FANTASY
Follow UsAfter a batting collapse resulted in a ‘bitterly disappointing’ loss, England came back in the second ODI with all guns blazing. They razed down an imposing total of 337 well within 44 overs to level the series 1-1. The series is now poised nicely for a series-decider on Sunday.
India’s superior head-to-head record means they continue to have the upper hand, winning 54 out of the 102 ODIs between the two sides. England, however, have been dominant in recent times.
Head to Head
Overall: Matches – 102 | IND – 55 wins | ENG – 43 wins
Last five matches: IND – 2 wins | ENG – 3 wins
Ground Details and Team Combination
Pune’s MCA Stadium, host to all three ODIs of this series, has been a featherbed for the batsmen. Three out of the four innings have seen scores in excess of 300 and the trend is expected to continue in the third ODI as well.
While there has been assistance for pacers in terms of lateral movement with the new ball and bounce, the track at the MCA has been nothing but a road for the spinners. In the two ODIs thus far, only two of the 25 wickets have gone to the spinners. Hence, it won’t be too big a risk to pick an all-pace attack for your fantasy XI.
On the batting front, only once in the four innings as yet, wickets have fallen in the first 10 overs. Hence, top-order batsmen alongside pace bowlers to comprise your bowling attack seems to be the ideal way to approach this match.
Suggested Teams
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. Based on algorithms we have come up with six different teams that could fetch crucial points.
Captain suggestion
“He’s (Jonny Bairstow) in unbelievable form”, said Ben Stokes after the second ODI. Bairstow’s past three ODI scores read 124, 94 and 112 with the latter coming in September, against Australia. The right-hander has accrued 1,408 runs in ODIs since 2019, the most for England and is well ahead of the second-place Eoin Morgan (1,063). After struggling to put bat to ball in the Test series, Bairstow has been terrific in the white-ball leg of the tour.
Our Criclytics player projection predicts Bairstow could score 26-59 runs in this match
X-Factors
Going by his standards, Virat Kohli didn't have a great 2020 and a number of ducks in the first quarter of 2021 hinted at an extended lean patch. The Indian skipper, however, has turned things around in the white-ball series. He notched up three 70-plus scores in the T20I series, winning the man-of-the-series award. He has carried that touch into the ODIs as well, scoring a fifty each in the two ODIs. He is a safe bat given the way he has been batting, also inching closer to that elusive 71st international hundred.
Our Criclytics player projection predicts Kohli could score 24-57 runs in this match
Rohit Sharma is the only opening batsman in this series who does not have a fifty to his name yet. However, dropping him is a big risk given the Mumbaikar can single-handedly win games when it is his day. After topping the run charts for India in the Test series, Rohit scored a magnificent 64 in the fifth T20I. He has seemed in good touch in the ODIs as well but has fallen to harmless deliveries. Eager to be eager amongst runs again, Rohit can make up for consecutive low scores with a big hundred.
Our Criclytics player projection predicts Rohit could score 22-55 runs in this match
Ben Stokes is renowned for his ability to win games with both bat and ball. In the first ODI, Stokes picked three wickets. In the second, he went wicketless but struck a 52-ball 99. All-rounders are worth their weight in gold and there is none better in world cricket currently than him.
Our Criclytics player projection predicts Stokes could score 20-53 runs and pick 0-1 wickets in this match