Aus v Ind 3rd ODI Preview: Last chance to save the series for India

The first two ODIs between Australia and India bear a lot of resemblances, similar target, similar chase and similar individual performances. The next game happens to be the most important one of the series for India and they cannot afford to take it lightly. With Australia ahead of India with a 2-0 margin in the five-match series, the third ODI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is the series-decider. Australia doesn’t have anything much to be concerned about though their bowlers have conceded 300 plus scores in both the matches it still has been in the range manageable for their batsmen. So far the series has been about Australian batsmen overpowering and dominating the Indian bowlers; they will have to surely find a way to counter the Aussies and keep the series alive.

Australia:

With a 2-0 lead, Australia will definitely look forward to winning the next tie and seal the series. The series so far has been a positive one for Australia. Battingwise, everything looks sorted for them. Shaun Marsh justified his inclusion with a fluent half-century. Aaron Finch’s power hitting can have brutal consequences and he gave an example of how he can switch the gears to shoot the run rate upwards during the 2nd ODI.

In the middle order Steven Smith and George Bailey yet again produced match-winning knocks. Australia have made only one change in their bowling attack, Kane Richardson has been left out to make a place for Mitchell Marsh while John Hastings, who came in place of Josh Hazlewood, has been retained for the next match. Hazlewood has been given a break for the remainder of the season. Joel Paris and Scott Boland retain their places.

India:

Shikhar Dhawan and his batting woes is a growing cause of concern for India. Dhawan has been backed for a while and it’s high time that he produces significant knock to justify his role as the opener in the team. There have been voices to exclude him and promote Ajinkya Rahane up in the batting order. However, this will leave a soft spot in the middle order as the untested Manish Pandey will be left with too much responsibility to handle.

Other than that, the batting order has definitely played its part and put up the runs, though one can argue that the totals haven’t been enough. The skipper wishes to give his bowlers more to play with and thus the batsmen will now want to play with added responsibility to put pressure on the Australians.

India must try to chase this time instead of setting a total as the Aussies have shown that their ability to chase down totals with ease. The bowlers must find ways to snap up wickets and not let the Aussies settle down into partnerships if India aims to save the series. Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma hold the key if India wants to win the next game. They must strike early. Spinners must also try to provide breakthroughs in the middle overs which would be vital. An alternative option for the Indian team is to go with the 4-1 combination and try either Rishi Dhawan or Bhuvneshwar Kumar in place of one of the skippers.

Probable XI-

Australia:

Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Steven Smith (C), George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade (wk), James Faulkner, John Hastings, Scott Boland, Joel Paris

India:

Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (C & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav/Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran.

Stats-

• Australia last lost a home ODI in November 2014. They have now gone 17 home ODIs without losing, one short of the longest unbeaten streak at home. If the washout against India in Sydney last year isn’t considered, this winning streak of 16 is the joint longest.
• India is only the third team to have lost consecutive matches despite scoring 300 in each of them.