At the historic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India had a poor game against Australia. Early on, it was a reality check for Virat Kohli-led India to begin their ODI campaign on a high. The record-partnership of David Warner and Aaron Finch helped Australia to register their first-ever 10-wicket ODI victory over India. The visitors had got a lead of 1-0in the three-match ODI series. Now, the second ODI will be crucial for India to make a comeback in the game.
Date: 17/01/2019
Venue: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
“Kul-Cha” Partnership needs to be back at its best:
Although India has set a decent target of 255 against Australia, but at the same time, the bowlers for Men in Blue could not halt the visitors.
Furthermore, the yorker king Jasprit Bumrah and pacer Mohammed Shami was unable to give a breakthrough to the Indian team. On the other hand, Shardul Thakur was taken to the cleaners by Warner.
At one time, it looked Kuldeep Yadav might take the wicket but he had also gone wicketless. The spinner Ravindra Jadeja also could not break the partnership of Warner and Finch. The skipper Kohli needs to bring back the duo (Kul-Cha) in the team. Both the spinners have always been effective together. So, to make a strong comeback the team management needs to play Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the final XI.
Australia on the winning horse:
After badly defeating the opposition in the home season, Australia has impressively beaten India in India in the first game. Warner and inch’s determination was visible at Wankhede. The duo went on to set the highest-ever partnership against India in ODIs. The duo shared 258 unbeaten runs stand.
Talking about the Aussie bowling department, Pat Cummins broke the partnership between KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan. The Indian team got unstable when Kohli lost the wicket on the ball of leg-pinner Adam Zampa. Mitchell Starc picked three wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, and Shardul Thakur respectively.
In the series opener, Australian bowlers wrapped India’s innings at 255. Thus, the visitors have currently the strong bowling department to dictate the terms in the cricketing arena.
Head to Head:
| Team | Total | Won | Loss | No result/Tied |
| Australia | 138 | 78 | 50 | 10/0 |
| India | 138 | 50 | 78 | 10/0 |
Weather Forecast
The second ODI will face no interference of rain in the game, leading to the smooth running of the thriller match against India and Australia. While due will surely play its part.
Pitch Condition:
The Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium assists the batters to score big totals. Particularly, it will be a bit easier for the team batting second.
India’s Predictable XI:
| Players | Role |
| Rohit Sharma | Opening Batsman |
| Shikhar Dhawan | Opening Batsman |
| Virat Kohli (c) | Batsman |
| KL Rahul | Wk/Batsman |
| Shreyas Iyer | Batsman |
| Kedar Jadhav | batsman |
| Shardul Thakur | Bowler |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | Bowler |
| Mohammed Shami | Bowler |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Bowler |
| Kuldeep Yadav | Bowler |
Australia’s Predicted XI:
| Players | Role |
| David Warner | Opening Batsman |
| Aaron Finch | Opening Batsman |
| Marnus Labuschagne | Batsman |
| Steve Smith | Batsman |
| Ashton Turner | Allrounder |
| Alex Carey | Wk-Batsman |
| Ashton Agar | Allrounder |
| Mitchell Starc | Bowler |
| Adam Zampa | Bowler |
| Pat Cummins | Bowler |
| Kane Richardson | Bowler |
Match Prediction:
Australia have more chances to win the game, seeing their bowling line-up. It will be harder for India to win the game if toss favours Australia at Rajkot. As we know, India is a good unit in chasing down the targets, so winning the toss for India is important to be well in the game.
Where To Watch:
TV – Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD
Online– Hotstar
Time– 1:30 PM IST