Expect India and England to play ODIs with the T20 mindset in World Cup cycle

The last ten days have been nothing less than exceptional in terms of high-quality cricket, on this India tour of England. We had five extra-ordinary days of Test match followed by 3 T20s. All these games have lived up to the billing so far. There was never one clear favourite on this tour, with either of the teams making a fightback on difference occasions, which made the contests exciting for the fans. If India dominated the Test for three-and-a-half days, England bounced back strongly on the last day to win it. Indian then packed a punch when least expected with two wins on the trot in T20s. With series lost, England showed good fight to avoid a clean sweep. After a power-packed week or so, the action shifts to ODIs, with the first game set to take place at The Oval on July 12 and expect these two sides to have a close fight again.

In my view, both India and England will look at the ODI series as the extension of the T20s. What I mean is that both the teams will be looking to play with the same mindset as the T20s, in order to prepare and build a strong squad for the T20 World Cup scheduled to take place in Australia later this year. We have already seen how England went about things in the recently-concluded ODIs vs Netherlands. Well, the

opponent isn’t the same but don’t expect England to change the way they play. Likewise, India too will be keeping an eye on World Cup squad when they take the field in the first match.

 

Buttler’s time to rise and shine as captain

The ODIs provide Jos Buttler another opportunity to get better as captain. I think he was terrific in the 3rd T20, in terms of decision-making. To be 2-0 down and then to find himself in a crunch situation, Buttler took some very good calls to keep India at distance from the target. He will be happy to have some resources added to the England squad in form of Joe Root and Ben Stokes. Their inclusion not only adds experience in the lineup but they will also be a huge support for Buttler. There is no doubt that Root and Stokes will do everything to help Buttler settle in, in his new role.

There’s going to be some pressure on Matthew Parkinson in the ODIs. I am not saying this will be his last chance to cement his place in the side but surely a big chance. Knowing Adil Rashid will walk into the squad soon and with Moeen Ali also in there already, he will need to do a lot to justify his place. England would also want one of their biggest match-winners Jason Roy to bounce back. He scored 4 and 0 in the two innings before scoring a slow-paced 27 in the 3rd T20, which was a very unlike-Roy knock. To start with, a quick fifty may get him going in the ODIs. Watch out for Jonny Bairstow, who is England’s bestever one-day opener, in my opinion. He is in form of his life and everyone’s just too exciting to watch him bat these days.

 

Indian bowlers’ skill will be something to watch out for 

What impressed me the most in the T20s was the performance of the Indian bowlers, be it the pacers or the spinners, all of them stepped up and showed their quality. Not that the pitches were not batting friendly but Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Co showed how to bowl and pick wickets. India have a bowling attack that causes problems. The pitches for the ODIs are likely to be batting friendly again but such is the quality of Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal that they even take the pitch out of consideration. Bhuvneshwar and Harshal are not part of the ODI squad but it does not mean India lack anything skillwise. Bumrah has the yorkers, Chahal is quite sharp with his leg-spin and then there are Arshdeeps and Axars. They are an attack against whom you cannot keep your guard off.

Add to that Ravindra Jadeja who has been brilliant with both bat and ball. His confidence must be skyhigh after his exploits in the T20s. Speaking about touching the sky, let’s not forget Suryakumar Yadav. What a treat he has been for the eyes. His maiden T20 ton was one of the best knocks I have seen. Some of the shots he played were jaw-dropping. Those played square of the wicket for sixes. They were incredible shots not just for the amount of skill but also for the control he showed playing them with asking rate touching 15 and over.

There is no clear update on Virat Kohli’s participation for the first game after news of his groin injury. Expect Rohit to continue batting in ODIs with the same aggressive approach. Like I said earlier, the ODIs will be played with the T20 World Cup in mind. Both teams have big squads and they will be looking to give a game to everyone so as to understand their bench strength better in lead up to the World Cup.