India vs Australia | Indiaâs Predicted XI for second T20I in Melbourne
After the rain-marred game truncated in Australiaâs favour, India have a mighty task ahead of them to be alive to save their record of seven bilateral T20I series win record. However, Australia's resilient win at the Gabba will give them much-needed confidence after the no-show against South Africa.
Openers
Rohit Sharma: He may have a great record in T20s, but that is all about it. Rohit is as inconsistent as one would expect Glenn Maxwell or Corey Anderson to be in T20s. Time is ripe for him to make another statement at MCG, a venue where he had so many great memories in his previous tours Down Under.
Shikhar Dhawan: The southpaw has started the series on a good note and Gabbaâs big boundaries didnât stop him from scoring runs easily. Melbourne, where he owns a house, always brought the best out of him and the 2015 World Cup is the best example. Combining with the fact that the ball comes nicely to the bat, one will definitely bat for Dhawan.
Middle-order
Virat Kohli: The Indian skipper has had an underwhelming 2018 as far as T20s are concerned, but it has mostly to do with the fact that he batted out of No.3 to accommodate KL Rahul. However, Kohli averages 45 when he bats in the top three and that drops to 27 outside of it. This should be enough for him to make a comeback to his original position.
KL Rahul: The stylish Karnataka player is slowly making a joke of himself with regular failures. While his last IPL form made everyone believe that he can resurrect his career, it seems like he has taken it on himself not to do that. He is getting enough chances to redeem himself and time is running out for him.
Rishabh Pant: If the wicket-keeper hadnât gotten a good dressing down in the team meeting for the Brisbane dismissal, it would be a surprise. When he was in good touch, he squandered that opportunity and played a terrible reverse flick to end his stay at the crease. He uses his power for big-hitting, but MCG will respect them who uses it calculatingly. One miscalculated shot, and you will find the way to the pavilion.
Dinesh Karthik: Karthik continued to look in very good touch in the first game and almost pulled off a repeat of Nidahas Trophy final. While he failed at his pursuit, it was a gentle reminder of what the Tamil Nadu keeper brings to the table and that is the finishing prowess. India will be happy having him in the team.Â
All-rounder
Krunal Pandya: Krunal conceded runs and even failed to take the team down the line with the bat, but it was one-off. As per impact, he has shown that he is much better than anyone else in the country to take up the lone all-rounderâs spot. However, he needs to bowl more fuller and on the stumps at MCG to get the benefit of the spongy bounce it offers.
Pacers
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: The pacer was economical, conceding runs at an economy rate of 5 runs per over and made the Australian top-order suffer to no end. He may not be a quintessential bowler to bowl in the Australian conditions, but the
Jasprit Bumrah: The Mumbai Indians pacer is just three wickets away from becoming the second Indian bowler to reach the milestone of 50 T20I wickets after R Ashwin (52). It will be a good inspiration for him to breach the landmark after he picked up only one wicket in the first game.Â
Spinners
Kuldeep Yadav: There is an interesting stat about Kuldeep Yadav. In the first match of all the series he has played across formats, he averages 11 with a wicket every 14 balls, but that drops down to 29 and strike rate to 22 in the remaining matches. Will the same trend
Yuzvendra Chahal: Dropping Chahal for the first game was a blunder as Virat Kohli would have realised by now and he may not do the same mistake today. It will be very harsh on Khaleel Ahmed, but that is the only viable option available at the skipperâs disposal.Â
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