ODI series: India aim to lay down marker in England
KEEN BATTLE Bhuvneshwar doubtful as India, boosted by T20 series win, take on topranked hosts
aware that Virat Kohli’s team will test England in ways Australia didn’t. And India have scored nine successive bilateral ODI series victories and are on a high after annihilating South Africa on their turf early this year.
It remains to be seen whether Kohli takes up the No 4 slot. The India captain is looking at slotting KL Rahul at No 3. “Speaking of Rahul batting at 3 or 4, I don’t know where he’ll bat in ODIS. He’s been in great form. I don’t know where the captain wants to bat, that’ll be the most important question,” said Rohit Sharma.
Kohli though is the most destructive batsman in the format. Against South Africa, he set a world record for most runs in a bilateral ODI series, hammering 558 runs with three centuries and a half-century.
The last time England played at Trent Bridge, against Australia, they improved on their own world ODI total by amassing 481. That raises high expectations of another run feast. Whoever wins the toss will prefer to chase, said Rohit. “When you are playing on pitches like that, you like to chase, preferably. This team prefers to chase.”
England Test skipper, Joe Root, is confident India will find it tough. “We’ve played some really strong cricket in one-day format and India are up there as one of the best one-day sides in the world. They present different challenges to the ones we have recently faced but we know if we play to potential and keep learning and improving, we will be a difficult side to play, especially at home in these conditions.”