After clinching the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2-1, Team India kicked-off the three-match ODI series against Australia in a similar fashion, winning the opener in Mumbai by five wickets. Producing a clinical display with the ball, Team India seamers – Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj – scalped three wickets each as Australia could only manage 188 on the board after being invited to bat first.
India in response didn’t get off to a strong start and lost four wickets with just 39 runs on the board. However, a solid performance by KL Rahul, who has been under fire for quite some time now, helped India close the contest in 39.5 overs.
Despite the subpar performance, India would not want to tweak much with their combo, however, there will be one forced change. Skipper Rohit Sharma, who missed the first ODI due to personal reason, will once again return to the helm, with Hardik Pandya shifting to vice-captaincy.
With Rohit’s incoming at the top, it’ll be either be Shubman Gill or Ishan Kishan making way. Considering current form it’ll most probably be the latter. Ever since notching a double ton against Bangladesh in December last year, Kishan has failed to pile big totals on numerous occasions.
Meanwhile, the rest combination might remain the same, unless there are any niggles in the camp.
Heading into the second ODI, India will look to take an unassailable 2-0 lead and also look to fix their batting, which saw a top-order collapse in Mumbai. Rohit’s return will also bolster India’s batting at the top.
Meanwhile, with Shreyas Iyer’s quick return still appearing bleak, India will hope Suryakumar Yadav to fill in the big role at the number four position. While Suryakumar has been explosive with the bat in the shorter format, he is evidently still finding his feet in ODIs and has not notched a single half-century in the five ODIs he has played this year. In fact, the star batter has now played 15 ODIs (13 innings) without a score exceeding 50.
India’s predicted XI vs Australia 2nd ODI:
Openers: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma(capt)
Middle-order: Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul(wk)
All-rounder: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja
Spinner: Kuldeep Yadav
Pacers: Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami
[ad_2]