England vs India 3rd ODI Preview & Tips - Kohli to lead India to ODI series win over England

India could not make the most out of a solid start as they slumped to a four-wicket loss at the hands of their hosts. 

The second ODI saw the roles reversed as India went in to bat first and struggled. Their score of 233 always looked well short of truly competitive, especially with a player like Joe Root (99 not out) in fine form. That is not to say that England had it all their own way. Indeed, India were in a very strong position at 178/3 after 31.3 overs with Virat Kohli at the crease on 65. England did fight back, but on another day they may have shipped in excess of 320 runs.

With the bat, there were also issues. Ben Duckett's golden ducks was followed by poor scores for Jacob Bethell (four), Harry Brook (16) Sam Curran (26) and Jos Buttler (17). It was once again left to Root to steer England to the win. Without their greatest ever run scorer, the home side would have struggled. 

While the pair can both win the series, I am backing against England in this one. India threw away a promising position with some laborious batting while they let England build back from being 8/2 and 94/4. In the final ODI, I predict England's issues with the bat will resurface as they lose the series 2-1. 

Shubman Gill (31 from 30), Virat Kohli (65 from 66) and Shreyas Iyer (66 from 71) went well with the bat, but their teammates struggled. While Rohit Sharma did make 26, this came from 47 deliveries in another painstaking innings with the bat. While Sharma adds a lot of experience to this side, his strike rate of 55.32 is a real issue. 

To go from 178/3 after 31.3 overs to 233 all out after 44 overs is a real worry. Their laboured display in the middle-overs saw England wrestle back the momentum, although India did allow them to claw their way back into the contest. 

In the third and final ODI, India have to be better. Issues with the bat when setting a total has been the story of this series so far for both sides. However, Kohli's impressive score in the second ODI means I am backing him to impress with the bat once again. If India can build around their talisman then they will be tough to beat.