Series at stake, resilient India and fiesty Australia ready for showdown

A coveted series-victory will be at stake when a resilient India face a feisty Australia in third and deciding ODI on Sunday, promising a fitting finale between two leading teams in world cricket. series was very much expected to go down to wire but with way Australians hammered hosts in series opener, it seemed tourists would run away with ir second straight series win in India.

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India make a comeback in 2nd ODI

However, India showed commendable character in Rajkot to level series, proving that panic buttons were pressed prematurely following 10-wicket loss in Mumbai. More importantly, India got ir batting combination right for second ODI, a fair comment considering way K L Rahul seized opportunity in his new batting position number five. With Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan opening, team's best batsman and skipper Virat Kohli returned to his usual number three spot while Shreyas Iyer was back at number four. same order is likely to be followed on Sunday.

Rohit, who is due for a big score in series, hurt his shoulder while fielding on Friday but Kohli is confident that star opener will be available for series decider at Chinnaswamy stadium. Manish Pandey played in place of injured Rishabh Pant and it remains to be seen if southpaw is fit for game.   biggest plus for India from Rajkot was Rahul's power-packed kck at number five, creating a new set of possibilities that might help in improving team balance.  

Specialist opener Rahul made difference in India's innings by batting at a 150-plus strike rate in an unfamiliar position, having batted at three in previous game. In fact, Kohli went to extent of saying that it was best he saw from Rahul at international level. India are looking to add much-needed firepower in middle-order and Rahul could provide that. In Pant's absence, he also did well behind wicket, effecting Aaron Finch's stumping besides taking two catches.  

Before series, talk was about 'who would open alongside Rohit?' Will it be Rahul or fit-again Shikhar Dhawan? With Dhawan scoring big in both games and Rahul showing his versatility, both have proved ir immense value in playing eleven. Kohli was criticized for tinkering with batting order in Mumbai, especially on pushing himself down to four to accommodate Rahul but he always knew what he was doing.

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Virat Kohli post series-leveling win

"We live in days of social media and a panic button being pressed too early. It's very important to figure out best team you can put on park and when you see how KL was batting today, it's very difficult to leave someone like that out," Kohli said after 36-run win.         

significant change is expected even in bowling composition with team preferring three pacers and two spinners. Kuldeep Yadav, who did t have best of times in 2019, reaffirmed his value by bowling a match-winning over in which he removed Alex Carey and Steve Smith. or wrist spinner in squad, Yuzvendra Chahal, may finally get to play alongside Kuldeep with Chinnaswamy Stadium being his home ground in IPL.   Ar positive for India was Jasprit Bumrah producing a tidy spell, his most impressive since his comeback from injury. He stifled opposition as wickets came from or end. Mohammad Shami, who was a tad expensive early on in Rajkot, bowled well towards end alongside Navdeep Saini.     

Australia too are unlikely to make wholesale changes in ir line-up following defeat. y were very much in run chase until Kuldeep got rid of star batsman Smith. visitors had a great chance of wrapping up series but were unable to win crucial moments.  in-form Marnus Labuschagne was impressive in his first ODI innings but got out at wrong time. Mitchell Starc would be itching to bounce back, having conceded 78 runs in 10 overs. His new-ball partner Pat Cummins was hard to score off once again while leggie Adam Zampa got prized wicket of Kohli for fifth time in ODIs.

However, left-arm spinner Ashton Agar has t been that effective and needs to up his game in all-important series decider.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, K L Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami.

Australia: Aaron Finch (Captain), Alex Carey (Wicket-keeper), Patrick Cummins, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschange, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, and Adam Zampa. 

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(Im Courtesy:  AP)