When England lost the first ODI earlier in the week, they edged one step closer to heading home without having anything to show for from the long draining India tour. Five days after that batting collapse, the visitors have given themselves the best chance of finishing the tour in the same vein they started in Chennai.  Cricket Betting Tips Having lost the Test series and the T20I series that followed suit, the world champions will be pretty pleased if they can come out on top at least in the ODI leg of the tour, especially taking into account the absence of Jofra Archer, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan.

The batting beauties in Pune have helped their cause too as England's tried and tested formula of going hard after the opponent's bowlers paid dividends. Their ability to clear the ropes at regular intervals was on display on Friday (March 26) when they smashed 20 sixes in the chase of 337. Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy have put on more than 100 in both the games and Stokes stunned India with a 52-ball assault in the second ODI that included 10 sixes. India's best bet will be to see the back of the top 3 as early as possible in order to apply pressure on Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone and even Jos Buttler to an extent, who has made two runs in two games so far.

In order to limit the damage the top 3 can potentially cause, India will have to rethink their strategies in the middle overs and perhaps even personnel. Kuldeep Yadav's confidence has taken a beating and Krunal Pandya has had offcolour outings as well with the ball. A container like Washington Sundar and a proven performer like Yuzvendra Chahal will fancy their chances of getting an outing in order to bolster that spin attack.

India will also have to probably get a move on with the bat a little earlier. They scored 126 runs in the final 10 overs but if they can manage to show more intent at the top or start opening up sooner than wait for the completion of the 40th over, a bigger total will be on the cards. And even if they do post one, there are no guarantees that they can go on and defend it.  Online Betting Id There was a lot of noise around Hardik Pandya not bowling in the previous game and even though Virat Kohli clearly stated that they were managing his workload, the allrounder might chip in if required especially after the success in the T20I series.

There were quite a few firsts on Thursday when India faced England in the fourth T20I in Ahmedabad. Surya Kumar Yadav got an opportunity to bat for the first time in international cricket, and he made the most of it. For the first time in the series, the dew factor came into play. KL Rahul entered double digits for the first time in the series (although his knock of 14 didn't provide India the impact they desired at the start of the innings). Virat Kohli was out stumped for the first time in T20Is while Jofra Archer bagged his first four-wicket haul.

Dew also meant that Washington Sunder conceded in excess of 50 for the first time in his T20I career. However, thanks to clever variations from the pacers, India managed to defend a total successfully for the first time in the series, and in doing so set up an enticing decider.

Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes likened the must-win weekend clash as the closest thing in terms of preparation for a World Cup final. And it may well be a dress rehearsal for the summit clash of the multi-team event that starts in October, considering the T20I credentials of both teams, who are heavyweights in the 20-over format. Cricket Betting Tips Since September 2017, India have only lost twice in 19 T20I series they have been part of (including the Nida has Trophy) while England haven't lost a T20I series since the loss to India in July 2018. After a barrage of punches and counter-punches so far in this series, the India-England clash on Saturday will be a nightmare for punters.

The newcomers have spearheaded the comebacks for India in the series - Ishan Kashan and Surya Kumar Yadav proving why they stand pedestalled quite high among a plethora of Indian batting riches, several of whom are part of the current squad. But despite Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer being amongst the runs in the middle order, and the likes of Hardik Pandya and Sundar adding further depth to the batting, India have had to dig deep into their batting, which has to do with what has happened at the top. Contributions from Rahul and Rohit Sharma will go a long way in helping India assert authority, which they haven't done as often as they would have liked. Pandya's bowling has served India well in this series while Bhuvneshwar has also be on the mark. Meanwhile, Sharda Thakur's tendency to leak runs despite picking up wickets, and the dew factor affecting the spinners, will be on India's mind when they take the field on Saturday.

England, for all their dominance, have some concerns as well - and in a World Cup year, it will come as a worry for a side that looked settled till now. Jos Butler and Jason Roy, unlike the Indian openers, have been scoring well while Morgan will also be pleased with the way Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow handled the spin match-ups in the fourth game. But the lack of runs from David Malan and the skipper himself - although not a big worry at the moment - will keep the think-tank jittery if it continues. Online Betting Id  As far as bowling is concerned, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have been England's primary weapons, with their pace unsettling the Indian batsmen. But Chris Jordan has blown hot and cold, Sam Curran has got limited opportunities with the ball, and Moeen Ali none.

"Yes and no." That was Virat Kohli's smiling answer to whether India are planning to stick to their five-bowler strategy. He was speaking after India had just lost the third T20I to England by eight wickets and looked obligated to rethink their team combination. All but that has come easy for India of late.

India came into this series wanting to "bat freely" and not depend on "one batsman having to bat long." And as fate would have it, that's how they brought up their only win in the series so far. In fact, it was Kohli, who in the lead-up to these games had spoken about wanting to break away from the "pattern," playing the anchor at one end as Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant did their thing from the other.

The win had come at the cost of a bowler, a strategy that backfired for India only a couple of nights later. They struggled for wiggle room in bowling against an all-attacking Jos Buttler who would take England to victory. India would have killed for a sixth bowling option on the night but they would also argue how that strategy had failed them earlier in the series when their five batsmen and an all-rounder could only total 124 runs across 20 overs -- the scoring made difficult in no small measure by a tacky, two-paced pitch.

India's World Cup campaign later this year might be played on better surfaces at the start of the cricket season in India, but these games against England, in these sticky conditions, are all India might have to prepare. Cricket Betting Tips The experiments then, are likely to continue.

It will be interesting to see how India react to Tuesday's loss, and how they prop up their bowling without taking too much away from the batting. Finding an all-rounder, who makes their batting and bowling greater than the sum of its parts, will be a good start.

England captain Eoin Morgan likened the pitch that will be used in the third T20 International to Ayers Rock, because its colour resembled that of the sandstone monolith in the heart of Australia's Northern Territory's arid "Red centre". Two different pitches have been used in the two concluded games in the five-match series so far. The black soil one used in game one suited England as it had more pace in it. The second one, however, jolted them right out of their comfort zone and exposed their weakness. "A typical Indian wicket" is what Morgan said it was, but it's the kind of run-ins England are looking for ahead of the T20 World Cup, to be prepared for whatever is thrown their way.

Much in contrast, India almost had the perfect game, ticking all the right boxes after their disappointing start to the series. Going too hard too soon, they reigned their instincts in, but continued with their experimentation, Cricket Betting Tips handing Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan maiden T20I caps. While the former didn't get to bat in the chase of 165, Kishan shined in his maiden knock and blazed away to a half-century.

Ahmedabad saw a display of Kishan's magic as he stuck to his natural game and his instinct to attack from the onset. That knock held him in good stead with an eye on the World Cup, given the failure of Shikhar Dhawan in the first T20I, and the dual ones of KL Rahul, who has scores of 1 and 0 so far, with Rohit Sharma still being rested.

Virat Kohli himself got among the runs after his "special chat" with AB de Villers, scoring a fifty, to once again star in a chase. Hardik Pandya getting in his quota of overs with the ball also helps India in terms of balance to play an extra batsman. Washington Sundar has shown enough versatility against the right-handers, scalping the dangerous Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow, that proved restrictive in England getting away, earning a special mention from his skipper too.

On an evening where Shardul Thakur, Hardik and Bhuvneshwar Kumar regularly took pace off the ball, England batsmen struggled to get past them. Although they stitched timely stands, India struck at regular intervals to prevent the acceleration. Both teams are almost halfway through the series and whilst one eye will be on the larger picture of the global tournament, for now, they will want to look ahead to Tuesday (March 16) for a lead in the series. Online Cricket Id For India, it will be about trying out as many players as possible as probables for their potential squad, while for England, exposure to as many different conditions as possible will be of most value.

The cameras panned to a livid expression on coach Mickey Arthur's face in the away dressing room. Having turned around a seemingly hopeless situation into a match-winning one, Sri Lanka handed the match, and the series, once more to West Indies with Nuwan Pradeep bowling a half-volley and a full-toss for successive boundaries. It was a small moment in a 100-over game but emblematic of the challenges Arthur and Sri Lanka face.

Success breeds more success and given Sri Lanka have had so little of it in recent times, they've lacked the confidence to edge 50-50 situations. While they put in a markedly improved performance in the second ODI, they'll know that merely running opponents close won't take them any closer to sealing automatic qualification to the 2023 World Cup. In that context of the World Super League, Sunday's third ODI assumes significant weight.

If Dimuth Karunaratne & Co. Cricket Betting Tips are to make a fist for the final 10 WSL points on offer from this series, they will need to find a way past the hosts' dogged opening pair. In two games so far, Shai Hope and Evin Lewis have eschewed risks and added 143 and 192 respectively, forming the bedrock of the team's batting. But as Sri Lanka found out in the second game, when the cream at the top is removed, that middle-order can be quite crumbly especially when faced with a strong total.

For West Indies meanwhile it is time to rubber-stamp this series win with a 3-0 scoreline. It would be quite an achievement given they came into the series with a poorer ODI record than their opponents . Their bowlers barring Jason Mohammed have been insipid through phases but with the bat they've done remarkably well to leave their T20 tormentor Wanindu Hasaranga wicketless from two games. Online Cricket Id It remains to be seen if their measured approach to the start of an ODI innings will change if they are asked to set a target for the first time in six games on this white-ball leg.