England vs India 2018: 5 reasons why India can win the ODI and T20 series

India's highly anticipated tour on England kicked off in style on Wednesday, when the Men in Blue registered an emphatic win over the Three Lions. England were riding high on confidence, having whitewashed the Aussies 5-0 and also registering the highest ever ODI score by a team in the third ODI.

Before the start of T20 Series there were talks of England being the most dominant limited overs side, but just they were all over the place against Indian Team in the first T20, which also highlighted the key factors that India can exploit to win the limited-overs series on English soil.

Here are the top 5 reasons why India can win 2018 ODI and T20 Series in England.

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#1 Solid opening combination

Rohit and Shikhar are one of the most destructive opening pairs in world cricket

Since 2013, when Dhawan and Rohit started opening the batting for India in limited overs format, they have established themselves as India's first choice opening combination in coloured clothes. This left-right opening combination has amassed more than 3000 runs in 75 ODIs with an average of 45 and over 1100 runs in 35 T20 innings that they have played together. Such has been their consistency that batsmen like Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul have struggled to secure a place in the team.

Dhawan and Rohit's record has been phenomenal in England, their opening combination fired India to two consecutive Champions Trophy Finals in 2013 and 2017. With the summer coming up, the pitches won't swing as much in England and this opening partnership won't face much of a problem in smashing English bowlers all over the park, and if that happens India will have strong chances of grabbing the T20 and ODI Series.

#2 In-form Middle Order

K.L. Rahul is in the form of his life

Over the past couple of years, India's ODI side has looked unbeatable, but the middle muddle has troubled India over and over again. India's middle order has looked unsettled and they have often lost matches where the top 3 has failed to score.

But now with MS Dhoni coming back to his old self and with the inclusion of in-form KL Rahul and Suresh Raina, the Indian team has finally found a solution. India's middle order looks solid with the likes of Rahul, Dhoni, Raina and Dinesh Karthik battling it out for three spots - all these batsmen scored over 400 runs in the recent edition of IPL and look fit to carry that form to International arena too.

With the middle order problem settled, Team India looks ready to go for the kill.

#3 The Spin-twins

Chahal and Kuldeep have been outstanding for India

After the shocking defeat to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy Final in 2017, Indian Team management took a bold step to rest Ashwin and Jadeja in order to try other spin options. Kuldeep and Yuzi grabbed the opportunity with both hands and started decimating the oppositions one by one.

They continued their dominance on the South African Soil too, when they took 30 wickets in ODIs together and helped India to wrap up the series 5-1. Chahal and Kuldeep have already given match-winning performances in the two T20s against Ireland and in the 1st T20 against England.

The spin twins look set to unsettle England on their home soil and if that happens, India will have no trouble in winning the series.

#4 Lethal pace attack

Bhuvi will lead the bowling attack in T20s and ODIs in Bumrah's absence

If there's one department that the Indian Cricket Team always lacked in, it was the pace attack. India has had greats bowlers in the past, but they never came in a bunch, the variety wasn't there. But now India has one of the best fast bowling attacks in the world, they have bowlers who have the ability to take wickets in the powerplay and death overs as well.

Since Bumrah's debut and Bhuvi's comeback in the limited overs Indian team, the pace attack has looked settled. Both these bowlers along with Shami and Umesh have given match-winning performances time and time again.

Although No.1 ranked T20 bowler Jasprit Bumrah will miss the T20 and ODI series, with Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Chahar and Kaul present, the Indian pace attack has enough firepower to rattle the opposition.

#5 World-class All-rounder

Hardik Pandya will play a crucial role for India

On India's previous foreign tours, when MS Dhoni was the captain, he always underlined the need for a fast bowling all-rounder, someone who could bowl at 90 mph and also bat in the lower middle order. Since his debut, Pandya has been a regular starter for team India in both the limited-overs formats.

In less than 3 years, he has already played more than 30 ODIs and T20Is for India. Pandya holds the key as he will be carrying the responsibility of being the fifth bowler and finisher with the bat. Pandya's hard-hitting ability is second to none and his bowling has improved immensely in the past six months.

Pandya finished the IPL Season with 18 wickets in 13 matches for Mumbai Indians and he will look forward to carrying on those performances of the English soil also. If Pandya performs well on the England tour, it will be very difficult for the hosts to stop the Men In Blue.