Top three England vs India ODI of the current decade

After an intriguing IT20 series, England and India are set to resume their ODI bilateral ties with a 3-match series due to start on July 12th at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

During the course of this decade, England and India have been in involved in five bilateral series. While the hosts won (3-0) at home in 2011, the Men in Blue won the remaining four occasions including a 5-0 whitewash at home in 2011 and a 3-1 win in England last time (2014) around.

As we look ahead to what is expected a riveting series given England's revival in white-ball cricket post-2015 World Cup, let us go down memory lane and relive three of the finest ODIs played by these two sides since 2010.

Here's my compilation:-

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#3 India vs England, 3rd ODI, England tour of India, 2016-17

Jadhav took India to the brink.

Venue:- Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Date:- 22 January 2017

The series had already been lost by England, having lost the first two games, but poms came out all guns blazing at the Eden Gardens.

England batted first and thanks to steady top-order contributions spearheaded by Jason Roy (65) and a late-order blitz by Ben Stokes (57 off 39 balls) posted a competitive 8-321 in 50 overs. Chasing 322, India lost KL Rahul (11) and Rahane (1) cheaply. Kohli (55), Dhoni (25) and Yuvraj Singh (45) failed to capitalize on the starts and suddenly India was reeling at 5-173 after 31.4 overs.

But it was the series that saw the making of Kedar Jadhav. After scoring a match-winning hundred in the first ODI which saw India chase down 350, Jadhav was at it again at the Eden Gardens. With Pandya (56), he stitched a crucial 104-run partnership, before Stokes with an incisive inswinging length beat Pandya's ambitious shot across the line.

Jadeja followed suit in the next over after hitting Woakes fullish length balls for two boundaries before Jadhav slaughtered him straight down the ground to bring the equation down to 27 off the finals three.

Skipper Morgan turned to Stokes for the 48th over, and the All-rounder whose death-bowling skills went for a toss at the same venue in the World T20 Final, responded by giving away just four runs. With 23 required off the last two, Ball gave away just seven in the penultimate over to leave Woakes with 16 to defend off the last six balls. Jadhav responded with an inside-out six over wide long-off and when he followed it with a boundary over extra-cover, Eden Gardens was ready to tee-off.

But Woakes maintained his demeanor to bowl four good balls and ultimately picked up Jadhav (90 off 75 balls) in the penultimate delivery to seal a thrilling 5-run win over the Men in Blue.

Result:- England won by five runs

#2 England vs India, ICC Champions Trophy Final, 2013

India won by 5 runs in a low-scoring cliffhanger.

Venue:- Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham

Date:- 13 June 2013

It was a game that was completely out of the realms of reality. After almost six hours of persistent rain and ICC- who hadn't deemed it fit enough to have a reserve day for the all-important final, added 75 minutes to accommodate a 20-over final of a 50-over event. It was bizarre, to say the least.

India batted first. Rohit Sharma (9) went early but Shikhar Dhawan continued his rich vein of form and stroked a fluent 24-ball-31 before holing out to Ravi Bopara at short cover. On a pitch that had started to turn, Bopara (3-20) was surprisingly England's most potent bowler as he nipped out Raina (1) and Dhoni (0) in quick succession to leave India reeling at 5-66 after 13 overs. Virat Kohli (43) and Ravindra Jadeja (33) en-route to a crucial 47-run stand hit some sparkling shots that included Jadeja's inside-out hit off James Anderson at deep extra-cover to take India to a fighting total of 7-129 in 20 overs.

England started their chase on a disastrous note with Umesh nipping out skipper Cook and Ashwin-Jadeja accounting for Trott and Bell respectively.

If his exploits with the ball weren't enough, Ravi Bopara (30) started England's revival with the bat as he and Eoin Morgan (33) stitched a valuable 64-run partnership to take the home side to the brink.

But then instincts of MS Dhoni- the captain, took over. On a turner, where Ishant Sharma (0-27 in three overs) was being carted around the park, Dhoni turned to his ace-pacer. Sharma responded with two wides and awful delivery on Morgan's pads that went for six to reduce the equation to 16 off 20 balls.

Then, calamity stuck. Sharma bowled a back-of-length delivery for Morgan to chip it straight to Ashwin at mid-wicket and Bopara followed suit with a catch to the same fielder, this time at square-leg. The tied had well and truly turned and it was testified in the very next over when Jadeja nipped out Buttler (0) and Bresnan ran himself out leaving Ashwin 15 to defend in the final over.

The ace-spinner conceded a boundary off the second ball but maintained his demeanor to keep the hosts to 8-124. It was a great comeback in a bizzare game. But MS Dhoni won't complain. By winning the final he became the first captain in the history of the game to win ICC titles in all three formats of the game.

Result:- India won by five runs.

#1 India vs England, Group Stage Match, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

A magician with the old ball.

Date:- 27 February 2011

Venue:- M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

The 2011 World Cup was coming back to the subcontinent after 15 years (last held in 1996), and much was riding on the Indian team to deliver the goods this time around, and fulfill the long-standing (28 years) aspirations of a billion people and off-course that of the Master Blaster- Sachin Tendulkar.

India started their campaign with a thumping win against co-hosts Bangladesh and headed into their second game of the tournament against England, in a bid to stamp their authority on the event with another complete performance. India batted first, and Sehwag (35 off 26 balls) and set the tone for the Men in Blue with a first-ball boundary against Jamie Anderson.

He departed for a brisk 26-ball-35, but gritty contributions from Gambhir (51), Yuvraj (58), and MS Dhoni (31) meant that the Master Blaster could play his own game, as he en-route to his 98th international ton (120 off 115 balls) plummeted the English bowlers to all corners of the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Tendulkar's wicket brought about a mini-collapse as Tim Bresnan's 5-48 restricted India to 338 in 49.5 overs. Chasing 339, English openers in Kevin Pieterson (68) and Andrew Strauss (158) got the poms to a rollicking start, having racked up 68 in the first ten overs. Munaf Patel accounted for Pieterson and Trott followed suit at 16 to leave England in a precarious position- 2-111 in 16.4 overs.

But, little had India realized it was to be a start of an arduous sojourn as Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell launched a stunning counter-attacking onslaught. Strauss en-route to career-best 158 stitched a -run partnership with Bell to take England to the brink.

But, just as it seemed the game was drifting away from India, entered Zaheer Khan. Zaheer reversed the bowl both ways to nip out Bell, Strauss, and Collingwood in a jiffy to bring parity to the contest.

England tumbled from 2-281 to 6-289 in a matter of three overs but late strikes from Bresnan (14) and Swann (15) left Munaf Patel with 14 to defend off the last six balls. Shahzad stroked a six on the third ball but eventually, Munaf kept his cool to ensure a historic tie in front of anxious Bengaluru fans.

Result:- Match Tied

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Which was your most favourite India vs England match? Let us know in the comments below!