ENG vs IND | 1st ODI | How India can tear down the power-packed English batting?

The intense competition between England and India continues into the ODIs after the Test and T20I action. The two teams will now be going off against each other at the Kennington Oval, London for the first match of the ODI series. 

India have drawn the Test series and won the T20I series in the tour. Rohit Sharma’s men will now look to end on a high with a win in the ODI series. 

The English batting looks power-packed on paper. India will have their work cut out trying to contain such a powerhouse of batting. Here we try and find out the best suitable plan for Team Indian bowling against England in the match. 

In order to go ahead into deeper analysis, we need to look at the resources the two teams might have. Let us take a look at the English batters who might be playing today and their records against India and different types of bowling.

The prime weapons of English batting for the match will be Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali.

Here is a look at the records of the players against India. While gauging the batters’ performances we will be keeping an eye on three key parameters: Balls Per Dismissal, Strike Rate, and Balls Per Boundary. These can give us an idea as to who will pose threat as a destructor and who will be playing the role of a sheet anchor during English batting innings.

The records give us an idea about England’s batting approach in ODIs against India. The strike rates and the BPB stats point out the fact that Joe Root will be the sheet anchor for the team while the whole batting order revolved around him.

Concern: The prime concern for the Indian team will be the English top order. The openers have scored runs at a brisk rate against the Indian bowling and they have struggled to dismiss the top three before they have impacted the match. 

So, the Indian team’s main plan should be to either dismiss or keep the English top order quiet. 

What should be India’s plan?

The answer to this question can only be answered if we take a look at the records of the English batters against the Indian bowlers, who will be playing today.

We have devised a Performance Score to quantify how the English batters have fared against the Indian bowlers. This will give us a better idea of which Indian bowlers might have an edge against the English batters.

Here is the PS table of the English batters against the Indian bowling.

In the case of PS the lower the score, the more the face-off is tilted towards the bowler.

Observation: The table makes one thing pretty clear the biggest obstacle for team India will be Joe Root. The other certain evident thing is the prime weapon for India will be Ravindra Jadeja. (Certain match-ups don’t have enough data to reach a conclusion like - Bairstow vs Bumrah, Buttler vs Bumrah, and Moeen Ali vs all Indian bowlers)

Plan: While history shows that Root will pose the biggest threat to India, the current form definitely brings another name to mind, Jonny Bairstow.

India will have to be very clever about using Jadeja today. Rohit Sharma should look to use Jadeja in small spells throughout the match while the rest of the bowling revolves around him.