Indore: Packed with an incisive bowling attack, an upbeat Team India would look to pile on the misery for a struggling Australia and seal the five-match series when they clash in the third ODI here, Sunday.
It was no small task for Virat Kohli and his men to defend a modest 252 on the Eden Gardens wicket, which despite being a two-paced track favoured the batsmen.
The hosts have their bowling combination comprising Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, working superbly for them while the wrist spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal has made the Kangaroos dance to their tunes.
Australia’s plight could easily be gauged from the fact that eight of their batsmen could not touch double-digit scores in Chennai, while only four of them could score more than 10 runs in Kolkata.
India have surely taken a giant step for yet another series win, but the team has allowed the Australian to create a few openings that could have proved detrimental if there were not some rescue acts.
If the top order floundered in the series-opener, the middle order squirmed in Kolkata, where the bowlers won the match for the hosts. Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey have not done something worthwhile. Considering that the team management is looking to identify the number four and five positions for the 2019 World Cup in England, Pandey so far has failed to impress while Jadhav has proved that he is a utility batsman as well as a bowler but he needs to be consistent.
The major reason why the Indian batsmen have not been able to dominate the World Champions is their pacers, especially Nathan Coulter-Nile. Coulter-Nile has unswervingly put the ball outside off stump on good length, reminding of the Australian great Glenn McGrath, who was always a thorn in India’s flesh with his teasing perfect line and length. Pat Cummins has also done reasonably well, bowling in tandem with Coulter-Nile.
The major concern for the visitors is their spinners. Adam Zampa was taken to the cleaners by Pandya in Chennai and was immediately dropped. However his replacement Ashton Agar has hardly troubled the Indians in Kolkata.
The curator has already predicted that wrist spinners will be effective on Holkar track, giving India enough reasons to smile.
Australia, on the other hand, need David Warner to fire at top of the order and Glenn Maxwell to see the side through in the middle order. India has largely managed to contain captain Steve Smith but the kind of fighter he is, a big knock is expected from him. But more than anything, he needs all his batsmen to buck up and provide some resistance.
They have badly missed Aaron Finch, who has not played as yet due to a calf muscle injury and if he comes back, it will be a big boost for them.
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