Australia maintained their top status in the ODI series against India on Saturday when they won another toss and elected to bat in the third and final ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Skipper Mitchell Marsh opted to set a target after Australia targeted a 3-0 clean sweep, which would be their first-ever against India in the men’s ODI bilateral series.
The hosts made one change in their playing XI, bringing in seamer Nathan Ellis for Xavier Bartlett who had an impressive outing at Adelaide with three wickets, including that of Virat Kohli (0). There were also senior pacers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood who, despite little break between matches, couldn’t be rested. Starc is retired from T20Is and will not play a part in this series, but Hazlewood is still very much a part of Australia’s T20I plans.
India, meanwhile, made two changes at the top of their order. Left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav got his first game of the series, replacing Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna was added to the pace attack. Allrounder Nitish Reddy was unavailable for selection due to a left quadriceps injury suffered in the second ODI. Many Indian players had also suffered cramps in that game.
This game is set to be the swan song for senior stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma on Australian soil, which will only add a special emotional touch for this battle. Kohli, though, has struggled with scores of successive ducks in the series.
The toss outcome also extended India’s remarkable run of misfortune – their 18th successive toss defeat in ODIs. The series having already been clinched, Australia will aim for a historic clean sweep as India try to save face in the final encounter.
India Plating XI: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav
Australia Playing XI: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Matthew Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood
