IND vs AUS 2023: India vs Australia 2nd ODI - Predicted India Playing XI vs Australia

After team India’s scintillating win in the first ODI, they will take on Australia for the second ODI on Sunday, March 19, at the YS Rajashekara Reddy Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Australia looked to win the first game of the series after losing the Test series, but their plans were hindered by the excellent knocks of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja. 

Australia were given an excellent start by the fabulous knock of Mitchell Marsh, but the rest of the batters could not amount to anything, which saw the visitors getting bundled out for 188 runs. Skipper Steve Smith will look to register their first win of the ODI series as they take India on in the second game.

India, on the other hand, would be keen to seal the series with a win in Visakhapatnam to continue their streak of ODI-series victories in 2023.

Here is India’s predicted XI for the match against Australia-

Openers: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill

After missing the first game of the ODI series due to family commitments, skipper Rohit Sharma will return to the Indian team for the second ODI. After a subpar performance from Ishan Kishan in the first game, Rohit Sharma will now look to lead from the front and provide the hosts with a good start, which was something that was missing in the last game.

Shubman Gill was the only top-order batter in the first ODI who looked to be in the flow, but he also managed to score only 20 runs, the highest among the top-order batters. The 23-year-old would be keen to improve his performance, bettering it from the previous game, and continue his sensational form. 

Middle Order - Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (WK)

India’s middle order failed to impress in the first ODI. Virat Kohli, who had all eyes set on him, was dismissed by Mitchell Starc after scoring just four runs. The ace Indian batter looked to be in superb form as he was coming to the game after scoring 186 runs in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, Starc proved to be too much to handle for the 34-year-old.

Suryakumar Yadav had a disappointing outing as well as the 32-year-old was dismissed on a golden duck. Among the middle-order batters, KL Rahul was the only one who managed to score big and take his side home in a thrilling encounter.

Rahul played an unbeaten knock of 75 runs off 91 deliveries, which was an integral factor in India grabbing the first win of the ODI series.

All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur

After the early fall of wickets, Hardik Pandya looked to lead from the front but the stand-in Indian skipper fell to the relentless attack of the Australian bowlers. The Indian captain scored 25 runs to release some pressure from the already struggling side, before being dismissed by Marcus Stoinis.

Ravindra Jadeja was another player who came in clutch for the hosts. After taking two wickets in the first innings, the veteran all-rounder followed it up with a fabulous display with the bat as well. Jadeja scored an unbeaten 45 runs and played a decisive role in the match.

Shardul Thakur couldn't feature prominently in the first ODI with the ball. He only bowled two overs where he conceded 12 runs and did not take any wickets. Thakur did not get the chance to bat and will hope to have a bigger impact in the second ODI.

Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

India will not look to make changes in the bowling line-up as Mohammed Shami tormented the Australian batters in the first game. The veteran pacer bowled six overs where he took three wickets conceding just 17 runs. India will look to depend on Shami once again in the second game as well.

Mohammed Siraj was excellent as well, as he took three wickets and conceded 29 runs in the process. Shami and Siraj were phenomenal and were integral for the hosts in restricting Australia to a sub-200 score.

Kuldeep Yadav, despite not being able to replicate the same level of performance as the other bowlers, managed to take a wicket, further worsening the situation for the visitors. He will look to add more success to his name when India take on Australia in the second ODI.