Winning his second consecutive toss in the series, Australian skipper Steven Smith had no doubts in opting to bat first. There were few changes in Australia as Mathew Wade replaced an underperforming Glenn Maxwell whereas Adam Zampa walked in the side again, in place of Ashton Agar.
Agar has been ruled out of the series due to an injury in his finger.
As indicated by Indian skipper Virat Kohli earlier, team India made oodles of changes. Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami, who last played an ODI in West Indies, were roped in. Along with them, Axar Patel got his chance as well. Though there was news of him being hurt during the practice session yesterday with his inclusion in the playing XI today, the rumours were cleared.
Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were rested to facilitate players mentioned above with a place in the side. KL Rahul was not given a chance in the game, which now makes him the only player in the series not to play a game in the series till now.
Indian team is currently leading the series by a margin of 3-0, and with a win in this contest, the Virat Kohli led team will move a step closer towards whitewash. If India wins this game, then they will also achieve the record of 10 consecutive wins in ODI cricket.
Here is the playing XI of both the teams –
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith(c), Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade(w), Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa
India: Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(w), Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal
Captains talk –
Virat Kohli:
It is much more dry than the last season of IPL (2016). Since then the game (T20) against England was also pretty much okay. It has to do with leveling the outfield and taking clay off the pitch that might have made the difference. The par score has come down to 143 from 190 in 20-over cricket. We would have batted first as well. However, I have played a lot here and the wicket tends to settle down under lights. I am sure the spinners will come into play in the first half. Every game is a motivation for us. When the series is done it is not the end of the road for us. We want to grab every opportunity as a team and the guys are hungry to perform. It is difficult to create good habits and even more difficult to follow. We have given few guys a rest: Kuldeep, Bhuvi and Bumrah are rested. Umesh, Shami and Axar come into the side.
Steven Smith:
We are going to have a bat. The wicket has changed from the last time we were around. It will slow up as the game goes on. It has been a bit disappointing so far and we have to get back to winning ways. We have two changes. Wade and Zampa in.