After a pulsating T20I series, India and England are back again in the fifty-over format, with the first ODI later today. The 2011 and 2015 World Champions lock horns with a lot of expectations on either of them. While the likes of Virat Kohli and Jos Buttler, both of whom saw more than 15% increases in the T20Is, continue to hog the spotlight, there is some concern over the form of KL Rahul, who is down by 27% courtesy of his horror T20I run. However, our focus turns to two individuals, who are arguably among the best openers and batsmen in this world. Jonny Bairstow and Shikhar Dhawan will return to the opening slot for their respective countries today, and a lot is riding on their shoulders. Although they may lack the star quotient their partners, Rohit Sharma and Jason Roy possess, there's certainly some value in their fantasy stocks. Without further ado, here's some much-needed insight to kickstart your day in the Sixer Market!Battle of the Openers - Dhawan and Bairstow Available for 52.70 Sixer Coins and 49.30 Sixer Coins, respectively!ICC World Cup champions England employed a particular approach that ensured their openers went all-out attack from ball one. With anchors such as Joe Root and Eoin Morgan available to mend the ship in case of a failure, the openers were given the freedom to express themselves. However, Jonny Bairstow grabbed the opportunity with both hands since his move to the top of the order in 2017. He has been uber-consistent in the ODIs, with his stellar showing in New Zealand in late 2018 being the highlight. Even in the World Cup, Bairstow showed no signs of slowing down as he played a crucial part in their trophy-winning campaign. It has been the same way since the CWC 2019 as well. In eight innings so far, Bairstow has scored 346 runs with a match score average of 50.02. Although this may be seen as a touch low for a man of Bairstow's class, one must understand that he played six of those games after the pandemic without much match fitness and preparedness. Nevertheless, Bairstow's explosiveness still remains the same. With a strike-rate of 100.9 since the CWC 2019, Bairstow has ensured England's template in the ODIs isn't compromised by any means. Although his recent T20I form hasn't been great (3% decrease), he was batting at number four, a position which he isn't a natural at. However, he did show glimpses of his ability against spin, which should hold him in good stead ahead of the ODIs, which might just be his best format. Either way, this would be a crucial tour for Bairstow, whose price currently reads 49.30 Sixer Coins with the IPL around the corner.Speaking of the IPL, no openers (sans KL Rahul) was as productive as Shikhar Dhawan. However, Dhawan couldn't really turn up the heat in the T20Is as he played only one game. Despite falling down the pecking order and having his price drop by 9.88% in his last four outings, he is back where he made his name, i.e. ODI format. Like Bairstow, Dhawan was also an essential part of the Indian World Cup squad. He even managed a ton against Australia before injury ended his campaign. But post the CWC 2019, Dhawan has been reasonably solid, despite injuries disrupting his momentum. In 7 innings, Dhawan has 328 runs to his name. While his match score average of 52.65 is decent, his strike rate of 92.1 adds value to his case. Blessed with immense technique against both pace and spin, Dhawan has been one of India's best in this format and is fairly undroppable in this format. He is set to return to the Indian set-up after sitting the T20Is out. While his fantasy stock trades at 49.70 Sixer Coins, his form is a concern. But with his track record in ODIs and considering that the IPL is just around the corner, there's definitely some value in grabbing his stocks up in the Sixer Market. Will the southpaw come up with the goods against a relatively inexperienced English bowling attack? Or will Bairstow blow away the Indians with a typical knock at the top of the order? If you think you have the answers, the Real Market is the place to be at 1:30 PM IST!
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