ICC World Cup 2019: Match 38, India vs England – Match Preview

England’s chances of making it to the semifinal in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2019 hang by the wire as they face India on June 30 (Sunday) at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Recently, the Men in Blues dismantled England from the top of the ICC ODI rankings.

England have received the Jason Roy boost ahead of all the must-win game. Roy’s unavailability in the last few games have hurt them badly as they sustained two consecutive defeats. James Vince, who played in place of Roy failed to make a mark. Meanwhile, England are still mulling over Jofra Archer‘s injury who is likely not to feature in the do-or-die clash. All-rounder Liam Plunkett will come into the reckoning and will look to make a mark at the biggest stage.

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India have had a thumping run in the tournament keeping their unbeaten record intact. But their middle order has looked a bit wobbly in their last two matches as the batters have failed to dominate the spinners during the middle period. The Men in Blues will look to settle nerves as they look forward to the semifinal games. Besides, their bowling has been of top-class with players chipping in as and when required. Especially Mohammed Shami who came in place of injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar made immense contribution picking eight wickets from two outings.

Date and Venue: India vs England, June 30 (Sunday) at 3:00 PM IST, at Edgbaston in Birmingham

Predicted Playing XI

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Vijay Shankar,  MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.

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World Cup Head to Head

Statistical Preview

i) Eoin Morgan will play his 304th international match for England. He will be the second most-capped international player for England. Only James Anderson has played more international games for England who has played 361 international matches for England.

ii) Joe Root (13,310 runs) is 22 runs away to surpass Ian Bell (13,331 runs) and become the third most run-scorer for England in international cricket. Only Alastair Cook (15,737 runs) and Kevin Pietersen (13,779 runs) scored more international runs as the England batsmen.

iii) Jofra Archer (16 wickets) is one wicket behind to become the most wicket-taker for England in an edition of the Cricket World Cup history. At present, he is the joint leading wicket-taker in this list along with Ian Botham who also took 16 wickets in 1992 World Cup.

iv) MS Dhoni (16,965 runs) needs to score 35 more runs to complete his 17,000 runs in the international career. The right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman will be the fifth Indian batsman to complete his 17,000 international runs.

v) Kuldeep Yadav will play his 50th ODI.

vi) Hardik Pandya (49 wickets) is one wicket away from his 50 ODI wickets.

Pitch Conditions

Dryness in the wicket might bring the spinners into play on a hot at humid day at Headingley. Both teams will look to bat first as batting is expected to get difficult as the day progresses.

Weather Forecast

The sun has been out in the days leading up, and it is expected to stay that way through the game as well. The showers which have been the highlight of this World Cup will stay away from the match between India and England.

Also Read : ICC World Cup 2019: Match 38, India vs England – Weather Forecast

Match Prediction

England have dominated India in recent times and defeated them the last time India toured in 2018. However, as far as the World Cup is concerned, the Men in Blues have given them a tough fight beating them in three matches in seven encounters while one ended in a tie.

But the ongoing World Cup is a different scenario, and England find themselves in all sort of troubles after two consecutive loses. On the other hand, India are on a roll continuing the unbeaten streak. Going into the toughest game, Virat Kohli & Co will have a slight advantage over their opponents going by their recent form.