Daijiworld Media Network
Melbourne, Jan 18 : After a gruesome Test series, Team India are back playing their favorite form of the game - ODIs. They come into this series after successful triumphs over England and Sri Lanka. The ODI outfit has been in top form for the past 12 months, thanks mainly to the batsmen and the spinners.
The batting order looks more or less settled for India, with Dhawan and Rohit opening and Virat, Rahane, Raina and Dhoni forming the middle-order. It is the bowling that will be a concern for the visitors as the fast bowlers have lacked discipline and penetration so far in the tour. With Ishant and Jadeja ruled out, the onus is on Bhuvi and Ashwin to spearhead the attack.
Meanwhile, Australia cruised to victory in their first game against England. Starc provided them a dream start by picking two wickets in the very first over of the game and restricting England to 234. David Warner, then came out all guns blazing. The opener scored his first hundred in almost two years and saw his side overhaul the target comfortably.
The hosts rested their ace bowler, Mitchell Johnson in the previous game and even gave Josh Hazlewood a break. Will the Aussies bring these two back and change a winning composition? Hello and a warm welcome to the second ODI of the tri-series at the MCG.
Pitch Report: 'It looks like an excellent pitch. There is no grass on the wicket. Whatever grass was there it has been rolled over. It is a good batting wicket. The team will want to bat first as the ball will swing under lights,' reckon Sunil Gavaskar and Wasim Akram
Gurinder Sandhu is set to make his ODI debut, he just received his cap from Rodney Marsh, becoming player No.206 to play for Australia. We still do not know who he is replacing.
India have won the toss and have opted to bat
Bailey: 'We were brilliant in the first game. The fielding needs a bit of improving. I was reasonably happy with how we played the other day. Eoin Morgan played an excellent innings. If we take early wickets, it makes death bowling a lot easier. Gurinder Sandhu makes his debut, he has been consistent in domestic cricket and deserves his chance. He replaces Xavier Doherty.'
Dhoni: 'We are looking to bat. The wicket looks good and the ball will come on nicely. A lot will depend on the dew factor. It is always good to be back. Yes, I have retired from the longer format, but good to be back playing ODIs. The World Cup is still far away, we have to concentrate on this tournament. It is almost the same side, the batting side is the same. Akshar Patel comes in. He is a tall lad, who can extract some extra bounce on this wicket.'
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Akshar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav
Australia (Playing XI): Aaron Finch, David Warner, Shane Watson, Steven Smith, George Bailey(c), Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin(w), James Faulkner, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Gurinder Sandhu
Match Preview :
The time for experimentation is running out. It is time to finalise team compositions and secure a winning habit. With the 2015 WC just 28 days away, it is crunch time as teams aim to gather momentum. For defending champions India, the preparations reach a head when they take on Australia in the second match of the tri-series in Melbourne on Sunday.
Australia have made a statement with their victory with bonus point against England in Sydney on Friday. The hosts have always been a tough proposition at home and their showing on Friday secured that reputation. For India, who have lost just two games in the last 12 matches and have won four successive ODI series, will aim to extend their winning habit ahead of the World Cup.
Team news
India
Aggressive openers. Check. Solid middle-order. Check. Excellent finishers. Check. India tick the batting boxes. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have shown their mettle at the top. However, India's X-factor is Virat Kohli, a reliable match-winner. He was Indias leading run-scorer in ODIs in 2014 with 1054 runs (average 58.55) and is in great form in Australia, having scored four hundreds in the recent Test series. Suresh Raina is another key player for India in ODIs. His century off 75 balls against England in Cardiff sparked off India's recent domination. With MS Dhoni at the helm and Ajinkya Rahane playing the floaters role to perfection, the batting looks impregnable.
However, there are questions when it comes to bowling. Though Mohammed Shami picked up 38 wickets in 16 ODIs last year, he had an economy rate of 6.16. The rest of the bowling has struggled for consistency. Death bowling has been a massive issue for Dhoni. India coach Bharat Arun put the pacers through their paces in Melbourne, emphasising the right line and lengths on these wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar got an extended net session following his rusty show in the Sydney Test while Ishant Sharma miss out in the first match due to a sore knee. Axar Patel and R Ashwin will man the spin department, considering the nature of Australian pitches this summer
Australia
The hosts started off their campaign on a bright note. David Warner scored a brisk century and the middle-order was solid though none went on to make a big score. Australias real challenge will be for someone to step up the plate in case Warner and Steven Smith fail to make a big score. The bowling was well led by Mitchell Starc in Mitchell Johnsons absence. Starc generated good swing and pace and ended up with four for 42 in the first match against England. Pat Cummins bowled with good pace while James Faulkner kept it tight in the middle overs. They will have to tighten their death bowling though. In Sydney, they conceded 67 runs in 7.5 overs and will be looking to avoid a similar fate at Melbourne. Although, Warner complained of a sore hamstring in Sydney, he might play and thus the team might make no changes.