IND vs ENG, 3rd ODI: India's final chance to fine-tune side before ...

India returns to the hallowed halls of the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for the third and final ODI match of the series against England. This is the first time that the Indian team will play at the venue since their ODI World Cup final loss against Australia on November 19, 2023.

India will need to fine-tune their side before the Champions Trophy, at the same venue where a billion dreams came crashing down some time ago. A lot has happened since India's win in the Cuttack ODI as they were dealt a major blow in the form of Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out of the upcoming ICC event. A shuffle in the Champions Trophy squad was expected, and we got that as Harshit Rana was called up to replace Bumrah, while Varun Chakravarthy came in for Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Jaiswal, Shivam Dube and Mohammed Siraj were named as the non-travelling reserves for the tournament, which will start in a week's time.

India's Playing XI Issues

There are multiple issues that the Indian team is dealing with right now, and the majority of them are their own doing.

Is Shreyas Iyer part of the main playing XI? Is KL Rahul's best batting position No. 6? Was it right to fast-track Varun Chakravarthy and Harshit Rana for the ICC Champions Trophy? All of these questions need to be answered in the final ODI of the series.

And not only just that, there will be an onus on Gautam Gambhir to provide a clear picture on Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar, who have not played a single match in the series. The Indian head coach would also need to take a call on Kuldeep Yadav, who was benched after the first ODI match of the series.

Will Virat Kohli Return to Form?

India was concerned with the form of two of their most senior players in the format. One of them - the captain Rohit Sharma - has been able to silence his critics in the 2nd ODI match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack with an impressive hundred.

Focus will be on Virat Kohli, who would hope to play a timely knock to return to form, just like Rohit did in the 2nd ODI. Kohli has played just one match in the series, where he got out to Adil Rashid - poking outside the off-stump. Conditions might be slower in Ahmedabad, which could prove to be a little difficult for him.

Having said that, the last time India played an ODI at the venue (World Cup Final), Kohli looked the most fluent of the batters until he got an under edge off Cummins. The batter will hope to play as many balls as possible to return to his groove ahead of the ICC tournament.

KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant

KL Rahul has failed in the first two matches of the series. While he was the designated wicketkeeper for India in the ODI World Cup, Gambhir might be tempted to bring in Rishabh Pant, who has warmed the bench so far.

Bringing in Pant would surely affect the position of Axar Patel in the line-up, as the main reason for his promotion in the batting order was to maintain the left-right combination.

In case Gambhir opts against bringing in Pant, he must give a chance to Washington Sundar, who is in India's squad for the Champions Trophy. Axar Patel has done well in both matches and can be rested for the final ODI of the series.

Ahmedabad Pitch Report

Ahmedabad last hosted international matches in 2023. The wicket was on the slower side, where spinners dominated the middle overs of the game. The wicket is expected to play in a similar way, with dew affecting the game in the second innings.

When the dew does come in, batting is expected to get much easier.

India vs England 3rd ODI: Where to watch?

The 3rd ODI match between India and England in the ODI series will start at 1:30 PM IST. Star Sports Network has the broadcasting rights for the India vs England ODI series.

India Predicted XI

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant/KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar/Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh.

England Predicted XI

Phil Salt (wk), Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Tom Banton/Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson/Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood/Jofra Archer.

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