England v India: Kohli to return to form even as hosts win
Published:After being on the receiving end of three successive Test match thrashings, India might have been happy enough to stay in their dressing room during the washed out first ODI clash with England.
However, the forecast is a little brighter for the second match in Cardiff and although the visitors are more proficient with the white ball than the red, we’re backing Alastair Cook and company for victory.
England to win @ 4/5
Although England are a largely uninspiring ODI side, their methodical approach is likely to prove too much for a beleaguered Indian batting line-up.
The visitors have lost their last two ODI series outside the subcontinent 4-0 and 2-0, to New Zealand and South Africa respectively.
Although they showed good form to win the Champions Trophy in England in 2013, their last full series on British shores resulted in a 3-0 win for the hosts in 2011.
The final match of that series saw England win in Cardiff via the Duckworth-Lewis Method and with some rain expected in Wales, it could be a similar story this time around.
Virat Kohli to score 50+ @ 13/8
India’s star batsman has endured a miserable time in England so far, scoring just 134 runs at an average of 13.40 in the five-match Test series.
However, like India in general, Kohli is a different animal entirely in the shorter form of the game, and recently hit 71 against a strong Middlesex attack in a warm-up match.
Kohli will also have good memories of Cardiff despite India’s loss here in 2011, as he scored 107, his first one-day century against England.
His record tends not to suffer outside of the subcontinent, as even as India laboured in New Zealand recently, Kohli passed the 50 mark in three out of five ODIs.
Alastair Cook to score over 25.5 runs @ 5/6
England’s skipper has turned a corner in Test matches courtesy of some slipshod Indian bowling, and should capitalise again to post a reasonable score in Cardiff.
Cook has reached at least 26 in six of his last eight ODI innings and notched a half-century in his last outing against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston.
The 29-year-old also has a good record at Cardiff, scoring 50, 10* and 64 in his three ODI innings in Wales, the first of which came against India.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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