India are set to face England in the first ODI in the three-match ODI series at the Kennington Oval in London on Tuesday, July 12.
England
England suffered a 2-1 T20I series loss against India. The hosts won the third and final T20I fixture and they will also be looking to have a good outing during the ODI series. Jos Buttler made a disappointing start to his reign as the captain of the English limited-overs team. He has taken the reign from the World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan, who announced his retirement from international cricket after witnessing a dip in his form for a long time.
They have a lot of work to do, especially in their batting department which showed lackluster performance. Skipper Jos Buttler and power-hitter Liam Livingstone failed to trouble the runs and the explosive batter Dawid Malan’s inability to convert his good start into a good knock.
India:
On the other hand, India had an excellent outing during the recently concluded T20I series. Skipper Rohit Sharma returned to the side for the T20I series. He was picked as the captain of the Indian team last year after Virat Kohli stepped down from the position. It will be Sharma’s first stint as the full-time captain on overseas soil.
Virat Kohli’s future in T20I is up in the air and he has a lot of pressure on his shoulders. He also reportedly suffered groin injury that might keep him in the opening clash as well. India is brimming with confidence having registered emphatic 50-run and 49-run victories in the first and second T20I respectively. Though they lost the final fixture, they will be eyeing to replicate the performance in the shortest format of the game.
WAGING ODDS: England (1.83) Vs India (1.83)
There are no favorites or underdogs in the contest and odds are even at 1.83, meaning if you bet ₹100 on them and if they win the match, you’ll be making ₹183.
Our Prediction:
The pitch is likely to offer plenty of support to the batters all throughout the match. The average first innings score at the Kennington Oval in the last 5 ODIs is 300 runs. This implies a high-score affair is expected. The Men in Blue are expected to win the opening game given their recent run.
Prediction: India to win
