ENG vs IND 1st ODI: Probable Playing XI of India, Pitch and Weather Report
First ODI of Three – India vs England
Venue: Kensington Oval (London)
Date: 12th July 2022
India’s Probable XI and Odds.
With the Test match lost and the Series squared by England, their joy was short-lived, with India winning the T- 20 series by 2-1. Even though the English snatched a victory in the final encounter the Indians did look very confident and emerged the better side of the two.
With two formats done, it is time to test who is better in the 50 over-a-side games. The first ODI, which starts today, would see certain faces disappearing on both sides and new faces appearing.
It’s best to divide the probable xi into three sections.
Batters, Bowlers &- rounders.
- Batsmen
Shikhar Dhawan would be on the hunt again, combining forces with Rohit Sharma, the Skipper. The two are best ‘Hunting as a pair, and one should remember the right-left combination to add to the bowler’s woes.
Virat Kohli, who occupies the 3rd slot, may miss the action as the latest reports state that he deliberately missed the bus to London! It’s an abdominal injury, but his lack of form has been the ‘ moot’ point injuring him even further. Shreyas Iyer and Surya Kumar Yadav (SKY) would follow each other.
The question remains whether Rishabh Pant would come after the openers. Either way, Pant would be in the top half, and Ishan Kishan would be rested.
Therefore the top order is
- Rohit Sharma
- Shikar Dhawan
- Surya Kumar Yadav
- Shreyas Iyer
- Rishabh Pant (Wk)
All Rounders:
Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are sure to ‘make the cut’. The question looms over Axar Patel, who has had a pretty ordinary run. We guess that he would be dropped. Therefore - Hardik Pandya
- Ravindra Jadeja
Bowlers:
India would opt for specialist bowlers, and combined with the two All- rounder’s; it would be six bowlers. Therefore (not in batting order)
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Mohd. Shami
- Yuzvendra Chahal
- Mohammad Siraj ( or ) Prasidha Krishna.
Ishan Kishan is a dark horse if Indians wish to have a five-man bowling attack. With the batting order packed and all in good form, Ishan may be edged out.
Weather & Pitch:
The Weather looks fine, and it will be a sunny English Afternoon ideal for Cricket. Off the 75 ODI’s played at this venue, the team batting second has won 41 times compared to 30 for the team batting first.
England’s outing at the Oval has been 49 matches, and they won 30 of them (Three games- no results). On the other hand, India has won six of the 16 played here. They have lost nine (one match- no result). India does start on the backfoot here in terms of percentages.
The pitch is expected to wear out in the second innings, which would help the spinners. The true-bounce pitch does allow big scores here, but the team batting second would not have it easy chasing a big score. In short, there is something for everyone in this famous old ground, and the team winning the toss should be planning to bat first.
Bottom line:
Going by recent matches, England has won three of the five ODI’s played between both countries. India won the last encounter. It’s “Even Stevens “today as Ben Stokes walks in with Joe Root to give Bairstow a boost.