Following a remarkable opening stand between David Warner and Aaron Finch of 231 in the Bengaluru, Australia has somewhat offered resistance in the sub-continent, and a little hope to its fans back home after going down straightaway, in the first three fixtures of the five-match One-day international series against World ranked No. 1 India.
Australian openers were on song to take full advantage of the feather-bed at M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru when India went on to test their bench strength in the form of fast bowlers Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and left-arm orthodox spinner Axar Patel.
While observing the fourth ODI, Australia were struggling again in the second-half of their innings when Warner, Finch and skipper Steven Smith were dismissed in quick succession after some tight bowling by Kedar Jadhav and Umesh Yadav, who went for over seven in an over though.
So much so, Australia middle-order needs to capitalise on their early start, as India is ready to face-off visitors following the homework.
The problem for the visiting side has been their struggling middle-order which hasn’t clicked in that fashion they are known for owing to the disciplined innings while rotating the strike-rate – to keep the scoreboard ticking.
After stopping Virat Kohli’s streak of consecutive nine wins in ODIs, Smith had breathed a sigh of relief.
Before leg-spinner Adam Zampa had the last laugh over seam-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya in Bengaluru, he went on to concede 63, in his nine overs for the prized scalp of Pandya.
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While piling-up the miseries for Australia, the slow-bowler has flown back Australia ahead of the final ODI at Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur.
As the dead rubber is scheduled on October 1 (Sunday), the frontline spinner Zampa is bound to be replaced by all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who was rested for the previous game owing to his poor show in the series so far.
As Kangaroos would be aiming to end the series on a high note after being drubbed in the first three encounters, Smith would have a liking to come to bat at third position after left-handed batsman Travis Head was given a go.
On the other side, struggling Maxwell could be tested at the one-down position if Warner-Finch would succeed in getting a decent total on the board for the first wicket against Men in Blue’s quality bowling line-up.
The right-handed Maxwell, who can register quick runs, could be important for the visitors with Smith capable of playing spin well.
Brimming with the confidence, the right-handed batsman Finch has played an imperative role at the top for Australia in Bengaluru after struck a century on his return in Indore while recovering from the calf injury.
Fast bowler Kane Richardson, who has a pivotal role with the ball alongside Nathan Coulter-Nile would be aiming to bowl the probing line against batting-heavy India, as he claimed three wickets on a flat-bed surface in Bengaluru.
The Aussie skipper would want to see bowling spearhead Pat Cummins among wickets while making most out of his pace and ability to test the batsmen with the short-ball ploy.
Here’s the Predicted XI for Australia for Nagpur game:
Steve Smith (C), David Warner, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mathew Wade (WK), Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Kane Richardson.