India vs Australia | India’s Predicted XI for second ODI in Nagpur

03/04/2019

BCCI

After a Kedar Jadhav-MS Dhoni show in Hyderabad, India will be taking on Australia in Nagpur in order to make the scoreline 2-0. While the spinners are supposed to rule the roost there, India will hope that their openers will make a statement after a few bad outings over a last couple of months.

Openers

Rohit Sharma: After that eye-catching century against Australia at the SCG, Rohit’s bat, surprisingly has stayed cold and he hasn’t been able to deliver as per the team’s expectations. It has put pressure on the middle-orders, and while it is a good thing that they are getting a crack at the target, with the World Cup approaching, Rohit needs to pull up his socks.

Shikhar Dhawan: 0, 14. 5, 30, 29, 6, 13, 28 - These are Shikhar Dhawan’s scores in the last eight matches. At a time, India are projecting their World Cup chances with the hope their top order would fire, this is not at all an encouraging sign. On Nagpur’s flat deck, Dhawan should try to get his mojo back as soon as possible.

Middle-orders

Virat Kohli: The Indian skipper got a very good start in the last ODI, forming a useful partnership with Rohit Sharma, but was undone in the 40s. Nobody is as consistent in ODI cricket as he is, but India can’t afford to have a bad day for him with the top-two not playing to the potential.

Ambati Rayudu: Once and for all, India have announced that Ambati Rayudu would play at No. 4 position in the World Cup and they wouldn't back away from that. However, the problem is that Rayudu, for all his consistency, looks very fragile even though he has had some good scores to his name. Bringing that confidence back would be his top priority.

MS Dhoni: Amidst the waning capabilities as a batsman, Dhoni offers insurance to the middle-order that is very much necessary to the team. After a top-order collapse, he is more often the man who can steer the team to a good total with his singles and couples, and that is exactly what was on show in Hyderabad. A hit-out innings would silence many voices, but again, it is always in the corner.

All-rounders

Kedar Jadhav: A street-smart cricketer, as Sunil Gavaskar regularly calls him, Kedar Jadhav has lived up to the tag nicely. Despite not being the most fluent batsman in the team, Jadhav remained successful in calculating the chases splendidly so as to make sure that he is invaluable in the team set-up.

Vijay Shankar: It is a shame that the team has used him one-dimensionally, often relegating him to mediocrity in both grounds. Despite having been featured in five ODIs, he has batted only once and unlike T20s, they have hardly tried to test him. Given the fact that he is going to be the back-up all-rounder to Hardik Pandya, it will be better for the team management to try him out sooner than later.

Ravindra Jadeja: Only one Ravindra Jadeja delivery in the last game had seen proper turn, and despite that he conceded only 33 runs in the 10 overs. Kuldeep operates at the other end as a wicket-taking option, and if Jadeja can repeat the performance, it takes a lot of pressure off the other bowlers’ shoulders.

Spinner

Kuldeep Yadav: The wrist-spinner was not at his best in the initial few overs, but once he found his rhythm, he was unstoppable. The googlies were coming out nicely and that meant the Aussies failed to boss the middle-overs. Australia’s mental block was wide in the open against which Kuldeep could take the benefit of.

Pacers

Jasprit Bumrah: It was an off-day for the Indian pacer, and although he picked up a couple of wickets, he conceded runs in middle overs. However, he is so good a bowler that Australia tried not to take risks against him even when he was not threatening.

Mohammed Shami: Rhythm is his biggest strength and the way he is operating at the moment, it seems like he is starting the World Cup ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Shami’s biggest strength is his capability to pick wickets effortlessly in the middle-overs which means India can afford to have a bad day for their spinners.

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