Amidst concerns of rain playing a spoilsport in the third ODI between India and Australia at Indore, the two teams lock horns against each other in a match that has turned into a must-win situation for the visitors.
After winning the second ODI in Kolkata by 50 runs and taking a 2-0 lead in the series, Team India is brimming with confidence. Australia, on the other hand, is yet to figure out a way to tackle India’s spin twins.
While the bowling has come good for the men in blue, the batting still remains an area of concern. In both the matches the top order has failed to get off to a good start while the middle order has also been scratchy at best. Manish Pandey and Kedhar Jadhav have hardly made any impact while batting in the middle order.
The form of Manish Pandey, in particular, will be a cause of concern as he has managed to put up scores of 0 and 3 in two matches. What does augur well for team India is that return to form of skipper Virat Kohli. In the previous match, he fell just eight runs short from eclipsing Ricky Ponting’s record of 31 ODI hundreds. But it was his innings that helped India put up a respectable total on the scoreboard.
The bowling attack led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar will remain the same. While the spin twins of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav look set to lead the spin attack. One thing which is already in favour of India is that they enjoy a 100 percent win record at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.
Kuldeep celebrates his hat-trick at the Eden Gardens
For the visitors, this is a must-win game and hence they will be under a lot of pressure. One area of concern for the Aussies will be how to counter the spinners. Despite roping in Sridharan Sriram as a spin consultant, Australia’s spin woes still haven’t subsided.
Another aspect which skipper Steve Smith also highlighted is sudden batting collapse. If Australia is seeking a positive result, then this problem must be addressed.
Meanwhile, the pitch at the Holkar Stadium has remained conducive to batting. The average first innings score on this ground is 311 while the second inning is 254. The highest total on this ground is 418/5 and hence a run feast may be on the cards.
Here are the statistics in line for the third ODI match between India and Sri Lanka at Holkar Stadium, Indore on Sunday...
1) Indore is all set to witness a maiden India-Australia encounter at Holkar Stadium. And for India, they have never lost a cricket match at this venue – a winning percentage of 100 accounting four ODIs and one Tests.
2) Both India and South Africa have the same rating on the ICC ODI Team rankings, but the Proteas side leads the chart by only a fraction of a decimal. A win in Indore means India have a chance to leapfrog South Africa to grab the No.l spot.
3) A win at Holkara Stadium will mean series victory for India, This will be their sixth consecutive bilateral-series victory – against New Zealand, England and Australia at home and away wins against Zimbabwe, West Indies and Sri Lanka.
4) A contrasting record at stake — Virat Kohli-led India will be aiming to equal the nation's best-ever winning streak, which is nine successive ODI victories under the leadership of MS Dhoni, between November 2008 and February 2009. On the contrary, the visistors are currently on a winless streak. Accounting their last 12 ODI matches on foreign soil, Australia have failed to scalp victories in all of them, with two of it ending on a no-result.
5) India skipper Virat Kohli is now just 41 runs short of amassing 2000 runs as a captain. With 1959 runs in 34 ODI innings, Kohli is on a bid to overhaul AB de Villiers's fastest-to-2000 record as a captain.
6) Kohli is also a century away from easing past Ricky Ponting's tally of 30 ODI tons. He had failed to surpass the milestone when he fell victim to nervous ninties in Kolkata. Adding to it, the century will be his 13 ODI ton at home. He presently tied with Hashim Amla at No. 3 with 12 hundreds.
7) Another century awaits Dhoni...this time 100 ODI stumpings for India.
| Squad: |
India : Virat Kohli(c), Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami
Australia : David Warner, Steven Smith(c), Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Peter Handscomb
Source:IndianExpress || ZeeNews
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