Mar 28: India vs England, 3rd ODI, Pune

Pro Tip: Spinners have taken only 15 wickets at an average of 65.73, whereas pacers have taken 59 wickets at an average of 31.69 in the limited-overs leg of the series. Go with more pacers.

Our XI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Hardik Pandya, Sam Curran, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur

Substitutes: Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan

Player availability: No major changes in player availability from the last game.

We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates, so please finalise your team after the toss.

Captain: Jonny Bairstow
India are yet to stop Jonny Bairstow's mayhem in the ODIs, as he has smashed 124 (112) and 94 (66) including 14 sixes. Since 2019, he has been one of the top five run-scorers in the format with 1408 runs at a strike rate of 104.99. Bairstow's overall average of 48.92 is the best among all England batsmen in the current squad.

Vice-captain: Virat Kohli
The world's number one ODI batsman Kohli has been in sublime form in ODIs, having scored seven fifty-plus scores in his last ten innings. For the series decider, expect Kohli to step up and contribute with the bat. His last six scores against England are 66, 56, 66, 71, 45, 75 and 55.

Hot Picks
KL Rahul: Rahul has regained his lost touch following scores of 108 (114) and 62* (43). Since 2020, he averages a staggering 78.14 in the middle order and has a strike rate of 112.55, having scored 547 runs in nine games.

Ben Stokes: Stokes' 175-run partnership with Bairstow in the last game - where he scored a sensational 99 off 52 balls - helped England get over the line. He has been brilliant with the bat for England recently, averaging 58.50 while scoring 819 runs in ODIs since 2019. In the five ODIs he has played in India, he has also picked up eight wickets.

Rohit Sharma: In his last seven ODI series, Sharma has gone with a century only once and he might want to add one more to his tally in this game. Since the 2019 ODI World Cup, he has scored 1158 runs in 19 innings at an average of 64.33 and a strike rate of 95.70, with seven centuries.

Differential Picks
Sam Curran: If India decide to be a bit more proactive after their indifferent powerplay batting so far, Curran has the best chance of getting a few wickets. If Mark Wood continues to be rested, expect him to play a major role. He has taken 72 wickets in 56 List A games so far.

Hardik Pandya: Although India are missing his bowling in the ODIs after his terrific performance in the T20Is, expect Pandya the batsman to play a crucial role in this batting unit. In the recent ODI series against Australia, Pandya was the leading run-scorer for India with 210 in three games at a strike rate of 114.75.

Alternate Scenarios

Rishabh Pant can replace Jason Roy.
Jos Buttler and Rohit Sharma are the alternate choices for captaincy.