England v India First ODI Tips: Expect an Edgbaston runfest

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Tuesday 14 July, 14:30
TV: Sky Sports

England v India first ODI team news

England should be cockahoop following a clean sweep of the available matches in the T20 series. And they are bolstered here by the return of big players such as Joe Root and Ben Duckett. Gus Atkinson is also in the squad.

Whether their confidence is muted, however, because of Brendon McCullum's sacking as Test coach remains to be seen. It is hard to envisage him continuing in this role, too, as he has hardly set the world alight.

The hosts could be trialling a new opening partner for Duckett. Tom Banton, Jacob bethell and Will Jacks are options. Rehan Ahmed opened for them in their previous ODI. Rehan is in competition with Liam Dawson, though, for an all-rounder slot and he doesn't come out on top in selection battles that often.

With the ball, England may not be able to combine Atkinson with Josh Tongue and Jofra Archer. It has a potent feel but it could make the balance a little lopsided.

Possible XI: Duckett, Banton, Root, Brook, Bethell, Jacks, S Curran, Rehan/Dawson, Atkinson, Archer, Rashid

India will be relieved to have left the T20 series behind. The big guns have arrived to banish a disastrous effort from memory. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Shubman Gill are in town.

Gill, the skip, should open the batting with Rohit. Shreyas Iyer, who was a disaster in the T20 series as leader, is now vice-captain.

The two selection issues India may face is whether to go with Ishan Kishan or KL Rahul with the gloves. Then it's about whether they bridge the gap between the bowlers with Shivam Dube offering all-round options or they go for a specialist, three-man pace attack. Nitish Kumar Reddy is unavailable. Kuldeep Yadav also makes a welcome return to white ball.

Possible XI: Gill, Rohit, Kohli, Shreyas, Rahul, Sundar, Dube, Axar, Kuldeep, Arshdeep, Bumrah

England v India first ODI pitch report

There have been just two ODI at Edgbaston in the last five years. England won both of them with monstrous batting efforts. They chased 332 against Pakistan in 2021 and set West indies 401 last summer. What was peculiar about the latter was there was no century in the match.

It is fair to reckon we get a game dominated by the batters. In the Blast this summer the tracks have been full of runs. The lowest first-innings is 188 in six matches. The forecast is good with little cloud cover.

The easiest play for runs is possibly Sportsbook's 7/52.40 that both teams hit 300. We don't have the same concerns about India's batting in ODI with their big guns back in action. Both sides to hit 325 is 10/34.33.

England v India fifth T20 match prediction

England have won only three of their nine matches in the last 12 months. They have lost 2-1 to South Africa and 3-0 to New Zealand and were rather suprising 2-1 winners in Sri Lanka. India are not as dominant as one would expect they have a 5/5 record and suffered a surprise defeat by New Zealand at home last year.

But we wouldn't have the hosts as favourites. It's a choice affair at best. Sportsbook offer even money India while on the Betfair Exchange they are 2.0811/10. The likes of Bumrah and Kuldeep have the x-factor and could make all the difference.

it would be remiss, however, not to point out the importance of the toss. England are a team to be taken on when batting first in the last two years. They have lost 12 of their 16 when asked to defend a total. Unfortunately for the hosts they come up against the best chasers in the world. It's 11 wins from 15 for India with one tie.

It is possible that England take a little cut with the prospect of runs on the board if the flip goes their way. In-play, we would be happy to be taking bigger odds at the break on India.

England v India first ODI player bets

On good batting wickets it can be a fool's errand to bet one player to outscore his team-mates. This might be a surface where an 80 or 90 is not enough, or even a 'small' ton. So go with milestones to take others out of the equation. For England, a Joe Root 50 catches the eye at 5/42.25. For India, Kohli will, of course, be all the rage. He is the same price. Rohit, however, is slightly more reliable for runs and the 13/82.63 for a half-salute could be a strong option.

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