The final India vs Australia ODI at Rajkot might be a dead rubber in the context of the series, but it is the final ODI before World Cup for both sides. The final ODI will be played at Rajkot on 27th September 2023. It will be the last ODI match for both the sides before World Cup 2023.
Following is the India vs Australia today match preview of the 2nd ODI at Indore.
India vs Australia Today Match Preview
For Australia, they can avoid the whitewash by winning this and carry the momentum forward in the World Cup. For India, they can whitewash the Aussies and go in the World Cup with sheer confidence to dominate.
India won the first 2 ODIs against a comparatively weaker Australia. Australia have been trying too many things with their lineup. At times, they only went with Cummins, Abbott and Zampa only as their regular bowlers and relied on the all-rounders to bowl the remaining overs. At times, they tried resting Cummins and bought in Hazlewood and debutant Spencer-Johnson.
India have been brilliant in their home conditions. They also played their 2nd strength lineup and dominated Australia. They scored 399 in the last game at Indore which was indeed a massive total. Their bowling, batting and fielding, everything has been spot-on.
In the final ODI, India will have their senior players returning so we can expect them to start as favorites again. Meanwhile, Australia is also expected to bring out their best XI in the final ODI as this is their final ODI before World Cup so they will feature their best possible XI.
India Playing XI
India have the returning Rohit and Virat duo for this game. Meanwhile, they will be without Shubman Gill who has been rested. Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur and Mohammad Shami have also gone home while Bumrah returns.
Probable Lineup: Rohit Sharma (capt), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj.
Australia Playing XI
Pat Cummins will return to lead the side in the final ODI while Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc are also reportedly all set to make comebacks for Australia.
Probable Lineup: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (capt), Adam Zampa and Mitchell Starc.
Head to Head India vs Australia
Australia have won 82 out of the 148 ODIs played between the two sides. India lag behind in this rivalry with 56 wins while 10 games ended without any result.
Players to Watch Out for
The returning Rohit Sharma will indeed be a threat for Australia in the final ODI. In the absence of Gill, Rohit Sharma will have additional responsibility on his shoulders. Rohit showed good rhythm in the Asia Cup 2023 and he averages 59.23 against Australia in ODIs. With the ball, Mohammad Siraj remains the biggest threat for the Aussies. Siraj is the No.1 ODI bowler currently. He has 32 wickets inside PowerPlay overs in ODIs since 2022, so surviving his new ball is indeed a challenge.
For Australia, David Warner has scored 105 runs in this series averaging 52. Being a senior pro, Warner has done well and he has to do the same in the final ODI to avoid a whitewash. With the ball, Adam Zampa and the returning Mitchell Starc can be key for Australia. Zampa has 15 wickets in the last 9 ODI matches for Australia. Starc has played 3 ODIs this year and has taken 8 wickets at an impressive average of 21.12.
