A little over three weeks since England’s Test match nightmare in India ended they are back out in the Asian country to take on the same opposition in a three match ODI series which gets underway on Sunday.
India lay claims to being the best one day side in the world at the minute but England are improving with every match in white ball cricket so this promises to be an exciting series.
Schedule
1st ODI: Jan 15 at Pune
2nd ODI: Jan 19 at Cuttack
3rd ODI: Jan 22 at Kolkata
India
India head into the series off the back of successive ODI series wins but this is the first time they will officially be led permanently by Virat Kohli in this format of the game and it will be interesting to see how his captaincy differs to that of MS Dhoni. If their fortunes under him in the Test format is anything to go by they will be fine.
India’s strength in this format is very much in their batting line up with Kohli himself a massive reason for that but against a very solid England batting side it will be the Indian bowlers who might be under the microscope more in this series. The spinners dominated the Test series and may need to do it again here too.
England
This will be England’s first ODI action since they narrowly saw off Bangladesh towards the end of 2016. They were emphatic winners over Pakistan at the end of the English summer too and the last time they were in India they were runners-up in the World T20 so England carry some momentum into the series.
In order for England to be successful in the series they are going to need their bowlers to utilise all of their skills and change ups to restrict a powerful India batting line up. You fancy England may well go well if they are chasing but if they are defending a score it could be carnage.
Betting
I truly believe this series will be dominated by the side who chases the most. Neither side look to have an attack that is equipped to defend totals and both teams bat so deep that the batting keeps on coming in run chases so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the team chasing wins all three matches.
With us not knowing the outcome of the tosses this early I will head to the player markets for a bet on the series and the one I like is the top England series batsmen market where for me their captain Eoin Morgan looks a big price.
Morgan brings plenty of IPL experience to the table which could be crucial in this part of the world and he has been playing cricket recently which a lot of his teammates haven’t. He has shown good form in that time too. With plenty to prove in terms of his place in the side and some critics to silence after his no show in Bangladesh I fancy Morgan can score well in this series.
Tips
Back E.Morgan Top England Series Batsman for a 2/10 stake at 7.00 with Ladbrokes
Back him here:
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