Sun Feb 09 09:49:15 UTC 2025: ## Kohli Fit, India Eye Series Win in Cuttack ODI
**Cuttack, Odisha:** India will look to continue their winning streak against England in the second ODI at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday. The hosts secured a four-wicket victory in the first ODI in Nagpur, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. All eyes will be on captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who returns to the squad after recovering from a right knee injury.
Kohli, who missed the first match, is declared fully fit by batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. His return presents a selection dilemma for the team management, with Shreyas Iyer having impressed in his place with a 59-run knock off 36 balls in Nagpur. It remains unclear whether Yashasvi Jaiswal or Iyer will be dropped to accommodate Kohli.
Despite a recent lean patch, including a six-run score in a Ranji Trophy match, Kohli boasts a strong ODI record and is just 94 runs away from reaching 14,000 ODI runs, a feat that would place him third in the world behind Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.
The Barabati Stadium pitch is known to offer assistance to spinners and has historically produced high-scoring matches. While the conditions generally favour the team batting first, dew is expected to play a significant role in the second innings. The stadium has hosted 19 ODIs, with India holding the highest ever score of 381/6 against England in 2017. However, the last ODI at the venue was six years ago, making the pitch conditions a key factor. Historically, teams batting first have won seven out of 19 ODIs at the ground, while teams chasing have won 12. India has a strong record at the ground, winning 13 out of 17 matches.
First Piper 