Ind vs Aus, 2nd ODI - Preview, probable XI, match prediction, live streaming, weather forecast and pitch report

While everyone was aware of the fact that the visiting Australian ODI side was capable of beating India at home, nobody would have expected the result to turn out the way it did in the first encounter in Mumbai.

Not only did Australia restrict India to a below-par score of 255 on a flat Wankhede wicket, they chased down the target without losing any wicket as well.

Warner and Finch’s partnership of 256 was the highest opening partnership by any team against India in ODI cricket and it raised several questions on the Indian bowling unit.

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If Australia win in Rajkot, it will be the second time in succession that they will beat India in an ODI series at home. They had won the ODI series 3-2 the last time these two teams had gone head-to-head back in 2019.

While everything went nearly perfectly for the Kangaroos in Mumbai, the exact opposite can be said about the Indians who had no positives to take from the match apart from the second wicket partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul which kept them in the game for a short duration. India’s approach as well as team selection will be under the scanner in Rajkot.

Match Details

Date: January 17, 2020 (Friday)

Time: 01:30 PM (IST)

Venue: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot

Weather Forecast

It’s going to be nice and sunny in Rajkot on Friday. The temperature will be in the range of 20-24 degree Celsius in the afternoon. However, as the day progresses, it might get a little chilly in the evening with the temperature expected to come down to 8 degree Celsius. The ball might move a little bit in the second innings because of the nip in the air.

Pitch Report

The pitch at Saurashtra Cricket Stadium is generally a batting paradise. It’s not the biggest ground in the world and the fast bowlers hardly get anything out of the surface.

Except for the early part of the second innings where the ball might move a little bit as it did in Mumbai, the surface should mostly favour the batsman. The dew coming in later in the evening will make bowling further difficult, particularly for the spinners. The captain winning the toss will like to chase.

Probable XI

India

India played both Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul together in Mumbai and Virat batted at no. 4. The experiment clearly didn’t go well and Virat, after the game, hinted that he might get back to his usual position of no. 3 further in the series. If the Indian captain plays at 3, Rahul will go down to 4 and Shreyas Iyer will continue batting at 5.

Reports have suggested that Rishabh Pant has not travelled with the team and might not play in Rajkot because of concussion and in that case, Rahul will keep wickets, while Kedar Jadhav will potentially replace Pant in the starting XI. Shardul Thakur looked largely ineffective with the ball in the first ODI and there is a case for him to be replaced by Navdeep Saini.

Predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah

Australia

Australia will go with an unchanged XI, barring any injuries. All the players did their job well in Mumbai. Starting from the fast bowling trio which not only kept it tight early on in the innings, they managed to find regular breakthroughs in the middle overs and then bowled with accuracy in the death overs too.

The spinners were also able to contain the Indian batsmen pretty nicely before Finch and Warner got the job done with a record opening partnership while chasing the target. The visitors don’t have any reason to make changes in their XI.

Predicted XI: Aaron Finch, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Ashton Turner, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa

Prediction

Given the kind of performance Australia put on at Wankhede, they will be very high on confidence going ahead in the series. While India should not be underestimated, Australia might just pip them again in Rajkot and take an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series.