Australian team made a comeback into the five-match ODI series with a triumphant win over India in the Ranchi ODI. Now the series stands at 2-1 in favor of the Indian team and the next match is scheduled to be played at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Sunday, March 10.
The Mohali pitch is known for its speed and bounce and more or less helps the fast bowlers. Also since the ball comes onto the bat, batsmen find it easy to score runs against the pace bowlers, which is aided by a lightning quick outfield. For Australia, a win this match will mean going into the final ODI in Delhi with the series on the line, while for India, winning in Mohali will mean, the scope of experimentation in Delhi with the series already won.
Therefore, without any further ado, Team COC presents to you the Predicted India Playing XI for the Mohali one-day match.
The match that India played on this ground in Chandigarh was an ODI against Sri Lanka in 2017 and decimated the opposition. Rohit Sharma, who was the captain of the side, scored his third ODI double ton in the match, first as captain and with Iyer and Dhawan making big fifties, India piled up 392/4. Something similar will be expected from both Rohit and Dhawan in Chandigarh, as they have disappointed, to say the least in the ODI series so far.
The match might also see some experimentation in bringing in KL Rahul to play at no.3 to give him some match time before the World Cup and to also give a try to Kohli at no.4, as per coach Shastri’s plans. This is to strengthen the middle order which has struggled to make runs at a decent pace with the openers failing in every match.
With MS Dhoni being rested for the last two ODIs, Rishabh Pant may get a shoo-in and a chance to bat at no.5. Though the team management and the coach have backed Pant as a prospect for the 2019 World Cup, with only two international matches in hand, Pant needs to grab the opportunity and seal his place for the mega event in England.
Kedar Jadhav and Vijay Shankar have done their bit to keep their places in the playing XI and combining them give India their fifth bowler. India might also think of resting their pacer Mohammad Shami, who suffered an ankle injury when a shot from batsman hit him flush on the ankle. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar back in the ranks, the time has come for him to renew his partnership with Jasprit Bumrah and stem the flow of runs in death overs.
Talking of runs, India has leaked runs in middle overs as well, with part-time bowlers providing relief to the batsmen. While Ravindra Jadeja has kept the flow of runs down, he hasn’t managed to pick any wickets in the middle overs, costing India dearly. That is the reason, India might look to bring in Yuzvendra Chahal to choke the opposition from scoring runs in the middle overs and pick wickets in tandem with Kuldeep Yadav, whose good work is going waste with runs leaking at the other end.