India vs Australia 2020: 2nd ODI, Rajkot – Australia’s Predicted Playing XI

A thumping 10-wicket victory in the opening ODI saw Australia gain a lead of 1-0 over India. The visitors will be the favourites going into the second ODI. None of the Indian bowlers could leave an impact as David Warner and Aaron Finch adopted the counter-attack strategy. Especially captain Finch, who looked for boundaries right at the start. The dew at Wankhede Stadium made it worse for the bowlers and fielders.

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Going into the second ODI, there will be changes in Team India’s line-up but Australia might retain the same combination as none of the batsmen, barring Finch and Warner, got an opportunity to bat.

Their spinners did a good job by not allowing settled Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul to accelerate in the middle-overs. As a result, the upcoming batsmen had to play attacking shots against the likes of Mitchel Starc and Pat Cummins.

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Both the pacers dominated Indian batsmen and the hosts just managed a total of 255 on the board. Keeping the conditions in mind, the total was an easy one for any team and Australia had no worries in chasing the target.

Australia’s bowling line-up will remain the same for the second ODI. Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa will be two spinners while Starc and Cummins will lead the pace attack again. Kane Richardson, who was preferred over Josh Hazlewood, should also play the second ODI. One can only expect Australia to ring changes if they pocket the series with a win in Rajkot.

India, meanwhile, will have a forced change as Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the contest due to concussion. The wicketkeeper-batsman was hit by a bouncer from Starc. He did not come out to do the wicketkeeping duties later – KL Rahul kept wickets in his absence.

He is expected to join the team in Bengaluru, the venue for the third ODI. Manish Pandey leads to a race to play his first ODI after 16 months.

Australia’s likely playing XI: Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Ashton Turner, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Kane Richardson