England vs India 2018: India's probable playing XI for the third ODI against England

The Men in Blue began the ODI series against England on a bang. They defeated the Englishmen convincingly in the first ODI at Old Trafford by 8 wickets. However, the team suffered a setback in the next game at Lord's, losing the match by a huge margin of 86 runs, thus enabling the hosts level the 3 match ODI series 1-1.

Now, with the series tied 1-1, Indian team would be looking forward to win its second consecutive ODI series in England when they take on the hosts in the final ODI.

The third and the decider ODI match between England and India will take place on July 17 at Headingley in the beautiful northern city of Leeds.

With series on line, it looks very unlikely that the Indian Team would change its playing combination from the opening two one-day games. But, let us still have a look at India's most probable playing XI for the third ODI match against England:

---

#1. Openers

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan need to put up a good stand in the finals

Rohit Sharma began the ODI series with a bang with an unbeaten match winning century in the first ODI at Trent Bridge, but got out cheaply in the second ODI for just 15 runs while trying a wild hoick against Mark Wood.

Rohit will look forward to make up for his failure with the bat in the second ODI with a big knock, because as we all know once Rohit Sharma gets set, then no boundary is big enough for the Hitman to clear.

Whereas, Rohit's partner in crime Shikhar Dhawan has had quiet a series so far by his standards, as Dhawan has failed to convert his good starts with the bat so far in the series,having been dismissed for 40 and 36 in the two ODI matches so far.

Hence, Dhawan would finally look to convert his start with the bat into a big one as this might probably be his last chance with the bat on this England tour. It is highly unlikely that Dhawan will be an automatic first choice opener in the test playing XI.

#2. Middle order

Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina

KL Rahul has failed to fire in the 50 overs format so far.

Skipper Virat Kohli, moved back to his favorable batting position of No.3 after batting at No.4 in the T-20 series. With good knocks of 75 and 46 in the two one-day games so far, Kohli is set to bat at No.3 in the final ODI, leaving the No.4 spot to KL Rahul. Also, Kohli would look to anchor the Indian innings in the final game, as Kohli's presence at the middle is key to India's success in winning the ODI series against England.

Despite his superb exploits with the bat in tests and T-20 formats, KL Rahul has failed to deliver as per the expectations in his short ODI career so far as a batting average of 36.71 does not do justice to a player of KL Rahul's calibre. With series on line, Rahul would finally look to come good with the bat in the the final ODI, in order to justify his place and batting position at No.4 in the Indian one-day squad.

A late replacement in the Indian limited overs squad, Suresh Raina has not had much to do with the bat in the England series so far. But, having looked good touch in the two games he has batted in the series, Raina would want to continue his good form and regain his place in Indian team in the shorter formats of the game.

#3. Wicket keeper and All-rounder

MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya

MS Dhoni was criticized heavily for his slow batting at Lords in the 2nd ODI.

Despite a successful cricketing career, MS Dhoni has always been a subject of criticism from cricket pundits and fans, with the most recent example being when Dhoni was criticized for his slow batting approach in the 2nd ODI while chasing a huge target of 323.

Having been held responsible for India's defeat in the 2nd ODI on social media sites, Dhoni would want to shut the mouths of his detractors with a good performance with the bat in the 3rd and the final ODI at Headingley.

Considered to be Indian Cricket Team's answer for a long searching all-rounder, Hardik Pandya has improved leaps and bounds as a batsmen of late, but his bowling remains a huge cause of concern, as Hardik Pandya is far too inconsistent with the ball and always leaks huge amount of runs while bowling and fails to complete his full quota of overs in almost each and every match.

Currently, Hardik Pandya's place in the Indian team is certain due to lack of quality all rounders in the domestic circuit. But, if Hardik Pandya wants to be a successful all-rounder, then he needs to improve his bowling as soon as possible before Indian team starts looking for a new all-round option.

#4. Pacers

Umesh Yadav and Siddarth Kaul

Siddarth Kaul has failed to pick up a single wicket in the two ODI matches so far..

An injury to Jasprit Bumrah, opened the doors for Umesh Yadav to play as a front line bowler in the playing XI after a gap of one year. Umesh Yadav, even began his England tour on a positive note, with decent bowling performances in the T-20 series.

However, Umesh Yadav's bowling has tapered of in the ODI series, as he has leaked runs in both the games. Being the most experienced bowler in the side, Umesh would want regain his bowling form of the IPL 2018 in order to help India win the series decider against England.

After toiling hard in the domestic circuit for a very long time, Punjab pacer Siddarth Kaul finally got a chance to represent the Indian team in the away series against England, as reward for his superb performance in IPL 2018 for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Despite, decent bowling performances in the T-20 series against England, Kaul's one-day career has began on a disappointing note as the English batsmen have taken him for runs in both the matches so far. With, Bhuvneshwar Kumar yet to recover from his injury, Siddarth Kaul might probably get one more chance to justify his place in the Indian one-day team.

#5. Spinners

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal

Kuldeep Yadav continued to bamboozle the English batsmen with his variations.

No spinner in the world so far has troubled the English batsmen on their pitches the way Kuldeep Yadav has tormented them. The 23-year-old Chinaman bowler has continued to cause problems to the English batsmen with his variations and is currently the leading wicket taker in the ODI series with 9 wickets.

Therefore, Kuldeep will want to continue to his superb bowling form on this tour and trouble the English batsmen with his mystery bowling in the final ODI and help India win its second consecutive one-day series in England.

With Kuldeep Yadav being the main subject of attention in this England series, his spin colleague Yuzvendra Chahal has gone about his business very quietly and was also India's most economical bowler in the 2nd ODI.

Despite not being as effective as Kuldeep, Chahal has provided important breakthroughs for the Indian team at crucial junctures in the series, and along with Kuldeep, has been India's best bowler in the tour so far.