After a closely fought T20I series which served up plenty of entertainment, England and India will lock horns once again in the first of the three ODIs at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
Virat Kohli’s men clinched the three-match 20-over contest 2-1 to take the early bragging rights ahead of what will be a long English summer for them with the five-match Test series to follow the ODIs.
With the ODI series promising to be an equally entertaining affair if not more, we look at the key talking points ahead of the Trent Bridge opener.
SHIKHAR DHAWAN’S FORM REMAINS A WORRY FOR INDIA
While India’s top-order batsmen in Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Kohli all fired in the T20 series, the form of Shikhar Dhawan remains a huge concern. Dhawan’s tour of the UK started with a sparkling knock of 74 in the first T20 against Ireland at Dublin.
Since then, it has all gone downhill for the India opener who managed to score a paltry 19 runs in three outings on English soil. With England possessing a batting-unit which bats deep, India will need its top-order to be on their game and as such, Dhawan will be under pressure to deliver the goods.
The left-hander will look to draw from his performance in the ICC Champions Trophy in England last year where he finished as the leading run-scorer, troubling the scorers for 338 in five matches.
Dhawan was completely off-colour in the T20 series.
TUSSLE FOR NO.1 CROWN
The ODIs will see the top two ranked outfits in the world go head-to-head against each other with Eoin Morgan‘s side looking to defend their status as the best 50-over-side in the world.
Building up to next year’s World Cup in England and Wales, the Three Lions currently have a four-point lead over the second-ranked Indians and a single victory in either of the three ODIs will mean that they will retain that mantle at the end of the series.
Kohli’s men, on the other hand, need to inflict a 3-0 whitewash on the hosts to leapfrog them in the ranking table. That, by all means, will be no easy task given how convincingly England recently swept aside arch rivals Australia by a thumping 5-0 margin in the format.
The two best ODI outfits in the world will tussle for the No.1 crown.
RUN FEAST ON OFFER AT NOTTINGHAM
The last time Trent Bridge hosted an ODI, England scored a world-record 481-6 against the Aussies as they went on to notch up a gigantic 242-run win. The ground is gaining notoriety for its high-scoring clashes with England’s previous world-record total of 444-3 coming at the same venue against Pakistan in August 2016.
Much of the same could be on offer in batting-friendly and humid Nottingham conditions on Thursday, coupled with the fact both sides possess explosive and experienced rosters with the willow.
Bowlers from both sides could be in for a hard day at the office and it will not be a surprise to see another 400-run plus total up on the board.
England scored a world record 481 at the ground recently.
