India vs Australia: 2nd ODI Preview
Australia will be looking for another quick start at the top of the order from Aaron Finch
After losing the first one-day international in Pune by a thumping margin, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men will try to fight back and level the series at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur.
In the first game, death bowling was a concern as Vinay Kumar and Ishant Sharma went for plenty at the fag end of Australia’s innings. Sharma has been out of touch for a while and his place is said to be under threat for today’s game.
Defending the Delhi fast bowler, vice-captain Virat Kohli said: “I don’t think you can drop a player on the basis of two poor matches.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Dhoni decides to bring in Mohammad Shami or Jaydev Unadkat into the team at the expense of Sharma. Even the inclusion of Amit Mishra won’t surprise many as Australia were way more comfortable facing pace rather than spin in the last game.
India will be looking for quick wickets from Bhuvneshwar Kumar in today’s game. The pacer from Uttar Pradesh has bowled reasonably well in both – the T20I and the first ODI – but failed to pick up wickets on Sunday.
Another area of concern for the Indian team is the form of R Ashwin. The Chennai off-spinner has struggled and has gone for runs in both games. Ashwin will be key to restrict Australia to a low total.
Australia are set to stick to their winning combo and will be hoping their pace attack has as much success in the Pink City as they did in Pune on Sunday.
The most positive sign for the Aussies was to see Mitchell Johnson steaming in and bowling at over 150 kmph. Johnson has been overly inconsistent over the last few years and him returning to form will serve Australia well ahead of the Ashes.
Another encouraging note for the Australians was that they managed to put on a huge total despite star batsman Shane Watson failing to make any sort of contribution. Aaron Finch has taken the international scene by storm after his brilliant 156 against England in a T20I earlier this year. Australia will be looking for another good start from Finch and Phillip Hughes at the top of the order.
The Sawai Man Singh Stadium was a paradise for Rajasthan Royals during the Indian Premier League and the Champions League T20 and now, the Men in Blue will be hoping that the winning streak for home teams on the ground stays intact.
Probable line-ups:
India Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Ishant Sharma/Mohammed Shami/Jaydev Unadkat/Amit Mishra
Australia: Aaron Finch, Phillip Hughes, Shane Watson, George Bailey, Adam Voges, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty