A dominant Australia have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tour opening, three-match ODI series with victories at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney. But India can still salvage some pride and hope to start a winning run across formats as Virat Kohli & Co look to repeat the success they had in the 2018-19 tour Down Under.
And a win at Manuka Oval, Canberra on Wednesday is paramount for the visitors. A 3-0 whitewash makes a very bad reading, and it has a very bad psychological effect. By the way, the ODIs will be followed by a three-match T20I series, then the massive Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, involving four Test matches.
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Here's your mandatory read before the match:
A 0-3 defeat against Australia would be their second rout in consecutive ODI series having met the same fate in New Zealand earlier this year. The first two games turned out to be run-fests in which Australia out-batted Virat Kohli's men. Majority of the Aussies, who have had a poor Indian Premier League (IPL) in the UAE, turned up as the national pride was on the line.
Just look at Glenn Maxwell. He had failed to hit a single six during the IPL 2020. Yes, he missed one by inches. But back home, the Big Show is a different beast. Seven sixes in 48 balls. Then, there's skipper Aaron Finch. And David Warner and Adam Zampa. Then, a certain Steve Smith with his old hands.
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For India, the much-vaunted bowling attack led by Jasprit Bumrah lost the plot as Aussies scored 374/6 and 389/4. Indian batsmen, despite the absence of Rohit Sharm, did well to reply with scores of 308/8 and 338/9. But the outcomes have been similar, and humbling. Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli, and up to some extent Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul showed their otherworldly talents. Then again, cricket is a team sport.
Team news: India fielded the same XI in both the matches even as bowlers Navdeep Saini and Yuzvendra Chahal faced injury concerns at different stages, over the very short turn-over time in Sydney. But one constant has been Pandya's 'half-fit' concerns. He's one of the world's best all-rounders and limiting him to a batting-only role does more harm than good. But he is expected to bowl, again.
For the Aussies, Warner has been ruled out of the remainder of the limited-overs series after picking a groin injury during the second match. He has been replaced by D'Arcy Short, another left-handed batsman and leading run-scorer in two series in the Big Bash League. The hosts have also rested all-rounder Pat Cummins, which is more of workload management.
Likely XIs: Don't be surprised if India make more than a couple of changes. The likes of Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, T Natarajan all can get the match time.
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Matthew Wade/D'Arcy Short, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
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India: Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan, Kuldeep Yadav.
Match and telecast details:
Match: Australia vs India, third and final ODI
Date: December 2 (Wednesday), 2020
Time: 9:10 AM IST/2:40 PM Local
Venue: Manuka Oval, Canberra, Australia
TV Listing: SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 3 and SONY SIX. National broadcasters DD will also broadcast the tour.
Live Streaming: SonyLiv
Head-to-head: In 142 meetings, Australia have won 80 as against India's 52. There were ten no results. India's last win came on January 19 earlier this year at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
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Squads:
Australia: Aaron Finch (Captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson (replaced by Andrew Tye), Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), David Warner (replaced by D'Arcy Short), Adam Zampa.
Coach: Justin Langer (AUS)
India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-captain & wicket-
keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper).
Coach: Ravi Shastri (IND)
