Although India has lost the series with consecutive defeats in the first and second ODI, they are set to play the third ODI against Australia on Wednesday (December 2) for their pride. Canberra will host the dead-rubber.
Indian bowlers were clueless against Australia’s batting attack. David Warner and Aaron Finch gave a firey start while Steve Smith did further damages with Glenn Maxwell fully utilizing the death overs to give India daunting 350 plus runs targets on both occasions.
To beat them in the third ODI, Virat Kohli needs to come with a different strategy albeit he doesn’t have many bowling options to stop the strong host.
India’s Predicted XI:
Mayank Agarwal:
Although Mayank Agarwal has given a firey start in both matches, his fall of wicket within powerplay has not been of any help. The right-hand batsman, who is playing in the place of Rohit Sharma, will have to save his wicket and set up a big partnership to leave the team in a good position.
Shikhar Dhawan:
After scoring a half-century in the first ODI, Shikhar Dhawan lost his wicket for 30 runs when India has a bigger target than the opening match. The southpaw has to play a gritty knock in the last ODI to lead India to win and swoop in confidence ahead of the T20I series.
Virat Kohli (C):
Even though Virat Kohli played an 89-runs classic knock, it was not enough to chase down 390 runs target. He had set up a partnership with Iyer and Rahul but it could not help in chasing the mammoth target.
Although India has lost the two back-to-back matches, he still will be passionate to guide them in the third ODI and seal the game on their favour.
Shreyas Iyer:
Shreyas Iyer was clearly struggling to play bouncers and short balls but he ticked the scoreboard by striking spinners. Along with Kohli, he had started the rebuilding process after the openers lost the wickets. But their partnership was broken by Henriques as Smith took a stunning catch. He was out after scoring 38 runs off 36 balls in the last game.
KL Rahul (wk & VC):
KL Rahul played some eye-soothing shots in his 76 runs off 66 balls knock. He had stitched up 72 runs partnership with Kohli and was building a strong partnership with Hardik but Zampa picked up his wicket. The team will expect him to present a similar knock in the third ODI.
Hardik Pandya:
After 434 days, Hardik Pandya picked up the ball and notched the wicket of Steve Smith in his second over. He had also created the chance to dismiss Glenn Maxwell early but Ravindra Jadeja dropped the catch. But it’s a big positive for the team that the fast bowling allrounder is back in groove although he bowled only four overs.
Apart from bowling, the hard hitter could not accelerate the innings because of the slow pitch. He scored only 28 runs off 31 balls, striking one six and one four.
Ravindra Jadeja:
Ravindra Jadeja was not expensive, but he could not pick a wicket, which was the need of the hour. He conceded 60 runs in his 10 overs while also was a great asset in fielding.
When he came to bat, the match was already slipping from India’s hand. He amassed 24 runs off 10 balls before Pat Cummins bamboozled him.
Navdeep Saini:
Navdeep Saini was expensive while also could not pick a wicket in his nine overs. He gave away 73 runs and was struck for three sixes and seven fours.
India has also a good bench option, T Natrajan, who is uncapped but has shown a great set of skills in IPL.
Yuzvendra Chahal:
Yuzvendra Chahal, who is the snazziest spinner in IPL, has been a total flop in the Australian conditions. After conceding 80 plus runs in the first ODI, he gave away 71 runs in nine overs in the second ODI while went wicketless on both occasions.
As the series has slipped from India’s hand, Virat Kohli might also go with Kuldeep Yadav for spinner’s option.
Jasprit Bumrah:
Virat Kohli’s strategy to give only two overs to Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay has been criticized heavily although the world-class bowler is not in his best form. Steve Smith smacked him boundaries and Bumrah had no answer. In ten overs, he conceded 79 runs and picked the only wicket of Marnus Labuschagne.
His inability to pick early wickets has been the main cause of India’s defeat.
Mohammed Shami:
Mohammed Shami, who picked three wickets in the opening match, notched the only wicket of Aaron Finch in the second ODI. The Australian captain had already scored a half-century while stitched up a 142 partnership with David Warner before giving away his wicket to the pacer.
Shami has been unable to pick wickets in powerplays which have hurt the Indian team badly. He needs to break the partnership of Australian openers early to take the game home.