Aus v Ind 3rd T20I Preview: India aim for a rare clean sweep at the SCG

India has played some outstanding cricket to seal the series before the final T20I match. The SCG will once again witness a strong Indian contingent cheering their team to make it 3-0 against Australia. The home side had its moments in the 2 T20Is however failed to capitalize on these. The Aussies will be without their captain Aaron Finch, who injured his hamstring during the loss in Melbourne. Another good pitch is expected in Sydney and the forecast is also good.

Australia:

Australia has sent several players to New Zealand to prepare for the ODI series that starts there on Wednesday. That means none of Steven Smith, David Warner, John Hastings, Kane Richardson or Matthew Wade will be available for the final T20I. Shane Watson will lead the side in Finch’s absence. Consistency has been the biggest problem for the Aussies in the shortest format of the game. In the first 2 matches, the dropped catches, poor lines from the bowlers and horrendous shot selection from many of the batsmen cost the team dearly.

Chris Lynn has struggled against spin, which hardly augurs well for the WorldT20 in Indian conditions while Nathan Lyon has bowled only one over in this series for 15 runs. Shaun Tait also endured his least economical T20 international in Adelaide, hardly the comeback the selectors were hoping for. And now Finch’s injury adds another worry. Usman Khawaja has joined the squad to cover for the injured Finch though with Travis Head also in the squad there is no guarantee Khawaja will make his T20 international debut. Cameroon Bancroft is in to replace Wade while the absence of Hastings and Richardson means Tait may return. Australian openers had given the team good starts in both the previous matches however the middle order failed to deliver. This problem will need to be addressed if the team is to register a win at the historic ground.

India:

India will be eyeing a clean sweep time to ensure a perfect way to depart Australia after the disappointment of losing the ODI series. After the win in Melbourne, MS Dhoni played down the possibility that India might use the dead rubber in Sydney to experiment with their side ahead of a World T20 thus indicating that the team’s eagerness to continue the winning run. The team looks well balanced and the performance of the younger players should please the selectors.

Jasprit Bumrah has proven difficult for the Australian batsmen to get away. He is the leading wicket-taker from either side so far in the T20I series with five dismissals at an average of 12.00. He will look to continue his golden run and end the series on a high. The likes of Yuvraj Singh and Hardik Pandya have contributed in the field and with the ball, however, haven’t had a hit yet. Both will be eyeing an opportunity to showcase their ball striking ability. The return to form for opener Shikhar Dhawan is encouraging and augurs well for the Indian top order. Dhawan’s record in the T20Is is mediocre and he has looked determined to rectify this. India has used the same XI in both wins so far, and could yet go through the series unchanged. (Also read: Virat Kohli reveals the reason behind his send-off of Smith)

Form guide (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Australia: LLLWW

India: WWLLL

Playing XI (Probable)

Australia: 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 Shane Watson (capt), 3 Chris Lynn, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Usman Khawaja/Travis Head, 6 Cameron Bancroft (wk), 7 James Faulkner, 8 Andrew Tye, 9 Nathan Lyon/Cameron Boyce, 10 Scott Boland, 11 Shaun Tait.

India: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Stats 

1. Watson will become the ninth man to captain Australia in T20 internationals after Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Cameron White, George Bailey, Finch and Smith.

2. Rohit Sharma needs 42 runs while Yuvraj Singh needs 32 to reach 1000 runs in T20Is.