Indian batter Hanuma Vihari said there is a good chance that the Men in Blue can whitewash England in the three-match series after winning the series opener by six wickets at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Tuesday.
Vihari stuck to his previous prediction of 2-1 in favour of India but reckons the visitors can go on to win all the three games. India was recently clean-swept by England in the T20I series as they suffered a 0-4 drubbing.
Meanwhile, India was up to the mark in the opening game of the ODI series as they chased down 259 runs with ease in the end.
“If England whitewashed the T20I series, there is a good chance India can whitewash the ODIs. They will feel relieved, especially coach Gautam Gambhir. I had predicted 2-1 before the series began, and I will still stick to it. But they will be very happy with 3-0,” Hanuma Vihari said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Vihari praised Indian skipper Shubman Gill for leading from the front. Gill scored a fine knock of 80 runs in the series opener before he was forced to retire hurt due to cramps.
“While playing in England, you need temperament. Look at Gill, he showed his composure, he played good cricketing shots with the new ball. He showed that composure despite Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma getting out. He was phenomenal with the bat. I feel they will be very confident with this win.”
The Indian batter believes India’s ODI team is more settled than the T20I team. Jasprit Bumrah also returned to action and was able to hit the ground running on Tuesday.
Hanuma concluded, “The ODI team, with Gill as captain for three to four series now, looks like a more settled team than the T20. This may seem strange because we recently became T20 champions so how can we say this? But in T20s, Suryakumar led for a couple of years and we all saw how the team formed, everyone was backed and did well. As soon as Shreyas became captain, it will take time for the team to form again, for the players to gel, to create that environment. There were no Bumrah and Hardik for Shreyas Iyer. Gill has Bumrah and that is a blessing.”
The second ODI between India and England will be played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Thursday.
