Australia won the toss and decided to bat first against India in the second and penultimate match of the series in Adelaide.
Here is what the captains said:
Aaron Finch:
“We are gonna bat first mate. Looks like a good wicket to bat, and we’ll look to pressure on with a good score.”
Virat Kohli:
“We would have batted first. The conditions are going to be a big factor for us. We were a bit scratchy at Sydney. We can’t take Australia lightly in Australia. Mohammad Siraj makes his debut today, Khaleel Ahmed makes way for him.”
Preview:
High-flying Team India was given a reality check by Australia in the first ODI at the SCG. The Men in Blue were the firm favourites to win the contest but Australia came up with a fine all round effort to take the lead in the three-match series. Batting first, Australia piled up 288 for 5 with Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja scoring fifties. In reply, India could only manage 254 for 9 despite Rohit Sharma scoring a stunning century.
The defeat once again exposed India’s weak link – too much dependence on the top-three and the fragile middle-order. Not only that, MS Dhoni’s batting position was also up for discussion after he scored 51 off 96 balls while coming in at number 5. Australia also had their own problems despite the win. The team-management faced criticism for sending hard-hitting Glenn Maxwell at number seven. The hosts were struggling to score quickly but decided against sending the hard-hitting batsman early.
Both the teams will be looking to sort out the issues before locking horns in the all important clash. Australia have a chance to start the year with a bang by winning the series after a forgettable 2018 while India will be eyeing to keep the series alive as they eye their maiden bilateral ODI series Down Under.
Playing elevens:
Australia:
Aaron Finch(c), Alex Carey(w), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle, Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff
India:
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w), Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami
