🏏India vs Australia ODI Series: 3rd ODI on 22/03/23, Chennai🏏 - Page 2

It’s the series decider in Chennai and the fact that India are facing the heat coming in for the all-important game, reveals how sharp Australia have been. Mitchell Starc has been raging fire with his booming inswingers, once again bringing India’s top order woes to to fore against quality left arm seam bowling. Also, their aggressive approach with the bat, with Mitch Marsh at the helm of it, has put relentless pressure on the Indian bowlers. India did stage an inspired comeback led by Shami in the middle overs at a lively Wankhede surface which was a testimony to India’s prowess as a top limited-overs side. But, the Men In Blue were blown away by the Men in Yellow in Vizag, where Starc delivered a masterclass in swing bowling. The Indian batters for sure need to tighten their guard but more importantly, they need to bat with a more clear mindset.

Pacers have been dominant in this series so far but expect the spinners to make a mark in Chennai – as we have seen in the IPL in the past, the surface here does offer appreciable turn and grip. But, the pitch has stayed under covers overnight owing to some rains in Chennai on Monday. Expect the ball to move around in the initial stages of the game. There’s pre-match talk that David Warner might return back from injury and if that’s the case, Mitchell Marsh might move down the order. Australia have the momentum on their side. But, expect India to bounce back as they will be eager to win their 7th bilateral series at home in a row. Stick around as toss and team line ups will be out in a while..

The ODI World Cup isn't too far - its probable dates from October 5 to November 19 has only increased the anticipation further - and India coach Rahul Dravid says they have "narrowed it down to 17-18 players" for the big event.

Another update from Prakash Govindasreenivasan: Maxwell is getting throw downs on the side and is batting with what I can best describe as a thin, straight log of wood. It looks nothing like a bat. Warner batted for half an hour in the nets yesterday and looked fine but I haven't spotted him here yet.

Pitch Report: Sanjay Manjrekar and Ajit Agarkar observe - Pitch is slightly off-center, so the dimensions change and it's going to be a long boundary. Bowlers have had a little bit of help in this series. This track has covering of grass, has rough through the centre. It's very hard and the roughness might come into play in the first innings. It might be slightly two-paced initially. Teams winning the toss will opt to bowl first and as it gets cooler it's a belter to bat.

Australia have won toss & have to bats

Agar & warner In while Green & Ellis out

No change in indian team

Teams:

Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey(w), Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Agar, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

Rohit Sharma: We were looking to field first. It's an important game and the deciders are always interesting. It's always good to put us in this situation. It's a challenge for us to come back and play some good cricket under pressure. Hopefully we can put our best foot forward. Australia are a good team and you can always test your depth. We are playing with the same team. We were thinking of playing with four seamers but the conditions here are suitable for the spinners, so we go with three spinners.

Australia have won the toss and have opted to bat

Steve Smith: We are gonna have a bat. Looks like quite a dry surface, it is pretty hot out here. Will look to put a good total on this surface. We have had good fun and it will be exciting in the decider. We love playing in the crunch games and it's exciting. It's dry, so Ashton Agar is back. David Warner is back and Cameron Green is feeling unwell, so there are changes.

Ravindra Jadeja: I am feeling good, confident and I will look to continue to do well for longer period of time. I have been working hard in NCA on my skills, I knew at some stage it would pay off and happy with my performance, don't like to take anything for granted. Everyone is happy, environment is positive and we are looking forward to this game.

Hot day in Chennai as expected. Australia ready to brave any dew in the evening to be able to utilise a dry slow pitch. Interesting to see if Warner breaks up the successful opening combination of Marsh and Head. The Australia team sheet slates Warner at 4, but it is not a legally binding document. Once once in his ODI career has Warner not opened.