MS Dhoni, India, England, ODI series, Virat Kohli
Reuters

India host England in a three-match ODI series starting Saturday, and while the hosts will start as the favourites, the away side have plenty of firepower in them to take the trophy away from Virat Kohli's men.

India vs England series squads

Much will depend on how a few key clashes pan out. Here is a look at the contests that could decide the outcome of this fascinating series.

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Virat Kohli vs Eoin Morgan: The battle of the captains. While Morgan has transformed the England ODI side since taking over, Kohli has turned India into the No.1 Test side in the world. Kohli, though, is still a novice in the one-day captaincy game, and Morgan will have the upper hand in that regard. When it comes to the crunch situations – and there will be plenty of those – it will be interesting to see which of them makes the better decisions.

MS Dhoni vs Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid: Dhoni, if he comes in at No.4 or No.5, is likely to face a lot of the spinners, even if Morgan might be tempted to bring in the pacers to test the former captain with the short stuff. The key for Dhoni will be to make sure he doesn't play out too many dot balls and puts the pressure back on Moeen and Rashid, who are quality bowlers in the ODI game.

Yuvraj Singh vs England pace bowlers: Yuvraj will, no doubt, be tested early by the fast bowlers – be that Chris Woakes, Jake Ball or Liam Plunkett. If the left-hander is to make a mark in this series, he needs to ride the short ball test that is bound to come his way. Once he gets settled, Yuvraj has the ability to smash sixes at will – just ask Stuart Broad – so England will be keen to get the veteran's wicket early.

R Ashwin vs the England batsmen: Ashwin had the England batsmen, particularly the left-handers, on toast in the Test series. Will it be any different in the white ball format? The pitches will be a lot flatter, but there will be a sense of apprehension amongst the likes of Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Jos Buttler and more. Eoin Morgan and the rest of the ODI players, who have not had to bear the Test match trauma, need to take the pressure off and put Ashwin on the back foot.

Jasprit Bumrah vs England's death overs batting: Bumrah is India's go-to man now in the final overs. His ability to bowl yorkers at will is a great skill and something India will bank on during this ODI series. Too many times in the past, India have let a game slip by leaking too many runs in the final ten overs, and it will be up to Bumrah to make sure the England middle and lower middle order, quite strong, do not take the game away.