ENG vs IND: Men in Blue aim for series win, hosts look to make it even

LONDON: After cruising past England in the first ODI, the Men in Blue will try to continue the same form coming into the second ODI to be played at Lord’s, London, on Thursday.

The first ODI, which was held in Kennington Oval, was easily won by the Men in Blue. A tremendous performance from both the bowling and batting side of the squad ensured that India grabbed the first win in the 3-match ODI series.

Jasprit Bumrah was the man of the match in the previous match. In his 7.2 over spell, he scalped 6 wickets while only conceding 19 runs. His bowling partner Mohammed Shami also helped him with a spell of 3/31, as the total of England fell to only 110 with all of the English squad falling in 25 overs only.

The small total of 110 runs was chased by the opening partnership of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, guiding India to the first win in the ODI series.

Excellent performances from both the pacers shows how good a form they are in and they are definitely to be looked out for both by the English batsmen and also the fans. The explosive bowling by both of them and other pacers in the squad like Hardik Pandya and Prasidh Krishna will be backed by spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja, who will be looking to trap English batsmen. The bowling attack of India certainly looks strong for the next match as well after the marvellous performance in the first match.

After limiting the English squad to a total of only 110 runs, it was all up to the Indian batsmen to win the game for the team and they did not disappoint.

The opening partnership between Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan was enough to reach the mere total of 110 runs as the duo banged 76 and 31 runs respectively to win the game for the team. Both the openers look in really good form. Dhawan, who got his place back in the squad recently, will be looking forward to strengthen his position for the upcoming 50-over World Cup next year.

Virat Kohli, who missed the previous match due to a groin injury, is expected to miss the next match as well. The former captain’s position in the squad is dwindling due to his recent poor performances.

Young guns like Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer will be looking to get a spot in the playing eleven as well for the world cup so this series will be very important for them.

England’s first match was far from what anyone would expect from a squad like that. The whole lineup will be looking to do their best after a disappointing performance by both the bowlers and batsmen of the squad.

Captain Jos Buttler and David Willey tried their best and were able to put on a respectable performance as compared to how the squad performed.

Buttler scored a good 30 runs in 32 balls which was the most by any player for England while Willey scored 21 runs but got bowled by star of the match Bumrah.

Jason Roy, Joe Root and Ben Stokes are all star players of England but put on mediocre performances as all of them went for ducks. Jonny Bairstow also could not do much, scoring only 7 runs.

The squad might not look like they are in the best form right now but their class is not the one to be slept upon. All of them are capable of delivering match winning performances in the upcoming match.

The squad has huge depth in their bowling lineup as well. Spin specialists like Matt Parkinson, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone will be a huge threat to Indian batters.

After failing to take any wickets in the first game, the English squad will be coming up with newer strategies. David Willey and Reece Topley will be looking to add up to the threat spinners pose to the Indian batsmen.

India’s squad for 3 ODIs: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, J Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Shami, Mohd Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.

England ODI squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey. (ANI)