Wounded India look to level the series at SCG

Australia handed India a 66-run drubbing in the first ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Friday. 

The prolific pair of Aaron Finch and David Warner have always unleashed their A-game against India in ODI format. On Friday, the duo yet again stitched a 156-run partnership, laying down a solid foundation. Out of the 11 century partnerships they have shared, four of them have come against India. The Aussie batting line-up sports a fierce look. David Warner, Aaron Finch and Steve Smith have been the real force behind their batting might. The opening ODI stood witness to this statement. While Finch and Warner gave hosts the head start, Steve Smith's quickfire century ensured that they finished with a mountainous total on board. The spotlight will once again be on the trio to do the bulk of the scoring. 

Josh Hazlewood, with his tidy and nagging lengths, posed a few tough questions early in the innings. The New South Wales pacer ran through the top-order, gagging Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in the space of 10 overs. At 101-4, Shikhar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya combined forces to safeguard the run-chase. Another wicket at that stage would have put curtains on the run-chase. While Pandya played the aggressor role, Shikhar Dhawan held fort at another end. It was a 128-run partnership between the duo ignited hopes. Soon after, Adam Zampa got the better of Shikhar Dhawan, who holed out to the fielder at mid-off. The combination of dot balls and a creeping asking rate multiplied the pressure. In an attempt to up the ante, Hardik Pandya fell 10 runs short of what could have been his maiden ODI century. 

Kohli will be hoping for a better showing from the fielders. Both the teams were sloppy on the field, dropping as many as seven catches. The toss will have a huge bearing on the result of the match and the team winning the toss would definitely look to bat first and post a formidable total on the board. With Hardik Pandya not opting to roll his arm over due to an injury concern, the lack of a sixth bowling option proves to be a major cause of concern for the visitors. Australia has an abundance of bowling options, unlike India. Come Sunday, a big knock could be on the offing from the Indian skipper. Kohli, who fell prey to Josh Hazlewood delivery, looked set to play a defining inning on Friday. As far as the playing XI is concerned, the visitors might try a different combination. 

The team would look to shrug off their loss and level the series when they take on the in-form opponent at the same venue on Sunday. 

Match Details 

Date: 29 November

Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG)

Time: 9:10 AM [IST] 

Teams

India: Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan.

Australia: Aaron Finch (C), David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Cameron Green, Moises Henriques, Andrew Tye, Daniel Sams, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper).