So far it has been the norm during this tour, irrespective of the toss, or whether England bat or bowl well, they\'ve ended up on the losing side.
The change in format, a new captain and a rejigged playing unit were unable to change the tourists fortunes in the opening One-Day International last Sunday as India again came out on top.
England's limited-overs form has impressed since the ICC World Cup 2015, but posting 350 last weekend in Pune, their highest ODI score in India wasnt enough despite having India 63 for 4.
Now, after a 4-0 Test drubbing, and going down 0-1 in the three-match series, it's a must-win situation in the second ODI in Cuttack on Thursday.
Like Pune, the pitch at the Barabati stadium is also expected to be a batting delight. India has a batting line-up full of talented strokemakers, and England bats deep too scoring 105 runs in the last eight overs. India’s come-from-behind win, sealed by Kohli and Kedar Jadhav’s 200-run fifth-wicket association, also highlighted the side’s opening frailties.
Shikhar Dhawan especially will be keen to prove a point and come good in the game. Jadhav, meanwhile, had a chance to showcase his Dhoni-esque finishing skills. Kohli’s ability in run chases is undisputed, but it was Jadhav’s mesmeric effort and Pandya holding his nerve in the end that gave India’s lower-middle order the belief that they could pull of an improbable chase.
While Jason Roy, Joe Root and Ben Stokes took England to a seemingly solid total, Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales will aim for more consistency. Putting runs on the board and then stopping the flow of runs after getting early wickets is just not enough to stop the Indian juggernaut from rolling on, and England’s bowlers realised it the hard way.
England could opt for an extra pacer in Liam Plunkett instead of Adil Rashid, the legspinner; even Liam Dawson, the left-arm spinner, could get a look in given Rashid's dip in form and treatment he recieved from Kohli and Jadhav, giving away 50 runs in his five overs.
In the last ODI at this venue, India had cantered to a 169-run win over Sri Lanka after posting 363 for 5 in November 2014. Both Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane had scored a century, while Kohli led the side in Dhoni’s absence. India would certainly hope for an encore, England will hope to live another day.
Squads: India: Virat Kohli (captain), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.
England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (wk), Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, , Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes.
England return to play South Africa in Cardiff on June 25th following the ICC Champions Trophy that also visits the Welsh capital. CLICK HERE to secure your seats for the NatWest International as Eoin Morgan's men face De Villiers and co, with adult tickets from £35.