India vs England 2021: 1st ODI, Pune- Toss Report

Team England have won the toss in the first ODI at Pune against India and elected to field first. The three-match ODI series between India and England will begin from today with all three games taking place at Pune behind closed doors. The Indian Cricket Team is riding on the back of a scintillating T20I series win over England.

From being 2-1 down in the series, the Men in Blue came back in style to win the five-match series 3-2. Prior to the T20I series, both the teams were involved ina four-match Test series wherein, the hosts beat the visitors 3-1 to qualify for the final of the ICC World Test Championship which is all set to take place in June against New Zealand.

India vs England 2021: 1st ODI, Pune- Toss Report

Team England have won the toss in the first ODI at Pune against India and elected to field first. As far as the hosts are concerned, the BCCI announced an 18-member squad last week to face England in the ODIs. Suryakumar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, and Krunal Pandya were the latest inclusions in the side after a dominating domestic run.

Skipper Virat Kohli on Monday confirmed that Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will open for the Men in Blue in the ODIs. Krunal Pandya is likely to make his debut in the first game. As far as the English team is concerned, Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the series and Joe Root has not been added to the ODI squad.

India’s Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav.

England’s Playing XI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan(c), Jos Buttler(w), Ben Stokes, Sam Billings, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

The Hosts Will Like To Take An Early Lead

The Men in Blue will like to take an early lead in the series by winning the first game at Pune. For them, the biggest challenge will be the unavailability of senior players including Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah. However, the recent additions have gone on to make the team only stronger.

As for England, their key pacer Jofra Archer will be missing out on the entire series and it will be a bit difficult to fill his void. Chris Woakes is also not available for the first game and thus, the Men in Blue look to have an upper hand in the series right from the first game.