🏏England tour of India 2025: 1st ODI: 6/2/2025 at 1:30 PM IST🏏 - Page 3

The focus of this match will likely be the form of captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Having retired from T20Is and struggled to an extreme degree against the red ball in recent months, there is a lot of concern regarding whether age has caught up with this pair of Indian batting greats. The dual series losses against New Zealand and Australia in Test cricket and a couple of failures on their return to the Ranji Trophy has put their form under the microscope more than ever in the past.

ODIs, however, have always been the best format for these two batters, with the pair particularly clicking into gear in the 2023 World Cup as they put together a historic campaign on home turf. For many, it may feel like failure is simply not an option for Rohit and Virat: they simply have to find form in this ICC tournament, otherwise the Indian management’s hand could be forced into looking for long-term successors already.

Around them in the batting group, there is plenty to be confident about. Shubman Gill loves batting in Asian conditions, and will want to start taking more responsibility within the Indian setup as he grows from a promising youngster into one of the staples of the team across formats. Shreyas Iyer is the most dangerous batter in the team at number four, capable of keeping the score ticking along in the middle overs and also providing the attacking impetus that made India so dangerous at the World Cup.

After them, two of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Hardik Pandya will occupy the middle order slots: Hardik’s resurgent bowling ability surely makes him a shoo-in, which means Pant and Rahul could battle it out for the gloves. That is a decision that Gautam Gambhir will want to get right heading into the Champions Trophy, with a righty-heavy top six potentially swinging things in favour of Pant to start with.

In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah is rested while Mohammed Siraj has been dropped, but optimism will remain with Mohammed Shami likely to make a return and Arshdeep Singh showing plenty of quality in the T20I series ahead of a likely ODI return. Spin will continue to dominate with only two pacers named, but with as many as five different options, the three that will be used are difficult to call.

Axar Patel seems to be a player trusted greatly by Rohit and Gambhir in white-ball cricket, and his slight edge on Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar could see him occupy the number seven role as an all-rounder. Kuldeep Yadav is similarly trusted, and will make his comeback from injury in this series: he offers something completely different to the host of finger spinners, and India will want him to find his rhythm before the tournament. The last spot could be taken by Varun Chakravarthy, a late addition to the ODI squad who was nearly unplayable in the T20I series. This combination does leave the batting a bit light, with Kuldeep in at 8, but Gambhir doesn’t have too many games in which to tinker with his combinations, especially as a coach who prefers his team to have batting depth.

For the England team, currently in a state of transition, more will be expected than the relatively meek performances they put up in the T20I series. Although they pack plenty of firepower, their failure to combat India’s spin combinations will be concerning, although the presence of Joe Root in the ODI team will likely alleviate some of those concerns. Can Jos Buttler’s men figure out how to crack ODI cricket in India and the subcontinent better than they coped with the T20Is? It might come down to their powerplay bowling, where Jofra Archer in particular struggled with leaking runs, and the spin-bowling department, where Liam Livingstone as a front-line turner wasn’t an answer to their problems.

Enter Varun Chakravarthy

Can you blame the Indian think-tank for including Varun Chakravarthy in their ODI squad after his splendid show against England in the T20Is? He was unplayable for most English batters, including captain Jos Butter and finished the series with 14 wickets, including a best of 5/24. Yes, five wickets in a T20I. Incredible stuff.

The ICC even rewarded the guy as he achieved a career-best No. 2 ranking for T20I bowlers. However, given he was a last-minute inclusion, whether he goes on to make the cut in India's 11 isn't guaranteed. With Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav already expected to be part of the Playing XI, Chakravarthy might have to wait, just for this one perhaps.

Exit Jasprit Bumrah

Can someone please tell us what in the world is going on with Jasprit Bumrah? Ever since he injured his back in the Sydney Test against Australia last month, the BCCI has remained tight-lipped about the extent of his injury and recovery.

Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar named him in the England ODI squad but silently removed him from it as well on Wednesday evening, while mentioning Chakravarthy's inclusion. A report claims he has headed to the NCA and that an official verdict is expected over the next 7 days, but nothing has been made official yet. Even captain Rohit Sharma remained coy about it, keeping his 'fingers crossed'.

How's the Nagpur weather holding up

Don't worry. There isn't much to worry about. It is bright, it is sunny and it's going to be quite warm. There are absolutely no chances of rain, so you can rule out the weather playing any dampener in the series opener.

Expect a bit of a cool breeze somewhere around 7PM, just about the start of the second innings but barring that, a typical Maharashtra kind of weather awaits both these teams.

Thankfully for Team India, rain has stayed away in this limited-overs series. The T20Is were successfully completed without any weather interruption, and a similar prediction is expected out of the three ODIs.

Originally posted by: SoniRita

There will be prediction game for IPL but not sure about CT, will let you know if we hear anything from Vijay sir and team regarding this.

At the moment we have planned for IPL only as its a longer event..

CT just have 15 matches and gets over in 19 days.

Thanks for the tag

All the best team India

Jeet jana SL series ke jese naak mat katana

Originally posted by: SoniRita

India's journey from the ODI World Cup to the Champions Trophy was always meant to span nine matches. The issue isn't that it's too few; that's just how the modern game rolls. It's that only a third of them remain.

In fact, when India take the field in Nagpur, it will be their first home ODI since the World Cup, marking the end of a 14-month gap. It's an unusually long break in a format they love to play and market at home but such are the times. And this scarcity of build-up ammo for Champions Trophy, especially in home conditions, where there's more scope for fine-tuning, adds extra weight to the three-match series against England, a contest compelling enough to stand on its own even in a jam-packed cricket calendar.

The schedule is somewhat kind to India, given they start in Vidarbha rather than westward in Motera, where they famously lost the World Cup trophy to Australia in front of a record crowd. Not that it will stop people from lining up outside the stadium gates in Nagpur. If anything, the November 19 loss has only intensified India's quest for an ODI trophy, enthusiasm for which spilled onto the Marine Drive when Rohit Sharma's team returned home with the T20 World Cup aloft, just seven months after their heartbreak in the 50-over format.

The upcoming Champions Trophy is India's chance to end their drought, so expect them to leave no stone unturned in this ODI series, a prelude to the ICC event but also a postlude to yet another T20I series that's reinforced one thing: the next generation is ready and round the corner.

Thanks soni soni soni 🏏

Thanks for the tag 💙.

Hope Rohit scores well today. He's a talented batsman.