A throwback at India's last ODI against Australia at the MCG in 2016
The Melbourne Cricket ground is all set for an excellent finish for India's tour of Australia. India will be looking forward to winning the first ever ODI bilateral series in Australia with the series leveled at 1-1.
The two sides took on each other three years ago on 17 January 2016 in a match which Australia won by three wickets. Let's have a look at how things have changed for both the teams in the last three years.
Australia have undergone a significant change in their team combination where only three players - Shaun Marsh, Aaron Finch, and Glenn Maxwell are still a part of the ODI team from 2016. David Warner didn't feature back in 2016, and Steve Smith is not a part of the team now.
On the other hand, the top three for India remains the same with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Virat Kohli. Ambati Rayudu replacing Ajinkya Rahane at number four is the only difference in the top five for India. MS Dhoni. who was the captain of the ODI team in 2016, batted at number 5, just like he did in the last couple of ODI matches. Dinesh Karthik will bat at number six instead of Gurkeerat Singh whereas Ravindra Jadeja will have his fond memories of playing at number seven once again.
Back in 2016, India posted 295/6 batting first powered by a brilliant century (117) from current Indian captain Virat Kohli and half-centuries from Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane. Rohit Sharma departed for six runs in the fifth over. However, Kohli found able partners in Dhawan and Rahane to form century partnerships for the second and third wicket. In the end, MS Dhoni's quick 23 off nine balls helped India post the competitive total on board.
For Australia, Shaun Marsh and Finch started the chase well with 48 runs for the opening wicket, but, Finch couldn't convert his start to a big score. He struggling to score runs in the current series as well and will be looking forward to finding his rhythm back in the retro kit.
Shaun Marsh, who hit 62 in the 2016 match, is in brilliant form in the current series as well. He already has a century and half-century in the first two games this series. Going back to 2016, Australia lost Smith for 41 and Bailey for 23 and were in trouble halfway through the innings.
However, Glenn Maxwell was in excellent form, as he is today, and scored 96 despite wickets falling regularly at the other end. James Faulkner pitched in with a vital 21 and added 80 runs with Maxwell for the seventh wicket. Maxwell fell when Australia needed just one run to win but he had done the job. Faulkner took them home with a single in the penultimate over.
A lot has changed over the three years, and India is a much more stable team under Virat Kohli. On the other hand, Australia is still in the process of rebuilding after the ball tampering incident in South Africa.
Kohli may be looking forward to repeating the 2016 show with another century at the MCG and guide his team to a historic series win. On the other hand, Shaun Marsh and Maxwell may be looking to carry forward their momentum from the past two games and win the series.
India have a better bowling attack when compared to 2016, which will put them ahead to win the series in Melbourne. Meanwhile. Australia will go in with two changes in their bowling department with Adam Zampa replacing Nathan Lyon and Billy Stanlake coming in for the injured Jason Behrendorff.
Let's hope for another exciting and entertaining contest at the MCG when these two teams meet once again on Friday, 18 January 2019.