gazza619
ODI Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2012
- Runs
- 11,535
India's grand tour Down Under finally comes to a close at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday. But as they return to the city where they more or less sealed their historic Test series triumph last month with their eyes set on creating further history, Melbourne has unfortunately moved on. The Australian Open is underway in full flow, and it is tennis and not cricket that's holding the Melburnians' sporting soul hostage. Why just Melbourne, tennis is on everyone's lips all around the country.
On Thursday, it was the major topic of discussion on-board the flight from Adelaide. Almost a third of those disembarking at Tullamarine Airport were either wondering if they can score tickets to see their favourite player or bragging about how they'd already done so. It was the same on the SkyBus that takes you into the heart of the city. One mother and daughter in fact sat with the schedule and tried making ingenious plans of how they could maximise their purchase by splitting up and watching half a game each. Go figure that.
The talk on the metro train from Southern Cross Station to Jollimont Station, meanwhile, was more about Jamie Chardy and Alexander Zverev, and not so much about Aaron Finch's form or whether Nathan Lyon had done enough to prove his white-ball credentials. There was a consensus amongst the locals that Australian tennis was looking up, courtesy the number of new faces that have either qualified or made it through to the main draw this time around.
It of course doesn't help cricket's cause around this time of the year that the MCG shares the country's most popular sports precinct with the Rod Laver Arena. To the extent that, even some of the Indians who got off at Jollimont didn't seem too bothered about happily walking past the half-a-dozen Indian cricketers, including MS Dhoni, who were going through their paces at the G without as much as a curious peek. They had seats to catch and more high-profile action to savour next door.
Tennis fever has gripped the Indian team as well as it generally does when they are in these parts around Australian Open time. A bunch of them including Rohit Sharma were in attendance on Wednesday night to watch Rafael Nadal polish off Australian Matthew Ebden in straight sets. There was talk even on Thursday about how some of the Indian players, including captain Virat Kohli, have plans to catch the Novak Djokovic match on the eve of the final ODI. Fortunately, there is no tennis ignoramus in the squad this time around, like there was in 2016, walking around asking for tickets to watch Wimbledon in Melbourne.
Regardless of how involved he is in watching Djokovic turn on his annual Australian magic, Kohli you know for sure will be fully tuned-in and ready when he enters the MCG on Friday. He always is anyway, but the third ODI provides the Indian captain of further enhancing his already-burgeoning legacy on this tour. This is only India's second-ever bilateral 50-over series Down Under. But they will still treat a win on Friday as another major achievement in this era-defining tour. You can't hold it against them either, regardless of the much spoken-about absence of Steve Smith and David Warner from the Australian challenge. Despite the series being 1-1 at the moment, it's safe to say that it's Advantage India going into Friday.
While Kohli just can't stop scoring runs - even if he had had a middling tour by his standards till his match-winning century in Adelaide - his counterpart is in the midst of his worst slump ever. Aaron Finch has committed way too many unforced errors over the last month-and-a-half or so against the Indian seamers to be too bothered about how many balls miss the baseline 100 or so meters away from the G. He was touted to play the Warner role against India in the Tests only to be dumped after the first three Tests, and that loss of confidence has been carried forward to his ODI form. And you get an idea of a player's mind-set and the scrutiny he's under when he's made to come out in a press conference and refer to himself as, "still a very good player who's scored 13 international centuries".
What Finch would give for a 14th three-figure score on Friday. What Australia would give for their ODI captain to just somehow see off Bhuvaneshwar Kumar's early spell to start with.
While Kohli looks to sign off his Australian summer by adding further glory, Finch will be hoping he doesn't let his standing as a high-class batsman slip further than how far it already has in recent times. And expect most of those who rock up at the MCG-save the hardcore Swami Army supporters-to be those who didn't get lucky with tickets for the tennis, especially with both Federer and Nadal set to be in action.
When: Australia v India, 3rd ODI, January 18, 01.20 pm Local, 07:50 am IST
Where: MCG, Melbourne
What to expect
On Thursday, Melbourne lived up to its unique reputation of being a "four seasons in a day" city. Much to the relief of the tennis stars at the Australian Open, an afternoon shower brought with it some relief from the unforgiving heat wave that's sent temperatures soaring around the country. That the rain came on a day scheduled to be the hottest of the first week only made it better.
The Indians and Australians haven't had it easy either so far in the ODI series with regards to the weather. The conditions were so sweltering in Adelaide that an additional drinks-break was added to both innings, and at one point the umpires had to step in and have a word with the Indian substitutes for repeatedly running in with water for their batsmen in the middle. The 44-degree heat had even Dhoni struggling to keep himself hydrated, and it was a relief to see him fit and ready at the practice session. It was not surprising to see none of the Indian fast bowlers, including the reserves, show up for the nets. In fact, only six did overall, and they were all mainly batsmen.
The heat wave is receding rapidly, and the temperatures are expected to begin dropping from Friday onwards. A highest of 28 degrees should bode well for every athlete who steps up to the plate at the Melbourne Sports Precinct on Friday, whether with bat, ball or racquet in hand.
Team News
India: If Hardik Pandya hadn't been sent home, India would have preferred going in with two wrist spinners for all three ODIs like did for most of 2018 when playing away from home. While it's a sign of how crucial Pandya is for their World Cup plans, it also tells you how he's the only irreplaceable member of this side. Ravindra Jadeja hasn't set the world on fire with either bat or ball, and India will have to rejig a number of positions if they are keen on bringing in the attacking option of Yuzvendra Chahal for the final ODI. It wouldn't be a bad move to give Vijay Shankar a go at No.7 in place of Mohammad Siraj and thereby letting Chahal come in for Jadeja. But can the team management back Shankar on debut to give them 10 overs. He couldn't probably do worse then Siraj or Khaleel Ahmed but ideally they will want some more cushion. That might open the door for Kedar Jadhav to get his first game, and the only person he looks good to replace is Ambati Rayudu, who's struggled at No.4.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Ambati Rayudu/Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja/Vijay Shankar, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj/Yuzvendra Chahal
Australia: Australia did an India from the Test series in terms of their selection on Thursday. Minutes after Finch raved about how good Nathan Lyon had been in the first two ODIs, the Aussies' lead Test spinner was dumped from the squad with leggie Adam Zampa replacing him in the playing XI. Jason Behrendorff too is set to miss out owing to a bad back two nights after having become the latest victim of the MS Dhoni last-over six sentence. Billy Stanlake is a tall enough replacement, and could well be the X-factor that the Aussies need in a bowling attack that has blown hot and cold.
Playing XI: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (wk), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Siddle, Jhye Richardson, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake
https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-ne...e-to-do-the-double-against-troubled-australia
On Thursday, it was the major topic of discussion on-board the flight from Adelaide. Almost a third of those disembarking at Tullamarine Airport were either wondering if they can score tickets to see their favourite player or bragging about how they'd already done so. It was the same on the SkyBus that takes you into the heart of the city. One mother and daughter in fact sat with the schedule and tried making ingenious plans of how they could maximise their purchase by splitting up and watching half a game each. Go figure that.
The talk on the metro train from Southern Cross Station to Jollimont Station, meanwhile, was more about Jamie Chardy and Alexander Zverev, and not so much about Aaron Finch's form or whether Nathan Lyon had done enough to prove his white-ball credentials. There was a consensus amongst the locals that Australian tennis was looking up, courtesy the number of new faces that have either qualified or made it through to the main draw this time around.
It of course doesn't help cricket's cause around this time of the year that the MCG shares the country's most popular sports precinct with the Rod Laver Arena. To the extent that, even some of the Indians who got off at Jollimont didn't seem too bothered about happily walking past the half-a-dozen Indian cricketers, including MS Dhoni, who were going through their paces at the G without as much as a curious peek. They had seats to catch and more high-profile action to savour next door.
Tennis fever has gripped the Indian team as well as it generally does when they are in these parts around Australian Open time. A bunch of them including Rohit Sharma were in attendance on Wednesday night to watch Rafael Nadal polish off Australian Matthew Ebden in straight sets. There was talk even on Thursday about how some of the Indian players, including captain Virat Kohli, have plans to catch the Novak Djokovic match on the eve of the final ODI. Fortunately, there is no tennis ignoramus in the squad this time around, like there was in 2016, walking around asking for tickets to watch Wimbledon in Melbourne.
Regardless of how involved he is in watching Djokovic turn on his annual Australian magic, Kohli you know for sure will be fully tuned-in and ready when he enters the MCG on Friday. He always is anyway, but the third ODI provides the Indian captain of further enhancing his already-burgeoning legacy on this tour. This is only India's second-ever bilateral 50-over series Down Under. But they will still treat a win on Friday as another major achievement in this era-defining tour. You can't hold it against them either, regardless of the much spoken-about absence of Steve Smith and David Warner from the Australian challenge. Despite the series being 1-1 at the moment, it's safe to say that it's Advantage India going into Friday.
While Kohli just can't stop scoring runs - even if he had had a middling tour by his standards till his match-winning century in Adelaide - his counterpart is in the midst of his worst slump ever. Aaron Finch has committed way too many unforced errors over the last month-and-a-half or so against the Indian seamers to be too bothered about how many balls miss the baseline 100 or so meters away from the G. He was touted to play the Warner role against India in the Tests only to be dumped after the first three Tests, and that loss of confidence has been carried forward to his ODI form. And you get an idea of a player's mind-set and the scrutiny he's under when he's made to come out in a press conference and refer to himself as, "still a very good player who's scored 13 international centuries".
What Finch would give for a 14th three-figure score on Friday. What Australia would give for their ODI captain to just somehow see off Bhuvaneshwar Kumar's early spell to start with.
While Kohli looks to sign off his Australian summer by adding further glory, Finch will be hoping he doesn't let his standing as a high-class batsman slip further than how far it already has in recent times. And expect most of those who rock up at the MCG-save the hardcore Swami Army supporters-to be those who didn't get lucky with tickets for the tennis, especially with both Federer and Nadal set to be in action.
When: Australia v India, 3rd ODI, January 18, 01.20 pm Local, 07:50 am IST
Where: MCG, Melbourne
What to expect
On Thursday, Melbourne lived up to its unique reputation of being a "four seasons in a day" city. Much to the relief of the tennis stars at the Australian Open, an afternoon shower brought with it some relief from the unforgiving heat wave that's sent temperatures soaring around the country. That the rain came on a day scheduled to be the hottest of the first week only made it better.
The Indians and Australians haven't had it easy either so far in the ODI series with regards to the weather. The conditions were so sweltering in Adelaide that an additional drinks-break was added to both innings, and at one point the umpires had to step in and have a word with the Indian substitutes for repeatedly running in with water for their batsmen in the middle. The 44-degree heat had even Dhoni struggling to keep himself hydrated, and it was a relief to see him fit and ready at the practice session. It was not surprising to see none of the Indian fast bowlers, including the reserves, show up for the nets. In fact, only six did overall, and they were all mainly batsmen.
The heat wave is receding rapidly, and the temperatures are expected to begin dropping from Friday onwards. A highest of 28 degrees should bode well for every athlete who steps up to the plate at the Melbourne Sports Precinct on Friday, whether with bat, ball or racquet in hand.
Team News
India: If Hardik Pandya hadn't been sent home, India would have preferred going in with two wrist spinners for all three ODIs like did for most of 2018 when playing away from home. While it's a sign of how crucial Pandya is for their World Cup plans, it also tells you how he's the only irreplaceable member of this side. Ravindra Jadeja hasn't set the world on fire with either bat or ball, and India will have to rejig a number of positions if they are keen on bringing in the attacking option of Yuzvendra Chahal for the final ODI. It wouldn't be a bad move to give Vijay Shankar a go at No.7 in place of Mohammad Siraj and thereby letting Chahal come in for Jadeja. But can the team management back Shankar on debut to give them 10 overs. He couldn't probably do worse then Siraj or Khaleel Ahmed but ideally they will want some more cushion. That might open the door for Kedar Jadhav to get his first game, and the only person he looks good to replace is Ambati Rayudu, who's struggled at No.4.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Ambati Rayudu/Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja/Vijay Shankar, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj/Yuzvendra Chahal
Australia: Australia did an India from the Test series in terms of their selection on Thursday. Minutes after Finch raved about how good Nathan Lyon had been in the first two ODIs, the Aussies' lead Test spinner was dumped from the squad with leggie Adam Zampa replacing him in the playing XI. Jason Behrendorff too is set to miss out owing to a bad back two nights after having become the latest victim of the MS Dhoni last-over six sentence. Billy Stanlake is a tall enough replacement, and could well be the X-factor that the Aussies need in a bowling attack that has blown hot and cold.
Playing XI: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (wk), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Siddle, Jhye Richardson, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake
https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-ne...e-to-do-the-double-against-troubled-australia
