England’s Test trio reunited, but India hold momentum in ODIs

From the low of losing to England at Edgbaston to surrender a 2-1 series lead from 2021, the Indian cricket team gave their legion of fans reason to cheer by wrapping up the three-match T20I series that followed inside three days.

England secured a consolation win in the final match despite a stunning maiden T20I hundred from Suryakumar Yadav, but the momentum is with India despite the return of Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root for the ODI leg of this series.

India needed something special to lift the gloom following that historical Test chase of 378 by centurions Root and Bairstow and they found it from their white-ball players, first at Southampton and then in Birmingham. In the first and second T20Is, a noticeable departure from template by India’s batsmen was backed by some exceptional pace bowling to put India up 2-0. While there were no big scores in either of the first two matches, a series of 20s, 30s and 40s at breakneck speed put up winning totals of 198/8 and 170/8 which proved well out of England’s reach thanks to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal.

In the final T20I, for which they made four changes and fielded a depleted bowling attack, India were set a target of 216 and regrouped from 31/3 to end up 17 runs short on the back of a sensational 48-ball hundred from Suryakumar. Now it is time for India to channel that aggression into the best-of-three ODI series which rounds off their tour of England.

TEAM NEWS

England welcome back Test captain Stokes and the in-form pair of Bairstow and Root for the series which starts on Tuesday at The Oval. The previous ODIs that England played were a few weeks ago against The Netherlands, in which Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Dawid Malan and the to-be white-ball skipper Jos Buttler all plundered runs.

Stokes, Roy – who last played an ODI on July 4, 2021 – and Bairstow returning means that Salt, Malan (not part of the squad) and potentially one of Sam Curran and David Willey will have to make way. Bairstow will open with Roy, who endured a poor T20I series with India, and Root will take Malan’s spot at No 3. With Buttler at No 4 and Stokes set to slot in one place below, how do England fit in the big-hitting Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali and the all-round pair of Curran and Willey?

England likely XI: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Jos Buttler (capt/wk), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 David Willey, 9 Craig Overton, 10 Matt Parkinson,

11 Reece Topley

Rohit’s long-term partner Shikhar Dhawan is available for selection, which means that Ishan Kishan will sit out and Rishabh Pant, who was trialed as opener in the T20Is versus England, will return to the middle order. This, coupled with Suryakumar and Pandya’s form, makes it unlikely for Shreyas Iyer to fit in.

Virat Kohli’s dismal tour has cast further doubt over his future, and against the backdrop of two ducks in ODIs in 2022 the picture is not entirely rosy as the former captain changes formats. It is true that Kohli has scored six fifties in his 11 last ODIs, but on current form he will need to dig deep to produce such innings.

Prasidh Krishna should get the nod in Bumrah’s absence, while Arshdeep could be line for an ODI debut just days after receiving his first T20I cap.

India likely XI: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Mohammed Shami, 9 Prasidh Krishna, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

PITCH & CONDITIONS

The Oval’s reputation of being a flat deck with plenty in it for the batsmen implies another high-scoring game is on the cards. That said, spinners have had a say in proceedings in chases so India playing Ravindra Jadeja and Chahal and England picking Moeen and Matt Parkinson is an obvious choice. The forecast is for very warm (by England standards) 31 degrees.

The second match is at Lord’s and the third at Old Trafford.

PREDICTION

England will need to hit back after the T20I series loss, and with Stokes, Root and Bairstow returning they have a very fine batting lineup. Where India, riding on momentum, can seek to turn the first match – and, potentially, the series – is by attacking a bowling attack lacking collective experience. If India’s batsmen play to pedigree and the bowlers hold their wits, expect them to win a high-scoring thriller at The Oval to set the tone for a closely contested series. Just like in the T20Is, expect India to win 2-1 if they can punch as we expect them to.