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Commentary
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Just about everything went wrong for India in their first game of this tour of Australia. The toss was a defining one in murky conditions and having been asked to bat, the stop-start nature of the contest did not help India one bit as they were undone by movement, pace and bounce in a truncated encounter.
Australia cantered home even as the possibility of a result seemed difficult for large swathes on Sunday. Skipper Mitchell Marsh orchestrated a comfortable chase but he was also right on the money with his decision-making, choosing to bowl his best bowlers out before their maximum quota of overs would be further reduced by the weather.
The only way forward for India hereon is upwards. Moving across to the eastern states for the last two one-dayers, the Men in Blue enter must-win territory but ought to enjoy the comforts of the Adelaide Oval a lot more, having not lost an ODI in their last five appearances at this venue dating back to 2012.
Of course, one man who simply loves batting here is Virat Kohli, who boasts of two ODI tons and three Test hundreds at this venue, besides an unbeaten 90 in a T20I as well. So much so that MS Dhoni once declared that the stadium would have a stand in Kohli's name by the time the latter was done playing. This could well be the last time the superstar batter turns up for an international game here and India would dearly want his love affair with the ground to continue as Kohli looks to put a duck in the opener behind him.
Rohit Sharma too endured a tough time in Perth as he swung hard at a couple of deliveries despite conditions warranting a more sedate approach. He was eventually bounced out by Josh Hazlewood, as was Shreyas Iyer, but skipper Shubman Gill did look the best of the top four before he was strangled down leg by an innocuous Nathan Ellis delivery. Axar Patel and KL Rahul put up a fight, as did Nitish Kumar Reddy with a couple of lusty hits in the final over, but a revised target of 131 in 26 overs was never going to trouble the Australians.
Once again, all eyes will be on Rohit and Kohli and whether or not they can shrug off their lack of game-time in recent months and set the tone for India to post a big total. Rohit in particular ought to enjoy the shorter square boundaries of the Adelaide Oval while this drop-in pitch is not expected to bounce as much as it did in Perth. This batting lineup has been India's best in one-dayers for a couple of years now with only the injured Hardik Pandya missing and they do not have reason to worry after a lone defeat.
That said, the decision to omit Kuldeep Yadav has courted a lot of scrutiny. Whilst not overly surprising given India's preference for batting depth, leaving out Kuldeep deprives the bowling attack of solid teeth particularly with Jasprit Bumrah also rested for this series. The pace attack, led by Mohammed Siraj, isn't a world beating one even as there is enough potential and though Washington Sundar elonagates the batting lineup, India will want to give this a rethink on what is expected to be a good batting surface.
Australia are set to welcome back two of their A-listers, Alex Carey and Adam Zampa, for this contest with the duo having missed the opener in Perth. Josh Philippe was tidy with the gloves and shut the door on India with an enterprising 29-ball 37 but he could be the one to get the axe as Carey returns. Matt Renshaw could move up to 4 with Carey slotting in at 5, but Matthew Short will be keen to put a forgettable outing with bat and ball behind him and make the most of his knowledge of having played for the Adelaide Strikers with overwhelming success at this venue for many years now.
Cooper Connolly and Mitchell Owen didn't get an opportunity to bat in the last game and will be eager to make a mark should they get a chance to do so this time around. Owen did bowl three decent overs and bag a couple of wickets on debut but the short squares could test him on Thursday. There's no denying the fact that the in-form Marsh and local lad Travis Head hold the aces at the top though. Head's bat has been dry of runs in recent times save for a hundred in a dead rubber against South Africa a couple of months ago. As he returns home though, he will look to tune up and unleash his best against a fancied opponent, while also taking some confidence forward ahead of the Ashes.
Elsewhere, Matthew Kuhnemann's pace variations and defensive death bowling were a revelation, but he is set to be the one to miss out for Zampa, with Mitchell Starc joining Ellis and Hazlewood in a strong pace attack. The manner in which Starc and Hazlewood set the game up with the new ball on Sunday would have pleased Marsh to bits - that is something he will expect of the star duo once again against an Indian top-order that boasts of experience but will naturally feel the heat.
With more experience to call upon, Australia begin as favorites for this one. India ought to feel more comfortable moving away from the pacey nature of the Perth deck and should be a lot more competitive, but there are a couple of question marks over the make-up of their bowling attack as well as the rhythm of their veterans. That is precisely what Australia will look to take advantage of with a win on Thursday sealing the series in their favor.
No Australia-India contest is an easy one anyway for either team. It often boils down to the key moments, while a full contest is bound to keep things on a much more even footing. If India can put their best foot forward, they could very well set up a decider on Saturday in Sydney. Irrespective of the outcome though, one can expect much closer duel this time around brimming with post-Diwali fireworks!
Australia Probable XI: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
India Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
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