Top 5 run scorers in India vs England ODIs
Freddie Flintoff at Wankhede in 2002, Mohammad Kaif at Lord's in the same year (with Sourav Ganguly the plus one), Sachin Tendulkar and Andrew Strauss at the World Cup epic in 2011, or Kedar Jadhav in Pune in 2017, India taking on England in ODIs has produced some of the finest limited overs cricket contests in recent times.
While the constitution of the sides has plunged and evolved and modified in all ways possible, the intensity of the matches has never decreased. But for the first time, these two sides will face off each other after having established themselves as remarkably radical sides and having outplayed everyone else over the planet, all remains is the deciding series between the #1 and #2 ICC ranked ODI sides, both featuring some of the most destructive names going around in the game. To get an idea of how many white ball stars will be involved, just know that Jos Buttler is not even the best batsman on both the sides in this series.
As the ODI series kicks off today after a fire-cracker of an IT20 series in which India emerged victorious in some style, let us have a look at the most prolific batsmen who have dominated for the most part of the match-ups between these two formidable sides.
#5 Suresh Raina
India's quintessential limited overs specialist for more than a decade now, Raina has found considerable success against England. Post his axing after the home series loss against South Africa in 2015, this is the first series he has been picked in. A three-year ouster will surely have triggered him to have a larger appetite for runs and a will to put a greater price on his wicket.
Raina was India's most impressive player in the 2014 tour, where after an abysmal Test series, he was instrumental in lifting morales by helping India to a 2-1 win in the ODIs. In the second game at Cardiff, he came in with the team in all sorts of troubles and played one of the best innings by an Indian in blue, his 100 off 75 not only put the target beyond England's reach but was majestic for the flawlessness of its execution.
It will be interesting to see how Raina fares in ODIs with his new technique, of late he has gotten into a habit of creating room outside leg stump to enable himself to carve away balls into the extra cover region, a shot he has always been famous for. His experience will surely be handy as India look to find a reliable man for the number four position, a slot he made his own in his earlier stints with the Indian cricket team.
Runs: 1160 | Avg: 42.96 | SR: 93.24 | 1 century | 11 fifties