India and England on World Cup collision course: The two contemporary ODI stalwarts will call for the match of the tournament.
India have enjoyed victories in almost every country since the last World Cup in 2015 and will be a dangerous team to face in the competition amid the attention poured on England.
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In the four year cycle since the last major tournament, Virat Kohli’s men and the Three Lions have traded blows at the top of the rankings to determine the best ODI side in the world.
Their meetings in their respective countries have been shared, with India enjoying a narrow triumph in 2017, while England recorded the same margin of victory in their series last season. The two teams have not met in a leading competition on the world stage since the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
On this occasion, India did get the better of Alastair Cook’s men, although the shortened
format of the final ruined the spectacle, denying the public a chance to see the best team in 100 overs of action. India and England appeared to be on a collision course in the ICC Champions Trophy once again in England in 2017. However, Hasan Ali and Pakistan had other ideas as the Green Army first tormented the Three Lions and then Kohli and company in the final to surge to a surprise tournament win.
India learned valuable lessons from their defeat in the Champions Trophy and were able to gain revenge with a victory over their bitter rivals in the Asia Cup before defeating Bangladesh in the final, recording a last-ball triumph even without their influential skipper.
Since then they’ve been unstoppable in the 50-over format. The West Indies were crushed in India before the Blue Tigers traveled to Australia and New Zealand and were able to edge out series’ wins.
Given the quality of their performances, India are right there with England in the thoughts of the bookmakers for the favourites for the World Cup. Betting on the tournament in Asian markets can be difficult outside of using Dafabet, where there are traditional value systems that match up with the best of the European prices. A lot can change between now and the first ball of the World Cup, therefore it behoves punters to track the odds ahead of the tournament – although they have not shifted a great deal over the last two years with England just ahead of Kohli’s men.
Conditions will play a huge role in the World Cup. Both England and India were undone by a slow and low pitches against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. The pitches are not controlled by the host nation in the competition. Therefore, Eoin Morgan and his team cannot expect beneficial treatment from grounds around the country. However, both England and India have proven their ability to adapt to all conditions in their impressive runs of form.
The only venue where England have failed to win has been India – and vice versa. It appears that the two sides are playing a different standard of cricket in the 50-over format compared to the rest of the leading outfits in the world. Morgan’s men are somewhat reminiscent of India in 2011 when there was huge pressure on the team heading into the World Cup on home soil. The Blue Tigers were the overwhelming favourites for the competition, and although they initially struggled to find their best form before they were able to see off Sri Lanka in Mumbai.
Stringing together results amid the pressure of a major competition can get the best of teams. India fell to Australia in the defence of their crown at the semi-final stage. England cracked under strain in the ICC Champions Trophy two years ago. Pakistan were the beneficiaries on that occasion, but Kohli and company will be hoping it will be them this time around as they are seemingly on a collision course for final on July 14.
