🏏India vs Australia ODI Series: 3rd ODI on 22/03/23, Chennai🏏

🏏India vs Australia ODI Series: 3rd ODI on 22/03/23 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai at 1:30 PM IST🏏

Can the batters fight back in spin-friendly Chennai?

The fast bowlers have dominated the series so far but it is likely to be less seam-friendly in the series decider

Two of the best sides in the world. Two of the deepest batting line-ups in men's ODI cricket. Yet in the first two matches of this series, the fast bowlers dominated. It is unusual to see back-to-back ODIs in India where the team batting first have failed to reach 200. India were left shell-shocked in Visakhapatnam after a shellacking from Australia to level the series at 1-1. Mitchell Starc tore through India's top order again taking his 9th ODI five-wicket haul. Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis also took five between them as India were routed for just 117, before Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head mowed the total down in just 11 overs to hand India their largest-ever ODI defeat in terms of balls remaining.

What then is in store in Chennai infront of an expected full house? Both teams will be looking for some runs at a ground that isn't known as a high-scoring venue. There hasn't been an ODI played at MA Chidambaram Stadium since 2019. Australia last played here in 2017 but it was a rain-affected match.

For India, it is their last ODI until the tour of the Caribbean in August and they may only have three more at home before the World Cup begins. They experimented with three spinners in the line-up in Vizag but it was their batting that let them down. Whether they reshuffle the top order, particularly to avoid being so right-hand heavy when Starc is swerving missiles into their front pads, remains to be seen. Rohit Sharma noted after the second ODI that India's batters know what to expect from Starc and simply need to handle it better.

Like India, this is one of Australia's last opportunities on Indian soil before the World Cup although they may play a warm-up series in October. They too don't play another ODI until a tour of South Africa in late August. Their middle order hasn't had much of a chance to settle in this series. In game one they tried to be too aggressive following Marsh's early onslaught and in game two they were not required. The Marsh-Head opening combination has been a roaring success but David Warner's impending return is likely to reshape the line-up.

India vs Australia: Weather Report and Pitch Report Of Chennai Stadium- 3rd ODI

Chennai has hosted 35 ODIs till date with 15 games won each batting first and second. 230 is the average score batting first at this venue however, a score of around 260-270 is expected given the quality of batters in both sides. The pitch assists the spinners more than the pacers and thus changes in both the playing XIs are expected. Both sides might add an extra spinner in their ranks. 

The IND vs Aus 3rd ODI starts at 1.30 pm local time on March 22. The weather will be mostly hot and humid during the daytime. The temperature is expected to be around 33 degrees in the afternoon with humidity close to 80 percent. The evening will be clear and very humid. 

Team news:

India: If the team management have workload concerns with a WTC final coming up, Umran Malik could be in for Mohammed Shami. Malik spent a considerable amount of time bowling on Tuesday. Washington Sundar offers variety in finger spin and is a local, but the decision to bring him in for another finger spinner will not be straightforward.

Probable XI: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami/Umran Malik, Mohammed Siraj

Australia: Nathan Ellis did not have a clue on Warner's fitness update at the pre-match press conference but the opening batter spent around half an hour taking throwdowns from the support staff in scorching heat. He didn't look in too much discomfort and even practised running between the wickets. To accommodate him though, Australia will have to put one of their all-rounders on the bench.

Probable XI: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.

In the spotlight: Suryakumar Yadav and David Warner

Two balls, two first-ball ducks. Suryakumar Yadav has had a torrid start to this ODI series with Starc pinning him lbw twice in two deliveries with searing inswingers. Rohit has stated that he wants to give the world's No.1 T20I batter 7 to 10 games to find his feet at ODI level. Former Australia captain Aaron Finch observed that he needed to be sharper in his first few deliveries. For as good as Suryakumar has been at T20 level, he rarely has to deal with swinging conditions but with two new balls in play in ODIs it is different to T20Is. He has twice entered when the new ball has been less than three overs old in this series and Starc has still been swinging it. He has walked out to bat inside the first three overs in three of his last six T20Is, but twice he has faced a spinner first-up bowling with the new ball. Batting No.4 in ODI cricket when the ball is swinging is a different challenge.

David Warner has not played since he was subbed out of the Delhi Test with concussion. He also suffered a hairline fracture of his elbow in the same innings. Marsh has made a strong statement in his absence blasting 81 and 66 not out at the top of the order. Warner and Head have been an equally devastating opening combination sharing stands of 284, 269 and 147 in three of the seven innings they have opened together. While Warner's Test form over recent years has waned, his white-ball returns have been outstanding during the same period. He remains committed to playing in Australia's next two World Cups across ODI (2023) and T20I (2024) cricket. He batted for around half an hour in the nets on the eve of the match in Chennai and, if in the XI, will have a point to prove to dispel any hint of a thought that Australia might be better served with Marsh and Head remaining at the top of the order.

Did you know?

- Steve Smith is 51 runs away from 5000 ODI runs. He is also one century short of equalling Ricky Ponting for most ODI 100s against India for Australia.

- Virat Kohli has had extreme fortune at Chepauk. In seven ODI innings there, he has two fifties, one hundred and four single-digit scores.

What they said:

"To a large extent, I think we have got a lot more clarity at the end of these nine games, irrespective of whatever happens tomorrow. I think we will just keep building on that clarity. We are quite clear about the kind of squad we want. For us now it's really just about the different playing XI combinations and just ensuring that we play different combinations at times just to ensure that we are able to do that in the World Cup and we are not surprised by anything in the World Cup." - Rahul Dravid on how the squad is progressing on the road to the 50-over World Cup.

"Starcy has been huge for me. He is someone I've looked up to him for a lot of time. He presented me with my first Australia cap too. He is a big part of my Australia journey. He is a calming influence... Being able to rub shoulders with Starcy and sort of bounce ideas off.. It is something that I have cherished. It is invaluable." -Nathan Ellison the impact Mitchell Starc has had on his career.

Stats and trivia

• India and Australia played the first ODI ever at MA Chidambaram Stadium in 1987, which was a World Cup thriller where Marsh's father Geoff Marsh starred making 110. Australia have played four ODIs in Chennai since but only once against India.
• Batting second has proved very beneficial in the series so far but 13 of the 22 ODIs in Chennai have been won by the side batting first. But West Indies beat India chasing in the last ODI here in 2019.
• KL Rahul has 1954 runs in 50 ODI innings. If he scores another 46 on Sunday, he will be the joint second-fastest Indian behind Shikhar Dhawan (48 innings) to reach the landmark.
• Smith is 61 short of 5000 runs in the format. If he gets there in his next innings, he will be the joint second-fastest for Australia.

Thank you Raji for the thread and for tag. 🤗 

India and Australia have played only two ODIs in Chennai so far, and the last time they did, they were rescued by this local hero - as well as two others - after the hosts were 87 for 5 at one stage. This series has seen similar batting collapses twice already, and the batters will hope they can finally leave the country after respectable contributions. This is Himanshu saying hello for the final match of Australia's tour of India in 2023, with Sid Monga set to join me soon.

Talk of Chennai, but not of another of its heroes in Deiva Muthu? No way. Here he comes from the ground: "David Warner, who is working his way back from an elbow injury, batted for over 20 minutes at the nets yesterday, and his potential return could boost Australia. Having been blown away by Mitchell Starc in Vizag, India's batters faced plenty of left-arm darts at training, with the team analyst Hari Prasad Mohan even rolling his (left) arm over."