ICC World Cup 2019 | India's predicted XI for the match against England

ICC World Cup 2019 | India's predicted XI for the match against England

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Fresh off their victory against the Windies, Team India, led by Virat Kohli, will be blazing to go against an English team relatively low on confidence. India have further received a boost ahead of the clash, displacing England as the number one ODI team in the latest ODI rankings released by ICC.

Openers

KL Rahul: Despite posting three solid scores of 57, 30 and 48 opening the innings, the Karnataka opener has been guilty of not converting his starts and throwing his wicket away. But more than his conversion rate, Rahul will be more concerned with his Strike Rate, which has been an appalling 71.66 so far in this World Cup. The opener will certainly be hoping to set things straight against England on Sunday.

Rohit Sharma: After setting the World Cup alight with two centuries and a fifty in his first three innings, Rohit has put in two sub-par batting performances in his last two games. After starting his innings on a positive note against the Windies, Rohit was ruled out under rather controversial circumstances. The Hitman would be looking to get things back on track and look to put a big score on the board against the Three Lions.

Middler-Order

Virat Kohli: Four scores of 65 + without a single century. That's something unheard of, in Virat Kohli's books. The Indian skipper will be kicking himself for throwing his wicket away against both Afghanistan and the Windies, despite looking a class apart from every other batsman on the field. One thing's for sure, if Kohli manages to get past 60 against England on Sunday, he will do all it takes to ensure that he gets to the three-figure mark.

Vijay Shankar: After finally sealing a spot as India's first-choice No.4 batsman thanks to Rahul moving to the top post Dhawan's injury, Vijay Shankar has failed to make the most of his opportunities, posting just 14 and 29 in his last two innings. With Rishabh Pant breathing down his neck, Shankar would need to fire against England to keep his spot in the team intact.

MS Dhoni: Under fire for his two relatively slow knocks against Afghanistan and the Windies, all eyes will be on Dhoni to see if he changes his approach in tomorrow's match. However, it won't be surprising if Dhoni goes in with the same approach against England, as he seldom lets external pressure get to him. Saying that, on a personal level, Dhoni would definitely be looking to put in an improved performance tomorrow, especially against the spinners, having evidently struggled against spin in the last two matches.

Kedar Jadhav: Having had little to do in this World Cup so far thanks to the batsmen above him, Jadhav had his first real hit in the game against Afghanistan, where he helped India scrape through to a total of 224. He failed to make the most of his opportunity in the match against the Windies and will be desperate to contribute with the bat against England and assert his authority in the Indian middle-order. 

All-rounders

Hardik Pandya: It is fair to say that no other player in the Indian team know their role in the team as clear as Pandya does. Be it with bat or ball, Pandya has been outstanding for the men in blue, bringing along with him his unmatched level of intensity. It will be once again interesting to see how Pandya goes about with the bat, knowing India have a pretty long tail with Shami walking in to bat at Number 8. 

Spinners

Kuldeep Yadav: Despite suffocating the batsmen for runs with his variation and tight lines, Kuldeep has had very little to show for in the wickets column, with just four wickets in five matches in this World Cup. But he will definitely cast his mind back to Nottingham in 2018, where he bagged career-best figures of 6/25 against the very same English batting line-up. Kuldeep would believe that he will eventually reap rewards if he continues to bowl the way he has been bowling so far.

Yuzvendra Chahal: With 10 wickets in five innings, Chahal has been India's highest wicket taker in this World Cup so far. The leggie has provided the team with timely breakthroughs and has delivered whenever the team has needed him to. He would be full of confidence going into the clash against England and would be looking to spin a web over the English batting line-up in conditions which are predicted to offer assistance for the spinners.

Pacers:

Mohammad Shami: Prior to the World Cup, there was a lot of chatter on who India's second pacer should be. Eventually, India went ahead with Bhuvi, citing form, fitness and conditions. Fast forward a month, Shami has well and truly put the debate to bed, putting in back-to-back match-winning performances. The 28-year-old will be looking to maintain consistency and replicate his performances, in his game against England.

Jasprit Bumrah: Cometh the hour, cometh the ocasssion, cometh the man. Just like his spin counterpart Chahal, Bumrah has delivered time and again - whenever his team has asked of him. The number one ranked ODI bowler was on song once again versus the Windies, returning figures of 2/9 in six overs. He will once again be looking to make early inroads into the English batting line-up. 

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