When and Where to Watch India vs England, Live Streaming, Match Preview, Timings, and Pitch Report for 1st ODI

While the current series can be termed insignificant in a year that will be largely dominated by Test cricket and T20Is, England will still fancy this as an opportunity to acclimatize themselves with the Indian conditions.

Published - 22 Mar 2021, 18:37 IST | Updated - 22 Mar 2021, 18:37 IST

5 Min Read

After an edge-of-the-seat thriller of a T20I series, the action moves to the 50-over format in what is the third installment of the England tour as the two teams gear up to tussle for three ODIs at Pune, starting 23rd March 2021. The backdrop of the battle does not alter much with both the sides ranking identically in T20Is and ODIs, however, there is certainly some change in the personnel as India have roped in pacer M Prasidh Krishna and spin all-rounder Krunal Pandya, who both starred in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, in their 18-member squad for the series.

As confirmed by the England management, the visitors will be missing the duties of pace leader Jofra Archer (elbow injury) and Joe Root, slotting in Liam Livingstone and Reece Topley, who both were a part of the T20Is but did not feature in any, and Matt Parkinson, who has earned a call straight after debut series against South Africa in February 2020.

India last played the 50-over format was against Australia in a three-match series last year, when the squad included Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, who all are missing from the current line-up. Rohit Sharma, who missed the white-ball legs of the Australian tour due to injury, is back as the designated vice-captain, alongside Rishabh Pant, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Mohammed Siraj.

The series also marks the return of ODI cricket to India straight after January 2020, when they won the three-match series against Australia 2-1. Even as the Men in Blue embarked upon the tours of New Zealand and Australia later, a home series remained elusive owing to the pandemic, with a three-game series even being cancelled against South Africa in March 2020.

England, meanwhile, faced a cancelled ODI series of the same length themselves against the same opposition away from home in December 2020, after having defeated Ireland 2-1, followed by a 1-2 beating by Australia in the two home series of 2020. To transport into the pre-COVID era, India has happy memories from 2017, last England visited them for ODIs and underwent two losses – at Pune, by 3 wickets, and at Cuttack, by 15 runs – before winning the last rubber at Kolkata by 5 runs to handover the series to the hosts 2-1.

However, in the two sides’ recent-most face-off in a bilateral ODI series, India lost by the same score-line when they visited England in 2018. India started by an eight-wicket win at Nottingham, but followed that with two consecutive defeats: at Lords, by 86 runs, and at Leeds, by eight wickets.

While the current series can be termed insignificant in a year that will be largely dominated by Test cricket and T20Is, England will still fancy this as an opportunity to acclimatize themselves to the Indian conditions. Then, of course, no series holds no significance with the advent of the ICC ODI Super League, and though India have a default qualification being the hosts of the event, England have 30 points for the grabs.

The default qualification for India does not mean that there is no incentive for them to go into the series. Should they clean-sweep England, they will displace them to become the No. 1 side in the ICC ODI rankings.

Pitch and conditions

Statistically, there are no favorites between the team defending and chasing at Pune, as the record stands at a deadly even of 2-2. That said, the average first innings score of 292 is suggestive that whether a target is chased or defended, there will be plenty in the track for the batsmen to exploit.

Given this is a day-night affair, batting second will be advantageous with the dew and ball skidding under floodlights. The two side’s only meeting at the venue was a run-fest: India chased down a whopping 350 runs with nearly two overs to spare thanks to centuries from Virat Kohli and Kedar Jadhav.

Playing combinations for IND vs ENG

India

India is expected to opt for their regular opening combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, with the former being under tremendous pressure with Shubman Gill waiting in the wings. The hosts have some searing competition building up at the number 4 spot between KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shreyas Iyer, and even as Iyer remains the preferred option in the slot, it remains to be seen if India backs KL Rahul or perhaps choose to give Suryakumar Yadav, who was in rousing form in the T20Is, a look-in.

The second spinner’s slot alongside Yuzvendra Chahal will be a toss-up between Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar, whereas a three-pronged pace attack in Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are expectable.

Predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya/Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

England

England have backed the Roy-Bairstow combination for the opening slot in the 50-over format, which means Jos Buttler will shift into the middle-order after ruling at the top in the T20Is. Joe Root’s absence could well be Liam Livingstone’s chance to display his credentials at number three with skipper Morgan following.

Neither Sam Billings nor Moeen Ali has got a chance as yet in the white-ball series and while Ali and Adil Rashid make a potent spin duo, England might be inclined to give Billings a chance to add more strength to their batting. Curran brothers will partner Mark Wood as pacers.

Predicted XI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Eoin Morgan (C), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (WK), Moeen Ali/Sam Billings, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Tom Curran