In the overcast conditions at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Indian skipper won the toss for the second time in the series and decided to bat first with no changes in the team. The same XI also meant that there was no place for Ravindra Jadeja in the final XI again.
The decision to bat again came as a surprise due to the forecast of weather during the day and D/L method coming into play. Skipper Kohli though put up the fact that the track will help two spinners later in the day, one of the reasons for India opting to bowl.
Unlike Indian team, Australian team had a couple of changes, the skipper announced at the time of the toss. Kane Richardson – replacement of Josh Hazlewood for India series – and Ashton Agar made their way in the team. Incidentally, Richarson’s last appearance in ODI cricket came against India in 2016 during India tour of Australia.
India is already one up in the series by virtue of defeating Australia in the first ODI of the series by a margin of 26 runs. MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya shone for the team as they scored a half-century apiece, to lead the team to a big total of 281.
This is a landmark game for MS Dhoni as it is his 300th ODI for the Indian team. This is the 100th ODI for the Australian skipper Steven Smith.
Here is the playing XI of both the teams –
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli(c), Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia Playing XI: David Warner, Hilton Cartwright, Steven Smith(c), Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade(w), Ashton Agar, Kane Richardson, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Captains Talk –
Virat Kohli:
We’re going to bat. Looks a nice and hard wicket, doesn’t have a lot of moisture in it. Tends to do a lot more in the night than the day and we have two wrist-spinners too. Was a lot of talk in last few months about the top order but middle and lower order have done the job for us in the last few games. Last game gave us confidence as a side and lifted us.
Steven Smith:
Taken me 7 years to get there, excited to play my 100th at Eden. Would have batted first too. Hopefully we can bowl well early and put the pressure on. Two changes; Richardson in for Faulkner, and Agar in for Zampa.