IND vs ENG: Top 5 key player battles to watch out for in 2nd ODI, Cuttack

India won the 1st IND vs ENG in Nagpur by four wickets.

India continued their dominating form against England with a four-wicket victory in the first IND vs ENG ODI in Nagpur, which followed their 4-1 win in the T20I series.

England had their chances, but failed to capitalize on their good periods of play with both bat and ball. Ravindra Jadeja and Harshit Rana took three wickets each to halt England to 248 before half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill and Axar Patel helped India gun down the target with more than 10 overs left.

The 2nd IND vs ENG ODI will be played on Sunday in Cuttack. A batting-friendly surface is expected at the Barabati Stadium. Let’s see the top five player battles you need to keep an eye on during the 2nd ODI.

IND vs ENG: Top 5 key player battles to watch out for in 2nd ODI, Cuttack

1. Rohit Sharma vs Jofra Archer

India captain Rohit Sharma is desperate to score some runs and return to form. After a disastrous campaign in Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024/25 test series, Rohit was dismissed for only two runs in the first ODI by Saqib Mahmood after Mahmood and Jofra Archer troubled him with the new ball.

Archer is in terrific rhythm on this tour and could come out on top against the struggling Indian captain in the second ODI.

2. Virat Kohli vs Mark Wood

Both Virat Kohli and Mark Wood missed the first ODI. Kohli had a knee issue, while Wood was rested, and both are expected to feature in the important match in Cuttack. Kohli is likely to slot back to the No. 3 position and could face the steaming Wood in the powerplay.

While Kohli is an indomitable force in ODI cricket, he would need to be wary of Wood and other England pacers at the initial part of his innings as he’s been prone to getting dismissed by fast bowlers recently. On the Australia tour, he was caught behind eight times to deliveries outside the off-stump, and on his Ranji Trophy return, he was bowled by pacer Himanshu Sangwan.

3. Jos Buttler vs Kuldeep Yadav

After a groin injury, Kuldeep Yadav is gradually getting back into his best rhythm. He will have a crucial role to play as India’s X-factor in the bowling attack on a batting-friendly pitch at the Barabati Stadium.

In the middle-overs, he is likely to come up against the in-form Jos Buttler, who struck a half-century in Nagpur and was in good touch during the T20I series as well.

Both the players would remember how the chinaman bowled Buttler with of the greatest deliveries during their World Cup 2023 encounter. In Cuttack, Buttler is expected to come hard at Kuldeep and the Indian spinner’s response would be interesting to see.

4. Joe Root vs Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja has dismissed Joe Root 12 times in international cricket. And that is despite the fact that Root is England’s best batsman against spin-bowling. In Nagpur, Jadeja beat Root through his length and pushed him on the backfoot to trap him lbw.

England’s ODI line-up is heavily dependent on Root to anchor the innings and in his way stands Jadeja.

5. Shreyas Iyer vs Adil Rashid

Iyer was not supposed to play in Nagpur as India handed Yashasvi Jaiswal his ODI debut. But an injury to Kohli allowed Iyer to play and he grabbed his opportunity with both hands by smashing 59 runs off 36 balls to set India a winning momentum.

Iyer is known to be an excellent player of spin and which he showed as he pulled, cut, and reverse-swept the England spinners in Nagpur, including Adil Rashid, who is their best and most experienced spinner in this line-up.

Another round of Iyer vs Rashid would be exciting to witness.

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