England and India have fought out two relatively low-scoring one-day internationals so far, with Lord's the venue on Sunday for the all-important series decider.
Both sets of bowlers have done a more than decent job in keeping the opposition batters in check, with both of the first two matches of the series won by the team who batted second.
For that to happen again at the Home of Cricket on Sunday, a lengthy record would have to be broken, with none of the last 11 one-day internationals played at Lord's having been won by the chasing side.
England v India Third ODI Tips Summary
Best Bet - Joe Root top England batter @ 13/5
Alternative Bet - India opening partnership over 30.5 @ 5/6
Bet Builder - Saqib Mahmood 2+ wickets, Rohit Sharma over 30.5 runs & Jos Buttler most match sixes @ 33/1
England v India Third ODI Prediction
Best Bet: Joe Root top England batter @ 13/5
Much has been made in recent times of the way England approach games with the bat, but the cold, hard truth remains that Joe Root is several classes above all of his team-mates.
Root averages in excess of 50 in both Test and ODI cricket, having made his international debut in all three formats way back in 2012 during England's tour of India.
More recently, Root has been simply exceptional in the 50-over arena, with his five innings this calendar year yielding 422 runs at the unbelievable average of 211.
The Yorkshireman's lowest score in 2026 is 61, with his last three innings being unbeaten knocks of 111, 76 and 99, so there seems to be little reason to go with anyone else in the top team batter market.
Alternative Bet: India opening partnership over 30.5 @ 5/6
India have made decent starts in both matches in this series, putting on 43 for the first wicket in the series opener at Edgbaston and then 44 in Cardiff on Thursday.
There has been much talk surrounding the future of Rohit Sharma, but the facts show he has not fallen in single figures in any of his last 13 ODI innings, registering a century and four 50s during that time.
His partner, captain Shubman Gill, has passed 50 in five of his last seven one-day innings, so there seems to be a reasonable prospect of India putting on at least 30.5 runs for their first wicket at Lord's, even if they bat first and face tricky conditions that are likely to suit the England seamers.
England v India Third ODI Bet Builder Tip
Saqib Mahmood 2+ wickets
Rohit Sharma over 30.5 runs
Jos Buttler most match sixes
Pays @ 33/1
Saqib Mahmood has seen his international career badly hampered by serious injury, but the Lancashire paceman is starting to make up for lost time and has taken at least two wickets in four of his last five ODI outings.
As mentioned above, veteran right-hander Rohit is seeing his place in the India side called into question, but he averages a touch over 61 in the 29 one-dayers he has played in England and will no doubt be eager to fire in this series decider.
He has made 15 and 0 in his previous two ODI innings against England at Lord's and will want to improve on those numbers here.
Finally, as something of a long shot, add in Jos Buttler to hit the most sixes in a match, with maximums having been in short supply in the first two games of the series.
Buttler has smacked 185 sixes in 173 ODI innings in his career and, like Rohit, will want to make up for low scores of five at Edgbaston and 17 at Sophia Gardens.
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Key Match Stats
England have won 28, lost 28 and tied 3 of the 59 completed ODIs they have played at Lord's
England have won 3 and tied 1 of the last four ODIs against India at Lord's
Joe Root averages 51.30 from 25 one-day international innings against India
India have won eight of their last 10 ODIs against England
Shubman Gill has a century and four 50s from his last seven ODI innings
None of the last 11 ODIs played at Lord's have been won by the chasing side
Tactics, Form and Team News
England may well be tempted to go with an unchanged line-up after their victory in Cardiff, with the seam attack of Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer and Saqib Mahmood all impressing with the ball.
Tom Banton and Liam Dawson were both cleared to play in T20 Finals Day on Saturday, so they are seemingly out of the picture.
Expected England XI: 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Jacob Bethell, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (c), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Saqib Mahmood.
India will definitely be without all-rounder Washington Sundar for this game after he suffered a hamstring injury in the defeat at Sophia Gardens on Thursday, leaving the tourists with a selection quandary.
KL Rahul was absent in Cardiff due to illness, but is back in contention and he could come back in if India back themselves to cope without Sundar's bowling.
If not, then left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav could be given the nod, although all-rounder Harsh Dubey has been called up and may be drafted straight in.
Expected India XI: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill (c), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Ishan Kishan, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Shivam Dube, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Kuldeep Yadav.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
