India vs England, India vs England 2021, Today Match Prediction 26 Mar 2021

ind vs eng Match Prediction & Analysis

Team India started the 3-match ODI series against England in style as they thumped the world champions by 66 runs and took a 1-0 lead. England, who were cruising at one stage in their chase of 318, fell apart completely and badly missed the services of Joe Root in the middle-order. The team would have to regroup quickly and get their act together before the 2nd ODI on the 26th or the series could easily slip away from them. India were really good and professional for the most parts and would be focusing on continuing the same approach. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

India Preview

It was a classic Indian ODI performance in the 1st ODI. On being asked to bat first, they put on a solid 317-5 on the board. Opener Shikhar Dhawan starred with a superb 98 and his partnership with skipper Virat Kohli (56), set a great platform for India. However, it was the unbeaten partnership of 112 runs in just 9.3 overs between K L Rahul (62* off 43 balls) and debutant Krunal Pandya (58* off 31 balls) that really pushed India ahead in the game.

India’s bowling was under the pump initially as the English openers went berserk and were almost running away with the game. However, regular wickets by Shardul Thakur and debutant Prasidh Krishna pegged England back, and then Bhuvneshwar Kumar provided the finishing touches to wrap up the game.

India would be disappointed with the performance of spinner Kuldeep Yadav who went for runs and looked ineffective. They might give Yuzvendra Chahal a try. Also, Shreyas Iyer, who suffered an injury on his left shoulder in the game, is unlikely to feature in this series anymore and Suryakumar Yadav is likely to replace him.
 

India Predicted Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav/ Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna

India Actual Playing XI:

Krunal Pandya, Lokesh Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, SN Thakur

England Preview

England would rue the fact that they let go an easy chance of taking a 1-0 lead in this series. They were 135-0 in 14 overs while chasing a target of 318 and should have cantered home given their strong batting lineup. However, once openers Jonny Bairstow (94) and Jason Roy (46) departed, the middle-order just collapsed. The likes of Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Sam Billings, and Moeen Ali couldn’t get going and botched up the chase even though the required run rate was well under control. To make matters worse captain Morgan and Billings have suffered injuries and are in doubt for the 2nd ODI.

England’s bowling looks a little brittle without Jofra Archer. Barring Sam Curran, Ben Stokes and to an extent Adil Rashid, the others weren’t that impressive. Mark Wood was good at the start but once again went for a lot of runs towards the end. Tom Curran too couldn’t steady the flow of runs at the end. This bowling unit would have to do a much better job against the strong Indian batting.
 

England Predicted Playing XI:

Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

England Actual Playing XI:

Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, AU Rashid, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Tom Curran, Sam Curran, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, Dawid Malan

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, has produced a great batting strip for this series. The ball is coming on nicely to the bat initially and the runs will flow in the first 15-odd overs. As the pitch softens a little, the seamers and slower bowlers will have a chance. But once a batsman gets used to the bounce of the track, they are going to dominate more.

The weather in Pune for the day of the game will be warm with the day temperature being around 33° C and the night temperatures hovering around 24° C.
 

Venue Details

As we saw in the last ODI, the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium is likely to produce some tall totals in this series. The team batting first will have to push to get a total in the range of 330-odd to feel truly under control. Even a target of 350 has been chased down on this venue and it won’t be surprising if that happens again.

Toss: To Bowl

The team winning the toss would be looking to field first. Even though England botched up the chase in the last game, we saw that batting second is much easier on this surface.