England made totals of 537, 400 and 477 and failed to beat India. In the first ODI last Sunday in Pune, England made 350 and lost with Virat Kohli and Kedar Jadhav making batting look ridiculously easy from the depths of 63/4. Stopping India from running away with the best-of-three series appears a very tough task for Eoin Morgan’s team, as they head into the second match in Cuttack on Thursday.
Since that stunning victory led by Kohli and Jadhav, both teams had to remain in Pune to train owing to a scheduling conflict, and there have been plenty of comments from both camps about the partnership the two batsmen had in the series opener. England will have to be on the money to curb Kohli, Jadhav and the other big Indian batsmen, and the reported dew factor at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium could be crucial.
