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Although India lost the third and final T20I against England, they won the three-match series 2-1. Even in their only loss in the series, there were plenty of positives for the Indian team as they managed to give a fight to one of the better teams in white-ball cricket at the moment with a side that experimented with their Playing XI to identify their best combination.
The biggest plus from the T20I series for the visitors was the approach with which they played, trying to score right from the word "go" rather than setting a base and then taking off in the final few overs. All of this sets up things pretty nicely for the ODI series starting on July 12.
Ahead of the series opener at The Oval, here is a stat-based prediction of what to expect from the match and which team has a better chance of coming out on top on paper.
1. Toss Prediction
India won 2 out of the 3 tosses in their last ODI series. Meanwhile, England managed to win only one toss in their last ODI series. So based on that stat, predicting India to win the toss.
2. Win Possibility
The overall head-to-head record is stacked in favour of India. The two sides have faced each other on a total of 103 occasions. While India registered wins in 55 of these games, England won 43 of these contests. 2 matches finished on a tie while 3 ended without any result. Other than that, the ODI format lends a chance for the likes of Virat Kohli to get back into form.
Not only will it allow him some time to settle in but in brilliant batting conditions, the run-machine can get back his touch. This is also Rohit Sharma's most preferred format or so the numbers suggest. If ever a paper is taught in a university titled "The Art of pacing an ODI innings," Rohit Sharma would be the perfect professor to teach it. After all, the Hitman has three double hundreds in the 50-over format.
Moreover, since it's the start of the series, India will be back to the experienced bowling attack. So all of this makes India the favouirites. However, it should be noted that even England will be a stronger side with Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes making a comeback.
3. Team of the Day
The Team of the Day has to be India. Ever since Rohit Sharma has returned to the helm, there seems to be a bit of a positivity with the way the Men in Blue have gone about things. The same is expected to continue in the first ODI. So gauging, by the way, they played their T20Is, expecting India to win.
4. Powerplay Score (First 10 overs)
48.66 was India's average score in their last ODI series against West Indies. England, meanwhile, recorded an average score of 72.66 in the powerplay overs in their last ODI series against the Netherlands. So, India might end up with a score of less than 50 runs when the fielding restrictions are on while England could end up with more than 50 runs in the first 10 overs.
5. Average Score
The average first innings score at this venue in the last 3 ODIs is 309. So one could expect another high-scoring match here.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.