India v England Second ODI: Expert Predictions & Analysis

India v England predictions: 

• Shubman Gill over 32.5 runs - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports
• Kuldeep Yadav to take 0-1 wickets - 1.80 @ 22Bet Sports
• Ben Duckett under 25.5 runs - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports

When: Sunday 9 February, 1:30 pm IST

Where: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack

Watch: Star Sports, Hotstar

Best Odds: India 1.40, England 3.00

International cricket will return to Odisha after an absence of almost three years and the excitement around Cuttack has been palpable, with scenes of spectators queuing overnight to get to ticket boxes in time. 

The ground staff have been putting great effort into revitalising Barabati Stadium for its first ODI since 2019. They have applied new coats of paint to the exterior and imported a lawn mower from the USA to implement an impressive chessboard pattern across the field. 

The Cuttack faithful will be hoping their Indian national team can replicate their performance in the first ODI. The margin could and perhaps should have been larger were it not for a sloppy finish to the otherwise commanding run chase. 

They’ll also be desperate to see Virat Kohli return from a knee injury which cancelled out one of our three selections for the first ODI, so fingers crossed that the three India v England 2nd ODI best bets we have selected from one of the best Indian betting apps will be active and successful! 

The Numbers That Matter

• India won their last seven ODIs in Cuttack (2007-19)
• England won just four of their last 26 away ODIs v India (D1 L21)
• KL Rahul averages 108 in ODIs/T20Is v England’s four spinners
• Jos Buttler’s 52 in Kanpur was his first ODI 50 in India from 17 attempts

Gill picks up where he left off in the format

There were absolutely no signs of rust in Shubman Gill’s first ODI innings since the 2023 World Cup, adding another half-century to the four that he recorded during that tournament alone.

He lifted his home ODI average into the 60s, which includes only two not-outs from 24 starts, so it’s not even as though it’s a misleadingly inflated number. 

Cricket betting sites have set him an over/under mark of 32.5 runs, based on his 87 in Nagpur. Cuttack traditionally presents conditions that should suit his cavalier style of batting. 

India cleared 300+ runs in all three of their Cuttack ODIs in 2014, 2017 and 2019 and if they do so again Shubman will likely make a notable contribution, not least because he has cleared 35+ runs in 14 of his last 22 ODI innings on Indian soil.

Prediction: Shubman Gill over 32.5 runs - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports

Kuldeep to be blunted again

India’s left-arm leg spinner only came out of the Nagpur ODI with a wicket because he was able to coax number 11 Saqib Mahmood into a death overs stumping.

As a result, he now has just four wickets from his last six ODIs against England and returns to the venue where he finished with 0-65 in a game against the West Indies five and a bit years ago. 

Kuldeep is on a run of 13 consecutive home ODIs without taking more than two wickets, and whilst two would be enough to ruin this selection, the way that England’s batters negotiated him in Kanpur is encouraging enough to take it.

He now averages 40 deliveries per wicket in ODIs against England’s last top seven (four in 26.4 overs), which, in combination with the difficulty that Barabati Stadium often provides for spinners, tilts us towards Kuldeep having another poor outing. 

Prediction: Kuldeep Yadav to take 0-1 wickets - 1.80 @ 22Bet Sports

Duckett struggling to make a big impact

Ben Duckett’s six-game tour of India has seen him record one half-century in Rajkot, a pair of 30s and three single digit scores. 

He has played quite a few poor shots throughout the tour to blunt his own threat to the Indian bowling attack and was found out uncertain in the first game when he was dismissed by the fifth delivery he faced from Harshit Rana. 

Harshit may test him out with the short stuff earlier in this match on a fresh Barabati Stadium pitch.

Duckett now averages 27.20 in away ODIs, a number propped up by two half-centuries in Bangladesh, but he has found things more difficult in India, as illustrated by his inconsistency in the T20Is. 

Prediction: Ben Duckett under 25.5 runs - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports