After winning the first one day international in Hyderabad comfortably, India will be looking to make it 2-0 when they take on Australia in the central city of Nagpur on Tuesday. The two sides have squared off against each other in three previous ODI’s at the VCA Stadium, with the hosts emerging victorious in all of them.
With India expected to keep faith with the men who did the business in Hyderabad, KL Rahul looks to be benched again, as will Yuzvendra Chahal.
After being in spot of bother at 99/4 in the first ODI, India’s much maligned middle-order came to their rescue, with a match winning 141 run unbeaten stand between Mahendra Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav bailing the hosts out of trouble.
Vijay Shankar was poor with the ball as the third seamer in Hyderabad. Jadhav’s ability with the ball ensures India don’t need ten overs out of Shankar, but he will need to tighten up that part of his game.
Tasked with the crucial No.4 position, Ambati Rayudu failed to get going and would be looking to put up a better show. Veteran Dhoni has however been in a rich vein of form recently and every good outing with the bat will boost his confidence ahead of the World Cup in England later this summer.
India’s spinners strangulated Australia in Hyderabad while Shami and Bumrah were excellent as usual. That helped ease the pressure of chasing, which in turn ensured that slow starters like Dhoni could take their time to settle without worrying about the asking rate.
After an under par batting performance in Hyderabad, Australia would be hoping to put up a better performance at Nagpur. The 32 year old Aaron Finch who has been woefully out of form would be hoping to get to regain his touch on Tuesday. The likes of Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell and all rounder Marcus Stoinis all got starts but failed to convert them into something substantial. The visitors might strengthen their batting with the addition of Shaun Marsh, which could mean Ashton Turner dropping out of the XI.
India likely lineup
Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (capt), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja/ Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav & Jasprit Bumrah
Australia likely XI
Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch (capt), Shaun Marsh/ Ashton Turner, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Jason Behrendorff & Adam Zampa