England vs India Prediction: Two 5/1 Bets for 2nd ODI

It wasn't a good opening game for England in this three-game series but they still have time to turn things around. Jamie Pacheco previews the 2nd ODI between England and India at Cardiff with a start time of 1PM on Thursday 16 July, live on Sky Sports Cricket.   

Jamie has two bets for this one, both on England players, and both at 5/1, so keep on reading...  

*You can check out the Cricket Odds from all of our Cricket Betting markets over on betfred.com

England  

England dug a hole for themselves by losing too many early wickets and failing to post the 290-300 score they needed to make it a close affair. Harry Brook, Jos Buttler and Sam Curran managed just six runs between them and that was always going to cost them.  

Then again, they deserve some credit for at least getting to the 258 that they did. Or more precisely, Joe Root and Liam Dawson do. Root was his usual patient self and was there at the end, unbeaten on 75, while Dawson's 68 was by far the highest score in his 10-match ODI career.  

And to be fair, England also made a decent fist of trying to defend that total. After a fast start from India, they took wickets in quick succession to at least make a game out of it.  

But that total was never going to be enough and they ended up losing with 28 balls to spare, a reminder that no two cricket games are the same and that India are still the toughest nut of all to crack in ODIs.  

Likely XI: 1 Duckett, 2 Bethell, 3 Brook, 4 Root, 5 Buttler, 6 Jacks, 7 S. Curran, 8 Dawson, 9 Archer 10 Tongue 11 Rashid. 

India 

There was plenty to like about India's performance in all three disciplines.  

Five of the six bowlers used took wickets, with Jasprit Bumrah taking 1-31 off nine overs, a reminder of what he can do, while Axar Patel was the pick of them with 4-62.  

Then Axar came out with the bat and hit 57 off 52 to help secure a comfortable win just when they were under a bit of pressure, so it was no surprise he ended up being Player of the Match. Gurnoor Brar, in just his fourth ODI, took two wickets.  

In reply, Shubman Gill looked in imperious form in getting to 80 off 75 but retired hurt with a leg injury. But thankfully for India, it seems it was just a cramp rather than a more serious muscle injury, so he should be available to play. If he doesn't, Ishan Kishan is likely to come in for him and open.    

Washington Sundar also impressed with a tidy spell with the ball and a composed 52 not out with the bat so he and Axar provide good all-round options to the team.  

Likely XI: 1 Sharma, 2 Kishan 3 Kohli, 4 Iyer, 5 Rahul 6 Dube, 7 Axar, 8 Washington, 9 Arshdeep, 10 Bumrah, 11. Kuldeep. 

Pitch and conditions. 

We're at Cardiff for this one, one of the trickier grounds in world cricket to get your head round in ODIs.  

Though the average first innings score here is just 228, recently they've been higher and in 2019 England managed 386 against Bangladesh, while South Africa chased a big 305 against England in 2022.  

So it's not so easy to work out what is par here, and there's no toss bias either; 16 were won by the side batting first, 14 by the chaser.  

Match Winner odds 

It's 10/11 the pair after England went in as slight favourites for the first match.  

That's a perfectly understandable adjustment given how impressive India were on Tuesday.  

You could make a case for either side at those odds, so that's probably a good indication that it's a market best left alone, especially when it's one we certainly don't have to play.   

*You can check out all the latest Live England vs India 2nd ODI Odds over on betfred.com

England Top Batsman / England Top Bowler  

As ever, value is everything, and we can make a case for two England players, both at 5/1.  

First up, Jacob Bethell, who seems to have one of the opener's slots alongside Ben Duckett for the foreseeable future. As we know, opening is always a big advantage in white-ball cricket when picking a top bat bet, so that's already a plus. He's played 22 times in this format and has 5 fifties and a century to show for his efforts, so those are good numbers that will probably improve if he carries on opening.  

Of course, England's middle-order is a strong one and the likes of Root, Brook and Buttler will be hard to beat. But it's worth remembering that it's very possible that England are chasing just 200 or so and that 60 or so from Bethell from the opening berth is enough. All in all, it's too big a price.  

At the same price, we have Sam Curran for England top bowler. He was one of three bowlers to take a wicket on Tuesday and at the same price as he is now, that would have given us a profit.  

He took three wickets in the last T20I and was also one of just three bowlers to bowl all 10 overs for England a couple of days ago. So a repeat of that would give him, and us, a good run for our money, with even another dead heat being a good result for us.  

Jamie Pacheco Cricket P/L 2026: 

• Points Staked: 39.25 
• Points Returned: 45.01 
• Current P/L: +5.76