The third and final One-Day International between India and Australia is set to take place in Chennai on March 22 (Wednesday). The series is locked at 1-1 at the moment. The series opener in Mumbai saw Australia collapsing to 188 and paying the price for it as India chased down the score with five wickets in hand. Well, the second game witnessed the ruthlessness of the visitors who skittled the Men in Blue for just 117 runs with Mitchell Starc taking a five-fer and then gunned down the target in just 11 overs with 10 wickets in hand.
India's proud home record is at stake even as the weather in Chennai is a bit iffy right now. Major parts of India is currently experiencing a lot of rain and Chennai is no different to it. There is every chance of conditions being overcast and that will make the toss extremely important, like it has been in the first two ODIs. The teams batting first have struggled posting scores of 188 and 117.
Will India bench Suryakumar Yadav?
Suryakumar Yadav is in focus at the moment with twin golden ducks in the first two ODIs. He hasn't scored enough runs in the previous 10 ODI innings either and calls have grown for him to be dropped. However, India do not have any specialist middle-order batter with Ishan Kishan and Washington Sundar on the bench. Also, Rohit Sharma backed Surya stating that he will get decent number of chances with Shreyas Iyer injured as well. Having said that, Chennai ODI will be the last chance in a long time for Suryakumar to make an impression in the format in the World Cup year.
Also Read: IND vs AUS 3rd ODI Live Streaming Details
What about David Warner?
Well it has been a strange week for David Warner. He has been appointed as captain of Delhi Capitals for IPL 2023 but the man hasn't played yet in the ODI series. According to Steve Smith, he was yet to recover from injury sustained during the Test series but there was no update from the captain ahead of the second game. It was reported that Warner didn't play due to corked quad but the man specifically termed it as 'fake news'. It remains to be seen if he is included in the XI for the decider especially after the way Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh batted in the previous outing.
Will Umran Malik play?
Calls have grown for Umran Malik's inclusion in the playing XI since India's defeat in the second ODI. But whom will he replace? Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj have done well so far apart from a blip in the previous game. Looking at the Chennai surface, the hosts might not go with three specialist pacers. This means, the speedster will only get a chance if either of Siraj or Shami is rested.
What has happened to Glenn Maxwell?
Well, Maxwell not playing the second ODI was certainly a surprise for many. Smith confirmed that he pulled up a bit sore but Australia are spoilt for choices among all-rounders. If Maxwell is fit, will they drop Nathan Ellis who did well in Visakhapatnam?
