England's predicted playing XI for the 2nd ODI against India
England have their backs against the wall as they take on India in the 2nd ODI of the 3-match series at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Virat Kohli's side have a 1-0 lead in the series, and the visitors need to live up to their billing as arguably the best white-ball side in the world.
England were firmly in control in the 1st ODI, with their openers getting them off to a flier. Even though the required run rate was well under 6, an inspired performance from India's pacers handed Eoin Morgan's men - who are without Joe Root for this series - a 66-run defeat.
Morgan claimed that his team won't waver from their uber-aggressive approach, which has won them a World Cup among many other high-profile series. As a result, we should be in for a cracker in one of the final international games before the Indian Premier League.
Here is England's predicted playing XI for the 2nd ODI against India.
Openers: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow
Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow stitched together a 135-run opening stand in the 1st ODI, and nearly took the game away from India single-handedly. Although they fell short of a fifty and a hundred respectively, Roy and Bairstow are in stellar form and pose a massive threat at the top of the order.
Opposition new-ball bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur will need to provide breakthroughs early if they are to derail England's aggressive batting approach.
Middle order: Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler (wk)
In the absence of Root, Ben Stokes has been entrusted with the responsibility of batting at No. 3. The all-rounder didn't trouble the scorers too much in the 1st ODI, but he picked up 3 crucial wickets with the ball and is a key component of this England side in all three formats.
Eoin Morgan split his webbing in the first innings of the previous game and had to go off the field, but turned up to bat in the chase. The England skipper is facing a race against time to be fit for this clash, and if he doesn't make the cut, wicket-keeper Jos Buttler will take over the reins.
Dawid Malan, who is part of the reserves at the moment, might be in line to play his second ODI if Morgan is unavailable.