India vs England 3rd ODI: India Lost The Toss But Virat Kohli And Co. Can Win The Match, Here's A Statistical Look

England has won the toss chose to bowl. While India eyes to seal the decider match, here's an analytical look at how the Men in Blue can emerge victorious.

Photo Courtesy: PTI

It all culminates in what is expected to be an exhilarating finale between two evenly-matched teams on Super Sunday. With India and England tied at 1-1, the final game at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune promises to be a cracker. England will go into the series decider with a major confidence boost after chasing 337 with 6.3 overs to spare in a high-scoring encounter

The TOSS:

Though India has lost the toss, Indian skipper Virat Kohli can still turn the fortunes.  Taking a look at Virat Kohli's toss record he has lost 10 out of the 12 tosses in this England Tour, including the 3 ODIs so far.  In the last 15 ODIs in India, teams have chosen to chase 12 times, with 7 of these resulting in wins. The team batting first has won 6 of the last 15 ODIs in India, with teams favouring chasing winning 9. This series has seen both results, with India winning the first ODI after being put into bat.

INDIA’S DEATH OVER PERFORMANCE:

Both India and England have followed relatively contrasting approaches to their batting this series. While India have been the more cautious of the two sides in the opening phase of play, looking to set up a  platform and breaking the shackles in the death overs, England have relied on their fearless brand of cricket that has brought them much success. The hosts have scored over 100 runs in the final 10 overs in both the ODIs so far, (112/1 in the first ODI and 126/3 in the second game). India’s run-rate in the 41 to 50 overs has improved from 9.2 in 14 innings prior to this series to 11.9 in the current one in Indian conditions in the first innings. While it was Krunal Pandya & KL Rahul who provided the impetus in the first ODI, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya went berserk in the second game. With 300+ chases becoming a norm in ODIs, India will be dependent on their big hitters to provide a fitting finale.

INDIAN SPINNERS A CAUSE FOR CONCERN?

While the quintessential spin to win motto that India have relied upon has not really fired in the series, skipper Virat Kohli may be looking to shuffle things by bringing in Yuzvendra Chahal and/or Washington Sundar for the final series. Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya have returned figures of 1/283 in both ODIs combined, while England have looked at ease in counter-attack. Prior to this series, India’s spinners had an economy of 5.8 since 2018 at home, while in the first two ODIs, the economy has drastically risen to 8.1, with the spin duo conceded 14 out of the record 20 sixes in the second ODI. With India missing the services of  Ravindra Jadeja, the spin department looks to be a cause for concern for Virat Kohli. From 2018, England batsmen had a SR of 95.25 against Indian left arm spinners before this series. While Krunal has shown his ability with the bat, it remains to be seen whether the India team will rely on him to be their fifth choice bowler to bowl his full quota, or turn to Hardik Pandya, who is yet to roll his arm over in this series, to chip in with a few overs.

JASON ROY AGAINST INDIAN SPINNERS:

With England’s attacking approach paving their way for much of their ODI success, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow have formed a flourishing partnership at the top of the order. The duo notched up their 13th  Century stand in ODIs in the second game, the most by an English duo. Roy, in particular, has seemed to have rediscovered his touch after a few lean patches. He fell just 4 short of a brisk half-century in the first game, while scoring 55 in the 110-run opening stand in the second match. In the opening ODI, he smashed Krunal Pandya for 3 fours and a six in the first 7 balls he faced against the spinner, while an exceptional run out from Rohit Sharma curtailed his innings in the second ODI. 

The risk vs reward strategy seemed to have been paying off at the moment for the England opening bat, especially against spinners. While he has been dismissed by spin thrice as compared to once against pace in the last 5 innings, his strike rate against spin is 140.6 compared to 98.73 against that of pace, where he has scored 155 runs in 157 balls.

JOS BUTTLER FORM:

Stand-in-skipper Jos Buttler will be wary of his form in both the ODIs. He has been dismissed for 2 and 0 respectively, with both dismissals coming against pacers. In the last 5 innings, pacers have got the better of him on 4 occasions, averaging 13.8 balls per dismissal. With the top order firing at the moment, the England batting depth is more than capable of holding fort, but  Coming in at 5 and proving to be a link between the middle and lower order, the wicket-keeper bat will want to make a mark in the final game of the tour. 

VIRAT KOHLI:

The Indian skipper will be itching to get to century no.72, which has been eluding him since he scored a ton against Bangladesh in the Day-Night Test in Kolkata. Despite not being able to reach the triple figure mark, Kohli has looked in ominous form. Averaging 61 in the ODI series, Kohli has scored back-to-back half-centuries. However, he will want to get one over his nemesis in Adil Rashid. The English leg spinner has got the better of Kohli thrice in 6 matches, including the second ODI, when Kohli was caught by Jos Buttler. Amongst the current squad who Kohli has faced the most,  he has had the most success against Stokes, striking at 103 without yet being dismissed by the England all-rounder in 6 matches.

Kohli also achieved the impressive feat of becoming only the second player after former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting to cross 10,000 runs at No.3, achieving it in his 190th innings