Richard Mann provides his preview of Sunday's ODI series decider between England and Lord's, where one man stands out for a bet.
Cricket tips: England v India ODI
2pts KL Rahul top India batsman at 7/1 (Betfred)
Joe Root once again underlined his class and importance to England’s 50-over team with a match-winning 99 not out in the second ODI against India in Cardiff, in the process setting up an intriguing series decider at Lord’s on Sunday (11:00).
On this occasion, it was India’s turn to spurn a solid start with the bat, though recent evidence would suggest things might not get much easier at Lord’s, with the pitch in St John's Wood facing plenty of criticism over the last few years.
With rumours swirling about the future of India legend Rohit Sharma and his possible retirement from international cricket after Sunday’s match, this fixture could take on even greater significance as both sides try to lay foundations for next year’s 50-over World Cup in South Africa.
I still favour India in this format, though with not enough confidence to take short odds in the match market.
While England have potential, and looked a better side for selecting an extra seamer in Cardiff, I still worry about the batting against elite opposition, with far too much reliance on Root in testing conditions.
Moreover, India will welcome back wicket-keeper batsman KL RAHUL on Sunday, after he missed Thursday’s game due to illness.
Rahul, a rock in the middle order, might just have made the difference in Cardiff, as he has so many times before, and I’m going to back him to be TOP INDIA BATSMAN.
With no player performance lines for Rahul on Sunday, which is frustrating given we flagged up a potentially low line for Thursday’s encounter, we’ll have to rely on his batting alone, no bad thing perhaps, given his outstanding record in England.
In Test cricket, Rahul averages 40.92 from 14 matches on these shores, with four hundreds, quite the record when you consider those runs came when opening, the toughest position to bat in Tests in England.
Rahul also has an ODI hundred to his name in England, along with two fifties, and a century in T20Is.
A deeper dive into those numbers shows that two of his Test hundreds in England came on this very ground at Lord’s, including one last summer, so conditions and the opposition will hold no fears for Rahul.
Despite a rare failure in the first ODI in Birmingham, Rahul is still averaging 60.66 with the bat in this format in 2026, so has more than enough going for him to suggest odds of 7/1 are worth a swing. The general 13/2 also makes plenty of appeal.
I chanced my arm on Will Jacks for England batting honours in Cardiff, but that man Root is proving incredibly hard to oppose in this market, and I’m therefore happy to leave that project alone for now.
That’s not to say I’ve given up on Jacks, who played well for his 30 there as he and Root resisted India’s spirited fightback to steer England towards victory.
Perhaps an in-running buy on Jacks’ runs will prove a better approach, should the Surrey man come to the crease with plenty of time ahead of him and the opportunity to make a significant impact.
Posted at 12:30 BST on 16/07/26
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