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Melbourne, Jan 17 : Rishi Dhawan has been handed his ODI cap. So who does he replace? After the last game, Dhoni spoke about Ashwin making for the all-rounder. What will be India's line-up for this do-or-die contest? Remember, Australia already have a 2-0 lead. Will the hosts make any changes to their XI? Anyway, we'll get the official confirmation at the toss in just a few minutes.
Pitch Report: 'It looks a bit different from Gabba and WACA, there will be some low bounce, but there's plenty of runs on offer. This wicket might assist the Indian bowlers a bit. The team winning the toss should bat first, there will be some swing on offer under lights and the ball might grip as well,' reckons Wasim Akram.
'Either, we put pressure on the batsmen and score 330 or ask them (Australia) to bat first. These are the two options that we have got,' said Dhoni after India's loss at the Gabba. The skipper is spot on. A lot has been spoken about India's problems with the ball during the death overs, but nowadays seems to be a problem developing with the bat as well. And, strangely, India haven't quite been able to press hard during the middle overs either. On the other hand, Australia know exactly how to do it. In the last game, even when Marsh and Finch weren't all that fluent in their opening partnership, they backed themselves and really turned it on after the drinks break and that put a lot of pressure on the Indian bowlers. So how are Dhoni's boys going to approach the batting today? We'll wait and watch.
Now onto MS Dhoni's boys. Rohit Sharma. Well, on a lighter note, two hundreds in two games after marriage - that's a great start. Isn't it? Dhoni and the whole of India would be blessing him, 'may he continue to shine.' Virat Kohli scored fifties in both the matches and is looking good for more. Ajinkya Rahane impressed everyone with the only chance he got - in the second ODI. Hang on, we missed someone in the top 4. Ah! Shikhar Dhawan it is. The opener's form is a big concern for the visitors as he managed just single figures in both the games. Here's a stat that would delight all you Dhawan fans or even the 30-year-old himself. The last time he played at the MCG, he made a fine hundred and that too in the World Cup and that too against the mighty South Africa.
We hardly have anything to talk about the bowlers so far. Two flat tracks and the batsmen made merry. Will the equation change today? As an avid cricket fan, I sincerely hope that it does. We all would want to watch an even battle between bat and ball. Won't we? Let's talk about the batsmen from both sides now. The hosts first. Australia - Aaron Finch failed in the first game, but made runs at the Gabba. Shaun Marsh, replacing David Warner (paternity leave) made the most of the opportunity and registered a fifty. Steven Smith can do nothing wrong against India. Now if you thought Smith loves batting against the Men in Blue, take a look at this. 9 innings, 671 runs, 2 hundreds, 4 fifties and all this at an average of 95.85. This is George Bailey's record against India in ODIs. Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade, James Faulkner are all there but there is not much to write about them as we haven't seen enough of them so far in the series.
Two of Rohit Sharma's hundreds have gone in vain for India. On the other hand, Australia registered two record-breaking victories at the WACA and Gabba respectively. Today we are at the picturesque 'G'. What is in store for us? Welcome to the third of the five-match ODI series. It's a chillaxing Sunday and we have two power-packed line-ups on show to entertain us. 1236 runs have been scored so far in the series and just 19 wickets fell against 40. So that tells you that it's been a bat-dominant series so far. Will we see 300 on the board once again? Remember, the boundaries here at the MCG are big, but nothing is impossible nowadays with the bat. Isn't it?