India will have to quickly put behind a massive bowling failure, sloppy fielding and tactical mistakes to tame a resurgent Australia in the series-deciding fifth ODI at Delhi on Wednesday. The hosts India can heave a sigh of relief with Shikhar Dhawan striking form. Going by history, the surface should be ideal for wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal as the slow bowlers have done well in the previous games.
Vijay Shankar has done a reasonably fine job with the bat in the limited chances he has got but Rishabh Pant did not do any good to his wicket-keeping reputation by missing chances in Mohali. The top and middle-order is largely settled and tomorrow’s game will be one last chance for Pant, Shankar, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja to do something special and prove their worth.
For Australia, Usman Khawaja has been the man for Australia this series. His stellar show at the top has been instrumental in the visitors’ turnaround in the series. Getting him early would be crucial to India’s chances. With skipper Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb and new sensation Turner contributing in the team’s good run, this Australian side is definitely on the right track to regain its status as one of the most formidable sides.
India’s probable playing 11: Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Kedar Jadhav, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Australia’s probable playing 11: Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Jhye Richardson, Adam Zampa, Pat Cummins, Alex Carey, Jason Behrendorff.
FPJ’s dream 11: Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Ashton Turner, Rishabh Pant, Jason Behrendorff, Adam Zampa, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
With PTI inputs
