Australia, on the other hand, feels revitalized, particularly after minor players Cooper Connolly, Matthew Renshaw, Mitch Owen, and Matt Short contributed significantly to their victorious run chase in Adelaide.
Despite being largely up against it throughout the game, India fought to the end and was likely flattered by the outcome. The shortened opener in Perth due to rain could be justified, but India lost the second ODI and never fully recovered from the early dismissals of captain Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, who for the first time in his illustrious ODI career claimed two consecutive ducks.
Josh Hazlewood, who has been exceptionally quick in both games as England watches in anticipation of the Ashes, has absolutely held down India’s top order. Although Rohit scored the most runs in Adelaide (73), Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s much-anticipated comebacks have not gone as planned. Their futures are still up in the air, with some calling for Yashasvi Jaiswal to replace them in the top order.
With Hardik Pandya out of the lineup, India has appeared unbalanced and has used the same starting lineup in both games without success. As he attempts to begin shaping his ideal lineup, Gill is obviously having teething issues.
Australia’s management would have been happy with their efforts as they try to settle on a batting order following the retirements of Glenn Maxwell and Steven Smith from ODI cricket.
The fact that Australia has never swept India in a bilateral ODI series gives the team, which is now feeling upbeat following a rocky 50-over cricket campaign, even more impetus.
Similar to the last two games, a sold-out SCG is anticipated to host a pro-India crowd.
Renshaw, who has been waiting nine years to play ODIs for his international career, has adapted well after completing the task in Perth with an undefeated 21 off 24 and then a run-a-ball 30 in Adelaide. After arriving at the crease in Adelaide with Australia down at 54 for 2, he showed poise and made public remarks about blocking out outside noise. Renshaw, who was irritated not to score much after being taken down by a looping delivery from left-arm spinner Axar Patel after trying to launch over mid-off, helped shift the tide with a quick 55-run partnership with Matt Short. In Sydney, Renshaw will have another opportunity as the competition heats up in this batting order transition. Additionally, Renshaw is thought to have little chance of being included in the selection mix because of the Ashes.
Since Kohli and Rohit’s returns have received so much attention, Gill’s sluggish start as ODI skipper has been partly mitigated. As he did so brilliantly in Test cricket, Gill has failed to set the tone. Rohit’s early-inning end, which put pressure on Gill to counterattack, hasn’t helped him, as he’s only made 10 and 9. This game is crucial because if India loses just their sixth ODI series in their illustrious history, he will be under pressure early in his captaincy tenure.
Hazlewood and Starc may decide to take a break.
Possible for Australia: 1 captain Mitchell Marsh, 2 Travis Head, 3 Matt Short, 4 Matthew Renshaw, 5. Alex Carey (week), 6 Cooper Connolly 7. Mitch Owen 8. Xavier Bartlett 9. Jackson Edwards/Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Ellis, 11 Adam Zampa
Australia may be tempted to rest Mitchell Starc and Hazlewood because the match is a dead rubber and there is only one day off between games two and three.
The team may remember Nathan Ellis, who did well in the first game, while all-rounder Jack Edwards was selected because to his impressive performance during Australia A’s tour of India. Matt Kuhnemann, a left-arm spinner, has also rejoined the team following a strong showing in the opening ODI, but it doesn’t seem likely that two spinners will be included in the starting lineup.
After missing the first two games, Josh Inglis has returned to the team in Sydney, but he is unlikely to play as he recovers from a calf issue, so the top seven will probably stay the same.
India’s potential lineup is as follows: 1 captain Shubman Gill, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Axar Patel, 6 Rahul KL (week), 7. Kuldeep Yadav/Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana/Prasidh Krishna, and Nitish Reddy
Although India chose to use the same starting lineup in Adelaide, it did not work, and adjustments are most likely to occur. The question of whether Kuldeep Yadav, a left-arm wrist spinner, should be included in the squad with the attack lacking bite thus far in the series has generated a lot of discussion. The more cautious choice of all-rounder Washington Sundar, who has failed with the bat but has taken three wickets in the series, has been favored by India. Due to his high cost in the series, Harshit Rana may be replaced by seamer Prasidh Krishna. Additionally, it would be intriguing to observe if they manage to provide Yashasvi Jaiswal with a game.
India
