- India has a busy cricket calendar ahead for the year 2017. England is coming to the final leg of their India tour when the two teams play the final ODI in Kolkata on Sunday. This will be followed by a three-match T20 series. The final match will be played on February 1, thus concluding the tour that had started on November 9, 2016.
The highlights of the year include the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 to be held in June, the ICC Women’s World Cup qualifiers in February and the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 that will be held over June and July. The month of February will mark the first time that India host Bangladesh for a Test match. The 10th season of the IPL will be held in April.
The first of India’s three away tours other than the Champions Trophy will be in July when they travel to West Indies. A three month break follows the end of the Sri Lanka tour to be held in August after which India begin their tour of South Africa in December.
India vs England 2016-17: Predicted India playing XI for 3rd ODI
Virat Kohli’s first full series as limited-overs captain has been fruitful so far as the Indian team have won the first two ODIs to seal the series. However, the third ODI against England at Kolkata will be interesting as it will be India’s final match in the format before the ICC Champions Trophy in June.
#Openers
Ajinkya Rahane scored a match-winning knock as captain in the second warm-up match against England and it makes sense to try him out as opener, ahead of Dhawan, especially with the Champions Trophy looming large and India having little practice in the format before then.
Deprived of the services of Rohit Sharma, who is still recovering after his surgery, India have struggled to get off to a strong start in the first two ODIs. Both KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan have excellent records in ODIs but the pair haven’t really clicked in the ODIs that they have played together in.
#Middle-order
Before the start of the series all eyes were on the Indian middle-order, which although packed with experience, But centuries for Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and a career-best for Yuvraj Singh have allayed fears and shown just why experience should always be trusted. With all three scoring a century and looking good at No.3 – No.5, it is unlikely that there will be any change in the middle order.
With their centuries in the second ODI, Yuvraj and Dhoni not only turned back the clock but also gave Virat Kohli a strong middle-order to fall back in case either he, or the openers don’t fire.
#Spinners
After a poor showing in the first ODI, where Ravichandran Ashwin looked out of sorts, the leading wicket-taker in international cricket in 2016, came back with a bang as he picked up three wickets in the second ODI and justified his place in the side.
Ravindra Jadeja, on the other hand, has shown that despite not playing in the format has no impact on his ability to be effective. In both ODIs, he has been economical and while scores of 350 have been racked up by both sides in both ODIs.
#Fast bowlers
Jasprit Bumrah may have picked two wickets in each of the first two ODIs but has been incredibly expensive.
After missing out in the first match to Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar came back to the side in the second ODI and made all the difference as he helped India get over the line and clinch the series. His ability to swing the ball early in the game and bowl yorkers at the death, makes him an invaluable asset.
That is why India are likely to stick with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah for the third ODI and not tinker too much in the fast bowling department. After an impressive display at the death by the pair it certainly doesn’t make sense to change them.
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