India v England 1st ODI preview: T20 the starter and this is the main course

The five-match T20 series between England and India was a close-run affair going down to the final game where India just got over the line and won the series 3-2. The One Day series looks set to be a three-match thriller with the superstars beginning to find their stride.

India are the odds-on favourites to take the first game at 8/13 but don’t be surprised to see England get off to a good start at 13/10.

Defeat in the T20 will have humbled England

The current World Champions and No.1 ranked side in the world would have been disappointed to lose the T20 series against India but there is no doubt Eoin Morgan and his men will have learned a lot from the conditions that will face them in the T20 World Cup later this year.

Although the T20 series ended in a run-filled loss for the visitors, there were a lot of positives that can be taken from the defeat, the fire power from Jos Buttler across the series and England’s fierce seam attack, to name just two. Heading into the ODIs, Morgan will have to deal with missing his star paceman as Joffra Archer has been ruled out of selection with his reoccurring elbow problem This is not ideal for tourists but if there is one thing that sets this England side apart from others on the world stage is the strength in depth they have. Waiting on the sidelines to come in will be Lancashire’s Matt Parkinson, although not a like-for-like replacement, he will be able to offer some variety while Mark Wood can continue to spearhead the pace attack. Wood is 3/1 to be the leading wicket taker in the first game which puts him as second favourite behind the leg-spinner Adil Rashid. Rashid is 5/2 to do the most damage and if his performance in the T20 series is anything to go by, then he will be prove a difficult force for India’s batsmen to deal with.

Jos Buttler was in destructive form in the T20 series notching up two fifties and regularly clearing the boundary ropes, while T20 is his preferred format he is still capable of carrying this form into the ODI’s. Buttler is a 5/1 chance to lead the run charge in the first game while Jonny Bairstow is the favourite at 11/4. Bairstow will move back to his preferred position at the top of the order for the ODI format and can prove a dangerous player in the power-play overs.

Kohli back to his best

After a quiet Test-series, by Virat Kohli’s standards, the Indian captain came back to form with ferocious knocks across the T20 series. Kohli averages 59 in ODIs and the ability he has to take the game away from the opposition is frightening and he will obviously be the key to any Indian success or failure in the first game. Unsurprisingly, the skipper is 9/4 to lead India’s run charge and add to his 12,000 ODI runs for India. At the top of the order, it looks likely that Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma will open the batting for the home-side. It would be a struggle to find two more experienced and capable batsmen to open an innings in world cricket. The two batsmen are more than capable, as they have done before, to lead their sides run charge and to do so they are 7/2 and 11/4 respectively.

While England’s bowlers will be aiming to contain Kohli and his star batsmen the Indian bowlers will also be planning how they can limit the power-play damage from England’s top order. Kuldeep Yadav is 5/2 to lead the Indian attack, while Yuzvendra Chahal is available at 11/4. The contest between bat and ball will be one to savour as the No.1 and No.2 ranked ODI sides go to battle. It remains to be seen how the pitches will hold up during the series as so far on this tour we have seen the snake pits of the Test-series, compared to the tarmacked roads in the T20 series. Somewhere between the two would be the best result for cricket fans as the two titans of limited overs cricket go head-to-head.

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