India vs England, 2nd ODI: High on confidence, Kohli-led side look to seal series in Cuttack

After recording a thumping victory in Pune in the first ODI, India would like to take a 2-0 lead to seal the three-match series against England when the two sides face each other at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack today.

The visiting team would certainly feel a bit deflated after failing to defend a total of 350 having got four top-order batsmen of Opponent back into the dressing room for less than 100 on Sunday.

Middle order Indian batsman Kedar Jadhav was able to rise to the occasion along with skipper Virat Kohli to put the England team on the backfoot by posting a 200-run partnership for the fifth wicket on the scoreboard. The sensational partnership ensured that the batsmen had set up a winning platform for India after England set the hosts a stiff 351-run target in the first ODI at the Maharashtra Cricket Association ( MCA) Stadium.

Jadhav (120 off 76 balls), who came to bat at No. 7 after India had lost four wickets at 63, batted extremely well with Kohli (122) as the duo stitched together a 200-run partnership to ensure the hosts chase down the mammoth target.

India is the only team to have chased 350-plus thrice and in each of these matches Kohli has been the backbone with centuries in each game. Adding to that, India has had a good record in Cuttack, where they have won 11 out of their 15 ODI games.

While the Indian bowling was taken to task by the England batsmen in Pune, Shikhar Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and recalled Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh's failure with the bat was the only blot in India's victory.

The bowling looked ordinary with the pacers struggling to get the ball in the right areas.

The Eoin Morgan-led side would need extraordinary efforts from the squad to recover from the body blows as they have to win the remaining two matches to win the series.

Barring Chris Woakes and David Willey's twin breakthroughs early on, the English attack lacked intensity and were wayward bowling too many extras in the opening game.

England's prime focus will be to put a full stop on Kohli's inning early in the game. If England's batting looks full of firepower, it's their bowling that has been struggling in the past.

India: Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Amit Mishra.

England: Eoin Morgan (c), Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Jake Ball, Liam Dawson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Liam Plunkett.

- With ANI inputs