AUS vs IND: India’s possible playing XI in the ODI series against Australia
After dominating the Australian team in their last tour, team India is all set to get back there and lock horns with one of their fiercest competitors once again. Starting from the 27th of November, India will be playing against the Aussies in a 3 match One Day International series followed by Test and T20I matches later.
Having won the ODI series last time around by a 2-1 margin, India would be hungry to replicate their success this time around again. The players have had match practice playing in the Indian Premier League in the UAE and after landing in Australia, have been toiling hard in the practice sessions. A bunch of Australian players were also a part of the tournament and would not have spent even a single moment away from the nets since they landed back in Australia. Hence, a tough challenge would await the Indian team when they play their matches against them. Here we have a look at the line-up that the Indian team might go with onto the field in the ODI series.
Openers (Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal)
India, since 2013, has never seen a downtime in the opening department. With Shikar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma leading the charge of the batting attack upfront, there have been certain hiccups but no such dark phase where the team did not get off to good starts for matches after matches. But, in this series, though Shikhar Dhawan will be getting a new opening partner in the form of Mayank Agarwal. Rohit Sharma is recovering from an injury and is not a part of the One Day International team that is set to play against Australia.
Both Mayank and Shikhar were in great form with the bat in the recently concluded Indian Premier League, with the latter finishing as the second-highest run-getter of the tournament. They will want to carry that form into the One Day International matches against Australia. They will be tasked with getting the team off to good starts and lay a good foundation for the batsmen coming after them to build upon.
Just 1 day to go for #AUSvIND
The numbers seem to be in favour of Australia but when it comes to bilateral series, both teams have 6 series wins under their belt! pic.twitter.com/nkDNEpNt05
— 100MB (@100MasterBlastr) November 26, 2020
Middle Order (Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul)
One of the best batting lineups in recent years that India has had is this. And, the batters in the middle order of this line-up are nothing short in terms of form, experience and determination to take on the Aussie bowlers during the One Day International matches.
Starting off from the captain of the team, Virat Kohli who will be taking in the number 3 spot, had a decent season with the bat this IPL and was one of the highest run-getters for his team. And, coming into this series, he would be determined to get some wins and runs under his belt. The batsmen following him, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul were also in great form with the bat in hand and will surely want to give their best in this series. Iyer led his team from the front during IPL and will want to carry that same mindset into the Indian dressing room. KL Rahul was the highest run-scorer in IPL and will surely be a force to reckon with for the Australian bowlers at number 5.
All-rounders (Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja)
The all-rounder department is one such area in this Indian team that could need some kinks to be hammered out. A really qualified and capable all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja, will have the responsibility to wrap up the inning with the bat and provide support with the ball in the middle overs.
Hardik Pandya was in such great touch with the bat during the Indian Premier League but did not bowl even a single over too. He will be definitely working out the best way possible to get back into the groove and do well with the Indian team. His partner Ravindra Jadeja’s form would surely relieve the management. Jadeja was looking to be in good touch with both the bat and the ball in the IPL and came in with crucial contributions for his franchise. And, going into this tour he will be looking to make his mark donning the blue jersey too.
Bowlers (Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Japrit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini)
The bowling department is another such area in the Indian team that Kohli would have literally very fewer things to worry about. All these men have been in great touch with the ball off late, with each one having the capability to take wickets at will and control the flow of runs whenever they are bowling in tandem.
Their numbers in the Indian Premier League, in the UAE, where the conditions don’t ideally favour the pace bowlers, were brilliant. Yuzvendra Chahal was always tough and stood tall to every bit of aggression from the batsmen. And, the pack of the pacers individually in terms of their performance looked well in the IPL and as per the videos released on the internet, have been working hard to get together as a group and adjust their bodies and bowling styles to the conditions in Australia.
