Last Updated on 2 months by Charbel Coorey

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Every ball seemed like a highlights package in a 337-run chase as Bairstow & Stokes went ballistic to help England record their highest chase against India and set the series for Sunday’s decider.

Like in the first game, England achieved the perfect start to the chase. Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow pulled off a 110-run stand after their onslaught in the opening ODI. In fact, this was their third consecutive ODI century stand vs India (160 in Birmingham in 2019 WC, 135 & 110 in the ongoing series).

After Roy was run out courtesy of Rohit’s excellence, Stokes came to the party and made the Indian bowlers look clueless. At one stage, he was 50 off 40 balls and then he went all guns blazing to finish with 99 off 52 balls. Unfortunately, he fell one run short of what would have been a richly-deserved hundred. However, Bairstow (124 off 112 balls) made sure he did not miss it like his first innings, and got his 11th ODI hundred. He was adjudged Man of the Match for his heroics.

The series-leveling onslaught showed up chinks in India’s bowling armory, particularly in the spin department as Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya conceded runs at an economy of 8.4 and 12 respectively. Kohli in the post-match conference said “We never had a chance during their partnership (Stokes-Bairstow), that’s how good they were. It’s rare to play at such a high strike-rate and not give any chances.”

While batting first, India lost two early wickets and needed a partnership and that happened between KL and the skipper. Virat scored 66 off 79 balls while KL (108 off 114 balls) went on to score his 5th ODI Century. It was his first hundred against England in ODIs. Rishabh Pant also made most of his opportunity and blasted an explosive 77 off 40 balls and showed why he can currently be rated as the most exciting batsmen in World Cricket.

Now, it’s all to play for in the series decider.

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

India

• Rohit Sharma – In Cricblog’s previous preview, we talked about Rohit’s struggle in his 1st innings vs England and average at the venue. All our predictions were on spot but when it comes to a series decider, Rohit becomes a different player naturally. In 2018 also scored a hundred in the T20I series decider against England. He will be a good choice of C/VC only in Grand Leagues.
• Virat Kohli – There is a lot of talk about Kohli’s Century drought but the Skipper is not bothered at all. He said “I never played for hundreds in my life, probably why I ended up getting so many in such a short while.” After losing the previous two ODI series, Kohli would like to turn the tables and, hope for a spirited performance from the team. He has two-half centuries in the series so far.
• Shikhar Dhawan – Gabbar looked disappointed with the way he got out in the 2nd ODI and would eyeing a big knock in the decider. He is 90 runs away from 6000 ODI runs. He will be a good choice of C/VC in Grand Leagues.
• KL Rahul- After a lean patch in T20Is, the flamboyant KL is back into the scheme of things. His confidence would be sky high after two good scores and will be a must-pick in small leagues.
• Prasidh Krishna –  Debutant Krishna has been might impressive in this series so far. He is the highest wicket-taker of the series so far with 6 wickets, and his ball to get Jos Buttler out on a duck was praised by fans across the globe.
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar – The moment I read Michael Vaughan had said “Kumar is the most skillful bowler white-ball bowler in the world”, I prayed to God with folded hands to keep Bhuvi away from injuries. Fans across the globe know how big a jinxing machine the former England Captain has been on social media. Bhuvi will be the key with the ball and has 3 wickets in the series so far.
• Hardik Pandya – Pandya gave the perfect finish by scoring 35 off 16 balls. Depending on the combination team India goes, he can bowl in the decider.
• Shardul Thakur- Thakur will be key with the ball. He has 3 wickets in the series so far. Watch out for T Natarajan if he plays.

England

• Jonny Bairstow – With his consistent match-winning performances, Bairstow is certainly putting up his name for England’s greatest ODI Batter of all time. He is the highest run-scorer of the series with 218 runs. He will certainly like to put off another show and end the two-month-long tour with a series win. 
• Ben Stokes – Stokesy made sure that England doesn’t miss their talismanic batsmen Joe Root at No.3. In the post-match, he added We don’t fear too much to be honest. We go out and always try and play as positively as we can.” After a blinder of a knock (99 off 52 balls), the onus will be on him again to perform with both bat & ball which makes him a Top Captaincy Pick for this match. 
• Jason Roy – Roy has a good limited-overs tour so far. After a good run in T20Is, he has 101 runs from his 2 ODI innings. He will be a good pick in all leagues.
• Liam Livingstone – Livingstone showed no signs of rust and brought his BBL for in the subcontinent. He scored 27 off 21 balls on his debut when England lost a couple of wickets in quick succession. He will be a good pick only in Grand Leagues.
• Mark Wood – Mostly likely Wood will be back in place of Tom Curran and will be a top pick if England bowls first. He is a wicket-taker in general, and is having a good tour.
• Adil Rashid will be a good option to have in Grand Leagues.

Venue stats of the players were mentioned in Cricblog’s previous preview, you may check it here.

Stats and Facts 

• Roy & Bairstow have equaled the record of Hayden & Gilchrist of 3 consecutive ODI century stands. They have a chance to break it in the series decider.
• Bairstow’s 2nd ODI century was his first century in the sub-continent.
• Ben Stokes’ 10 sixes was the most by an England batsman in an ODI against India.
• H2H Record in India – India 32 Wins | England 17 Wins.
• It has been 37 years since England has won an ODI series against India in India.

Predicted Playing XI

India: 1. Rohit Sharma, 2. Shikhar Dhawan, 3. Virat Kohli (c), 4. Rishabh Pant, 5. KL Rahul (wk), 6. Hardik Pandya, 7. Krunal Pandya, 8. Shardul Thakur, 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10. Kuldeep Yadav/T Natarajan 11. Prasidh Krishna

England: 1. Jason Roy, 2. Jonny Bairstow, 3. Liam Livingstone, 4. David Malan, 5. Jos Buttler (c & wk), 6. Ben Stokes, 7. Sam Curran, 8. Moeen Ali, 9. Tom Curran/Reece Topley, 10. Adil Rashid, 11. Mark Wood

Pune Pitch Report & Weather Conditions

In the Pitch Report for 2nd ODI Deep Dasgupta and Ajit Agarkar said, “You would rather be a batsman here. It looks like an even better pitch than what we had for the first game. Because there’s a little bit of grass covering and it’s a bit firm, there’ll be some help for the seamers. As a seamer, you might get something out of it. It’s firm and hard, which means the ball will carry-through. Try to bowl the hard length or the short of length balls because the extra bounce does trouble the batsmen. The pace and lengths are going to be important. This pitch looks flatter than the last one, maybe more runs scored, more boundaries hit.”

In the previous two ODIs, batters have most of their chances and a similar wicket can be expected again. There are no chances of rain and the temperature will be around 30-32 degrees Celsius. The humidity will mostly be in the 20s.

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Dream11 Prediction

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Match Prediction

England was on the rampage in the second ODI without their ODI regulars and a tough challenge awaits Team India. However, India has a good record against the visitors and will look to bounce back to win the series.

Thanks for reading!

Written by Shekhar Singh. Follow Shekhar on Twitter today.