England vs India 2018: 5 things that will determine the winner of the ODI and T20I series

The upcoming three-match T20I and three-match ODI series between India and England will be one of the interesting ones as the top-2 side in the format take on each other and one can expect a lot of fireworks when the series gets underway at Old Trafford on July 3.

There is very little to separate both the teams as they have mighty batting line-ups at the disposal, backed by well-equipped bowling attacks. The outcome of the ODI and T20I series also will have a massive impact at the top of ICC rankings.

Let us take a look at five things that will determine the winner of the ODI and T20I series between India and England.

---

The superior opening partnership

ICC World Twenty20 India 2016: India v Bangladesh

Ever since both Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma started to open the batting for India in ODIs, they have been very consistent and have established themselves as one of the best in the business when it comes to opening the batting in the limited-overs formats.

The tried and tested combination is set to open the batting for India in the ODI and T20I series against England ahead of KL Rahul and one can expect them to deliver for the Men in Blue, something they have been doing on a consistent basis. If one of the two gets going, the English bowlers will be having a tough time on the field.

The same can be said about the England openers as Jason Roy and Johny Bairstow destroyed the Australian bowling attack recently and they look in good shape ahead of the India series. Like Rohit, Bairstow has taken his game to a completely different level ever since he was made to open the batting for England in ODIs and he is expected to be a thorn in India's flesh in the upcoming series.

Roy, on the other hand, likes to get the upper hand right from the word go and the Indian new ball bowlers have to see his back early to restrict the Poms in the field-restriction overs. In T20Is, Roy is likely to open to with the destructive Jos Buttler, who has been on a purple patch of late.

One thing is certain, the batting pair that gets the upper hand in the ODI series is likely to lead its team to victory. The new ball bowlers of both India and England will have their plans cut out to stop the juggernaut.

The more economical bowling unit in ODIs

CRICKET-RSA-IND-T20

Scoring 350 runs in an ODI in England has become a norm these days, thanks to the nature of the wickets and size of the grounds in the island.

The upcoming series will be witnessing two of the best batting line-ups around and it will be a big surprise if the teams fail to cross the 330-mark even once in three matches provided the wickets are similar to the ones that were given against Australia.

The bowlers from both the teams will have their tasks cut out when they bowl to the best batsmen in the opposition and eventually, it might come down to the bowling attack that has restricted the other team's batting line-up on most occasions in the series.

Sans Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian team will be missing a vital cog in their wheel and things will come down to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the wrist spinners to choke the England batsmen.

The wrist spinners

CRICKET-RSA-IND-ODI

The impact of wrist spinners has been enormous in the modern-day cricket as they are making a massive difference for their teams in the ODI and T20I format.

Both England and India have wrist spinners at their disposal and the three men will have a big role to play in the ODI and T20I series. England's Adil Rashid has made life difficult for the touring batsmen and he will look to do that against the mighty Indian batting line-up too.

India, on the other hand, have a leg-spinner in Yuzvendra Chahal and a Chinaman in Kuldeep Yadav in their squad going into the series. Fondly called together as KulCha, India's spin twins have been making a huge difference for the Men in Blue in almost all the limited-overs series they are playing together since the end of 2017 Champions Trophy.

If KulCha manage to repeat their heroics from South Africa earlier this year, the Indian team and the fans will be having a memorable two weeks ahead of them.

Contribution from India's middle order

CRICKET-IRL-IND-T20

Over the last few months, the Indian top-three has been doing a bulk of scoring for the Men in Blue in ODIs and T20Is. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have taken responsibility and at least one of them makes sure that they stay till the 40th over and take their team to safety.

While the top-3 is facing the majority of the balls, the middle-order has been fragile in spite of having world's best finisher MS Dhoni as sometimes he is one of the reasons why India end up 30-40 runs short of late. This time, only Dhoni and Hardik Pandya are certainties to bat in the middle order while the remaining two spots will be a toss-up between Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina and KL Rahul.

The middle order should back up the good work done by the top-order and pile on the runs towards the end.

The Virat Kohli factor

CRICKET-IRL-IND-T20

Without a doubt, Indian skipper Virat Kohli is the best international batsman across all three formats and he has shown us why he is a proven match-winner for India as he has won a lot of games for his team single-handedly.

If England defend a score in the upcoming series, they would like to see the back of Kohli at the earliest as the champion chaser has given them nightmares when he, along with Kedar Jadhav snatched a win for India from the jaws of defeat chasing a mammoth 350.

Just because of his Kohliesque numbers while chasing, it doesn't mean that he is a pushover when India bat first as he is equally good when his team sets a target too. A player of Kohli's calibre, who has the potential to take his team to victory out of nowhere, will look to do what he does the best in the upcoming series - score runs and knock the opposition out.