Team India will go into the decider against Australia in Chennai, as they haven’t lost an ODI series since March 2019
Team India will be facing Australia for the series decider (IND vs AUS) at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai tomorrow i.e. 22nd March 2024 at 1:30 pm. A pitch is known for its spinning attack. After the embarrassing loss that team India went through in Vizag, the hosts would certainly be looking to turn the table upside down. But to do so, they would have to reflect upon their Top Batting Order. The top-order got smashed against the pace and swing attack of Mitchell Starc, and this time there was no knight to save the day.
The defeat in the second ODI match depicted the clumsiness of facing the left-arm fast bowler by India’s top order. The Indian team has been seen struggling with left-arm fast bowlers previously in the high profile games as well, be it Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, or Trent Bolt among many other bowlers. The issue seems to still crawl deep in the team India’s batting line-up.
The men in blue have not seen the face of defeat in the ODI bilateral series since 2019. But this year, team India has been seen struggling in the ODI series. In this ongoing ODI series too, Mitchell Marsh is the highest scorer with a total runs of 147 in the 2 matches, and Mitchell Starc is the highest wicket-taker with 8 wickets in the first 2 ODIs.
Last Match of the IND vs AUS series
The series decider will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, team India has played a total of 17 matches there, wherein they have won 7 and lost 5 matches. Looking at the five most recent matches played in the stadium by team India, they have won three and lost two matches.
This shows that Australia might have to dig a little deeper to stay at the pitch for a longer duration. The pitch of Chennai has shown furious turns in the white-ball matches, especially during the Indian Premier League season. The pitch sometimes does the wonder no one expected, so it might act as the sharp contrast of what both sides have seen in the first two ODIs.
Both teams have their respective edges that need a little sharpening to be done. India’s main concern would be the form of their top batting order, Surya Kumar Yadav being the highlight of the T20 match series, hasn’t been able to do a justifiable job in the ODIs yet.
However, Indian Skipper Rohit Sharma has said that the team will back Surya up till he gets into his proper form, but still, there are a lot of things to be done in order to change the outcome like what happened in Vizag. Team India needs to come out of their shell now to perform well for the ODI World Cup Season which will be played later this year in India, they would have to do the experiments right.
Not just Surya but Skipper Rohit Sharma also has to dig deep and demand more of what he has offered till now and more of others too. Team India needs their power hitters back in form for the decider and for the upcoming World Cup Season as well which will happen in India, however, they need to look a little harder to get out of the recurring problem of the left-arm fast bowlers.
The Aussies have their own headache too, as playing on the raging spinning pitch is not the very strongest point for the Kangaroos. But they have the winning momentum which makes them a level-up from the hosts.
Currently, India has 114 points in the ICC ODI ranking tally and sits in the No. 1 position, while Australia is just below them with 112 points. If the Aussies manage to win tomorrow’s match then this would be India’s first defeat since 2019, which ultimately will affect their ICC ODI rankings as well.
India’s Probable Playing 11: Rohit Sharma ©, Shubhman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
