India vs Australia, 3rd ODI, Preview: Best chance to win the series for the hosts at MS Dhoni's hometown

Finch found some groove in the previous game.

Published - 07 Mar 2019, 16:16 IST | Updated - 07 Mar 2019, 16:16 IST

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The action moves to Ranchi as India and Australia continue the fierce rivalry between them. It the Nagpur One-Day is anything to go by, the visitors will definitely come hard at India given that the action went down the wire and it was due to Vijay Shankar and Jasprit Bumrah that the hosts managed to steal an eight-run win from nowhere. It will be interesting to see the way pitch will play in Ranchi.

Aaron Finch spending some time in the middle was a good news for Australia in Nagpur. But just when it seemed that he will get a big one, Kuldeep Yadav snaffled him. They will hope that the skipper gets a big score in the must-win encounter for his team in MS Dhoni’s hometown. The bowlers have done a decent job for Australia so far and they might need two spinners again to unsettle the opposition batsmen.

The Indian skipper Virat Kohli was once again the lone warrior with the bat for the Men in Blue. His form with the bat continues to be crucial for them but the time has come for the top-order to fire consistently. Often known to dominate, the opening duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma has failed in the four consecutive ODIs now and one of them is due a huge score in this series.

Team Combination

India

With the cushion of a 2-0 lead, India might ponder over testing KL Rahul with the series still alive. He may replace Shikhar Dhawan who is surprisingly out of touch. Kohli continues to bat at three while the under-fire Ambati Rayudu has to get a score behind him at number four. Depending on the situation, the next three – Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav – will bat.

Shankar and Jadhav are doing well with the ball as Yuzvendra Chahal is likely to get a game with Kohli, after the toss in the first ODI, clearing that they were looking to rotate the spinners. Ravindra Jadeja continues to be the spin-bowling all-rounder while Mohammed Shami could also be rested with Bhuvneshwar Kumar coming back to the set-up.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul/Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Ambati Rayudu, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar/ Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja/ Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.

Australia

Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja will open the innings while Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb are the middle-order batsmen. Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis lend solidity to the team with their all-round and their performance will be crucial if Australia are to make a comeback in this series.

The bowling has always been a stronger suit for the Men in Yellow. Pat Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile will take the new ball while Lyon and Zampa are expected to share the spin duties.

Probable XI: Aaron Finch (c), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa.

Focus will be on

MS Dhoni (India)

This will be on emotional homecoming for MS Dhoni – the local boy. This will be the last international game for him at his hometown considering that Dhoni will retire after the World Cup. The veteran also needs to make amends for a golden duck in the previous game. His bat is doing the talking at the moment and a memorable outing for him will leave the smile on the faces of the fans.

Marcus Stoinis (Australia)

Stoinis will be livid with himself for not closing out the game in Nagpur after taking it deep. He played it smartly by seeing off Jasprit Bumrah’s spell and then took the game down the wire making it a one-on-one affair with the bowler Vijay Shankar much like Dhoni likes to do. But an ugly heave led to Stoinis’ undoing and the all-rounder will be eager to make amends with a good outing in Ranchi.