 35 and 94 off 66 respectively, but literally no one else could do right by them, with the third highest score being Moeen Ali’s 30. In the end, England could only make it to 251 before being bowled out.

England key players for 2nd ODI vs India

Jonny Bairstow: Considering how Bairstow played in the first match, if he had gone on for a few more overs, England would have won the match. Maybe next time.

Jos Buttler: It’s been a while since Buttler pulled off something solid, and now is the time.

Mark Wood: Despite being expensive, Wood got his team a solid start. He just needs to finish better.

Ben Stokes: A utility player through and through, Stokes stepped up in lieu of much of England’s bowling firepower and can do so again.

India vs England 2nd ODI pitch report and weather conditions

As was seen in the first match, the pitch isn’t easy to start on as it favours fast bowlers early on. However, once it gets a little older, it will be good to bat on. Expect teams to want to bat upon winning the toss, and first innings scores of 290+ to be a safe bet.

It’s going to be dry and hot as a desert when proceedings begin, with the heat letting off a little on the tail end of the day. However, this also means there will be no rain to speak of, which calls for uninterrupted cricket.

Can India seal the series with another emphatic performance? Or will the English stall the celebrations and start preparing their own? Find out if our India vs England 2nd ODI predictions come true on Thursday!