India vs Australia 2017: Star Player To Miss Final ODI

Australia will be without any of their front-line spinners for the fifth and final One-Day International against India as after Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa have also returned home for an undisclosed reason. The leg-spinner took to Instagram to reveal the news that he traveled to Melbourne with a ‘last minute ticket.

Zampa’s absence will be a big blow for the visitors who will be looking to make the most of the newly-found momentum and end the five-match series on a high. Australia have already lost the services of left-arm spinner Agar who was ruled out from the series after the third match when he fractured his finger. In Agar and Zampa’s absence, Steve Smith is likely to depend on the part-time bowlers in the final ODI scheduled to be played on Sunday (October 1).  Zampa is expected to return to India soon as he is also in the squad for the three-match T20I series.

Meanwhile, India have already sealed the series after winning the first three games before the visitors pulled one back in Bangalore. Steve Smith & Co. defeated the Men in Blue by 21 runs to win their first overseas ODI in 14 attempts and will be desperate to continue the streak. On the other hand, India will be even more desperate to win the game as a victory will help them reclaim the number one position in the rankings. Virat Kohli & Co. had held the position for a while after winning the first three games but dropped to second place after losing the fourth match.

India’s squad for the final ODI:

Virat Kohli(c), Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami

Australia’s squad for the final ODI:

David Warner, Steven Smith(c), Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Kane Richardson, Peter Handscomb, Aaron Finch