Match Preview – India vs Australia, Australia in India 2022/23, 3rd ODI

By shkhfiroj@gmail.com Last updated Mar 21, 2023 0

Big picture: Can the batters fight back?

Two of the best parties in the world. Two of the deepest batting positions in men’s ODI cricket. Still, the fast bowlers dominated in the first two games of this series. It is unusual to see back-to-back ODIs in India where the team batting first failed to reach 200. India was left shocked in Visakhapatnam after attacking from Australia to level the series at 1-1. Mitchell Starc again ripped through India’s top spot and again took his 9th five-wicket ODI haul. Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis also bagged five as India were defeated for just 117, before Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head mowed the total in just 11 overs to give India their biggest ever ODI defeat in terms of balls remaining.

So what awaits Chennai with an expected full house? Both teams will look for some runs on a ground not known as a high-scoring venue. No ODI has been played at MA Chidambaram Stadium since 2019. Australia last played here in 2017, but it was a rain-affected game.

It will be India’s last ODI until August’s Caribbean tour and they may have just three left before the World Cup kicks off. They experimented with three spinners in the lineup in Vizag, but it was their at bat that let them down. Whether they rearrange the top order, especially to avoid being so right-handed heavy when Starc swings missiles into their front pads, remains to be seen. Rohit Sharma commented after the second ODI that India’s batters know what to expect from Starc and they just need to do better.

Like India, this is one of Australia’s last chances on Indian soil for the World Cup, although they may play a warm-up series in October. They, too, will only play another ODI during a tour of South Africa at the end of August. Their middle order hasn’t had much of a chance to establish itself in this series. In game one they tried to be too aggressive after Marsh’s early attack and in game two they didn’t oblige. Marsh-Head’s opening pairing has been a resounding success, but David Warner’s imminent return is likely to change the lineup.

India LWWWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)

In the spotlight: Suryakumar Yadav and David Warner

Two balls, two first-ball ducks. Suryakumar Yadav has had a torrid start to this ODI series with Starc pinning him twice lbw in two deliveries with searing inswingers. Rohit has stated that he wants to give the world No. 1 T20I batsman 7 to 10 matches to find his footing at ODI level. Former Australia captain Aaron Finch commented that he needed to be sharper in his first few deliveries. For as good as Suryakumar has been at T20 level, he rarely faces swinging conditions, but having two new balls in play in ODIs is different from T20Is. He has come in twice when the new ball was less than three overs old in this series and Starc was still swinging it. He has run away to bat in the first three overs in three of his last six T20Is, but twice faced a spinner bowling first with the new ball. Hitting number 4 in ODI cricket when the ball swings is another challenge.

David Warner has not played since dropping out of the Delhi Test with a concussion. He also suffered a hairline fracture of his elbow in the same innings. Marsh made a strong statement in his absence by not putting 81 and 66 at the top of the rankings. Warner and Head were an equally devastating opening combination, sharing stands of 284, 269 and 147 in three of the seven innings they opened together. While Warner’s test form has declined in recent years, his return on white balls has been outstanding over the same period. He remains committed to playing in Australia’s next two World Cups in ODI (2023) and T20I (2024) cricket. He netted for about half an hour on the eve of the game in Chennai and, if he’s in the XI, he’ll have a point to prove as he dispels any hint of a thought that Australia might be better served with Marsh and Head who stayed behind. at the top of the order.

India will again consider three spinners despite the conspiracy against them in Vizag. They may head back to the pit with the same team to give the batting group and three-spin combination another chance in friendlier Chennai conditions.

India (likely): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav/Washington Sundar, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Australia will continue to experiment. If Warner and Glenn Maxwell are fit, they will probably both return. Warner would open and Marsh could slide to number 3 or 4 depending on how they want to structure the middle order. Marnus Labuschagne would probably miss. Australia could once again try an all rounder heavy lineup. Marcus Stoinis did not bowl in the final game, which may have been partly due to work pressure, but also because Nathan Ellis played as the fourth specialist bowler, meaning he was not needed. Ashton Agar could be an opportunity if the field looks to be spinning with an all-rounder at number 8, two spinners and a fast, an option Australia could consider.

Australia (likely): 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Alex Carey (wk), 6 Cameron Green, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Marcus Stoinis, 9 Sean Abbott/Ashton Agar/Nathan Ellis, 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Adam Zampa

It rained in Chennai on Monday, interrupting Chennai Super Kings practice, but it is expected to clear up on Wednesday. However, the weather can be hot and humid so there is the prospect of more swing and seam moves, although MA Chidambaram Stadium has been known to be much more spin-friendly in limited overs cricket in recent years, especially in the IPL.