Onus on the batsmen

England will look to Pietersen to provide the punch with the bat in the ODIs series © Getty Images

A win in the Test series wasn't expected, but India will start the seven-match one-day as favourites against an England side that has struggled to get the right formula in the shorter version. India haven't set the world alight either with their recent one-day form, but after their World Cup debacle, they have shown signs of getting it right, beating South Africa 2-1 in Belfast earlier on this tour. England, on the other hand, went down 1-2 to West Indies after thrashing them in the Tests. Overall, India hold a 30-26 edge against England, but more importantly, they've won seven of the last ten. (Click here for more detailed stats on ODIs between England and India.)

The Indian fast bowlers did a fabulous job in the Tests, but the onus of winning the ODIs will probably rest on the batsmen. Rahul Dravid had a poor Test series with the bat, but he can heart from his ODI performances in England - he averages more than 55 from 20 matches, and has scored at least a half-century in 50% of his innings here. Sachin Tendulkar averages nearly 40, and has never missed out on a hundred once he has gone past 50 in an ODI in England.

Andrew Flintoff's return will obviously bolster England, especially since he has such an outstanding record at home: in 47 games, he averages nearly 40, at a strike rate of more than 95. When playing outside England, his average drops significantly, to 28.25. Flintoff will also be playing his first home ODI in more than two years - he last time he played one was in July 2005, during the three-match NatWest Challenge Series against Australia.

Unlike Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen has done much better overseas: compared to an overall average of 53, he only scores at a rate of 31.53 at home; abroad it jumps to 66.46. Paul Collingwood comes in at the bottom of that list, but along with Pietersen, he has been England's biggest matchwinner in the last couple of years.

India's best batsmen in wins during this period haven't been Tendulkar, Ganguly or Dravid; Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh have taken over that mantle, and their ability to keep a cool head during the frenetic final overs of ODIs could again prove critical to their team's chances.

Yuvraj hasn't yet broken into the Test team, but he has been outstanding in the shorter version in the last two years. In fact, it's remarkable how similar his and Dhoni's numbers are to Pietersen's.

Zaheer Khan and James Anderson will spearhead the bowling attacks, and again, their ODI stats are pretty similar as well.

The two spinners in India's squad - Ramesh Powar and Piyush Chawla - are relative newcomers, and England will feel relieved that they won't have to contend with Harbhajan Singh: in 17 matches against England, Harbhajan has taken 28 wickets at an average of less than 23, and an economy rate of less than four runs per over.