The Indian cricket team has outrightly dominated England across Tests and the T20Is, and the focus now moves to the 50-over format when the hosts take on Eoin Morgan’s men in a three-match ODI series, starting from March 23 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
While India’s form in Test and T20I cricket has been impeccable, their record in the ODI is something that is nothing less than troublesome; just one victory in their last five ODIs. Even their last five outings against England in the format puts them in the back seat. The Three Lions have won four of their last five ODIs against India. As far as England are concerned, their recent record in ODI cricket isn’t great either; two wins in last five ODIs.
| India | Metrics | England |
| 100 | Matches | 100 |
| 53 | Wins | 42 |
| 5 | Tie/NR | 5 |
| 53% | Win % | 42% |
Despite the aforementioned struggles, India vs England head-to-head record is dominated by the former, who have won 53 of their 100 meetings against their opponents. Furthermore, there have been a total of 48 encounters between the two teams in India and the hosts have won 31 while their opponent have won just 16.
The pitch of Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium is expected to be a batting paradise as the venue’s highest score stands at 356/7 which India posted against England in 2017. The lowest total at the venue is 230/9. Winning the toss can be crucial but the fact remains that the win rate while batting first at this venue stands at 50%.
England need to be wary of India’s vaunted batting line-up which has accumulated more than 300 runs while batting first in three of their last five home games. England, on the other hand, have seen their fair share of struggles, to say the least. While they have crossed the 400-run mark once during the same period, they have also been bundled for 113 by West Indies.
| Players like to score a half-century (last five ODIs) | |||||||
| Player | Matches | Runs | HS | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
| Jonny Bairstow | 5 | 282 | 112 | 56.4 | 97.91 | 1 | 2 |
| Sam Billings | 5 | 248 | 118 | 62 | 90.18 | 1 | 1 |
| Hardik Pandya | 3 | 210 | 92* | 105 | 113.75 | 0 | 2 |
| KL Rahul | 5 | 209 | 112 | 41.8 | 98.12 | 1 | 1 |
Meanwhile, if someone is to pick a few players from the Indian cricket team who are likely to score big, Hardik Pandya’s name should be on the top of that list. The all-rounder, who was prolific in the T20I series, has scored 210 runs in his last three ODIs at an average of 105. The other player is none other than India’s captain, Virat Kohli, who has scored 1178 runs in 30 matches against England. His knocks include three tons and seven half-centuries.
For England, a certain Jonny Bairstow tops the chart with 282 runs in the last five ODIs; this includes one century and two half-centuries. Furthermore, India have hit an average of 25.8 fours and 6.6 maximums in their last five ODIs while England have hit an average of 27.8 fours and 5.4 sixes in a similar time frame. So one can rightly expect both the teams to go big at least in the first ODI.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Jewel Samad
