IND v AUS Prediction: Who will win the India v Australia 3rd T20I?

It was January 31, 2016 at the Sydney Cricket Ground when India overhauled Australia’s total off the very last ball to win by 7 wickets and complete their very first whitewash of a three-match T20I series.

On December 8, 2020, almost five years later, all eyes will again be at the SCG as India take the field in a bit to extend their winning streak in the shortest format to 10 matches, and in turn, cap off a sixth T20I series clean sweep. However, there is a game to be played before that.

The tables have indeed turned from how the ODI series began, and Virat Kohli’s side is in form again after winning the last ODI and the opening two T20Is. Yes, India are bereft of the in-form Ravindra Jadeja, who suffered a concussion and a hamstring injury in the first T20I on December 4 (Friday). But they are also buoyed by the inclusion of an extra all-rounder in Washington Sundar.

If one can argue that the Tamil Nadu lad hasn’t been in the best of forms with either bat or ball, they also cannot look beyond the fact that India have put on well-rounded performances in their last three games. Be it Shardul Thakur chipping in with wickets or Shreyas Iyer – batting at No. 6 – playing a 5-ball cameo, everyone has contributed to the victories.

One of the bigger holes during the 3-match ODI series was the form of the openers. And India seemed to have successfully plugged it as Shikhar Dhawan, and KL Rahul put on 56 runs for the opening wicket to give India a solid start in the second T20I.

But the key to India looking a formidable outfit has been the form of Hardik Pandya and T Natarajan. Though Pandya hasn’t rolled his arm over in the T20I series yet, he has made telling contributions with the bat, including having the last laugh after smashing Daniel Sams for two sixes to seal the series on Sunday.

In T Natarajan, Virat Kohli has found a reliable bowler to check the run flow and deliver wickets at any stage of the game. The left-arm speedster has truly established himself on the international arena after executing his bouncers and cutters, in addition to his toe-crushers, and scalping 5 wickets an average of 10 in the two games so far.

On the other hand, Australia are suddenly on the back foot, and have more concerns to address. Captain Aaron Finch and Ashton Agar injured their hip and calf muscle respectively in the first T20I, while Mitchell Starc has been struggling with back and rib niggles.

Led by a new-look opening pair of stand-in captain Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short, Australia looked in great touch with the bat. Almost everyone got off to starts as the hosts reached an imposing 194 for 5 at the end of 20 overs. But the match was lost in the second innings.

As much as the Indian batters played well and took the attack to the Aussie bowlers, the bowlers actually succumbed to that attack. Except for leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson (1 for 25), all others conceded at a minimum of 9 runs an over.

There were also a few questionable moves by the new skipper, particularly the decision to take Sams off the attack after going for just 5 runs in his first over. It somehow led to the Indian openers breaking their shackles with relative ease, and the momentum gained eventually led to them winning the game with two balls to spare.

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IND v AUS 2020: India v Australia match prediction

India not only look the stronger side on paper, but they also have momentum on their side and will go into tomorrow’s contest as the favourites. It is a dead rubber, but both sides would want to finish the white-ball leg on a high before heading into the 4-match Test series starting on December 17.

That said, India and Australia would get a chance to test their bench strength and rest some of their key players for the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Injuries have sucked the blood out of the home side’s dugout, and India would aim to capitalise on that and extend their unbeaten streak in T20Is to 12 matches.

Prediction: India to win.