India vs England Third ODI preview and playing XI
England bounced back in second one-day game against India and levelled the honours, with Joe Root's century at Lord's leading England to 322/7 despite another three wickets for Kuldeep Yadav, and India's reply never really got going as they were bowled out off the final ball of the innings for 236. Now, both teams head back to Leeds for the decisive third ODI at Headingley on Tuesday.
India : Defeat in the second match of this series was India’s second in eight ODI matches. They had previously won three in a row, including two wins in South Africa series which they convincingly won 5-1 and then the eight-wicket defeat of England at Trent Bridge.
With the bat, Rohit Sharma proving his quality in the first ODI, as his unbeaten 137 from 114 balls led India to victory, while he also scored a century in the final T20I. Similarly, skipper Virat Kohli scored 558 runs in the six matches against South Africa and has added 75 and 45 in the two matches in this series, which is a good sign for team. While former captain MS Dhoni faced severe criticism for his slow scoring in the second game, he will feel he has a point to prove too and one could expect more explosive lower-order batting from him.
With the ball, Kuldeep Yadav is in form of his life, and his six wicket haul in the first match follwed by an impressive three wickets in the second fixture means he now has 29 scalps from his last ten ODI outings. He was well supported by Umesh Yadav who bagged two wickets in his 9.5 overs and a wicket of in form Jos Buttler in previous outing. If India are to win this decider they will mostly rely on these two bowlers to get an early breakthrough.
Expected Playing XI : Virat Kohli (C), Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.
England : England have been in incredible form in ODIs. They have won six of their eight ODIs so far this summer. A shock defeat to Scotland started the summer but they bounced back from that six-run defeat with a 5-0 series whitewash against Australia. Against India, Kuldeep Yadav’s mystery spin earned the tourists a win at Trent Bridge but hosts hit back with some excellent bowling at Lord's to bowl India out for just 236.
With the bat, Joe Root was at his best against India at Lord's, hitting a steady 113 from 116 balls. After this innings, Root averages exactly 50 in ODIs. Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler was top scorer in the opening fixture, with 53 runs from 51 balls. Both these batsmen are key to England's batting lineup and will be crucial in deciding fate of the match.
With the ball, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid have shared 35 wickets in their previous ten outings between them. Rashid took 2/38 in last fixture, while Ali got 1/42. Liam Plunkett was pick of the lot at Lord's with impressive figures of 4/46 in ten overs, and the team will hope a similar showing from him in the next game as well.
Expected Playing XI : Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, David Willey and Liam Plunkett.