- With the series already out of India’s grasp, the men in blue will be desperate to salvage some pride in the 4th ODI in Canberra on Wednesday.
- The focus will be on the young trio of Manish Pandey, Gurkeerat Mann and Rishi Dhawan when Dhoni names his playing eleven.
- David Warner is back to the Australian team from paternity leave.
With the series already out of India’s grasp, the men in blue will be desperate to salvage some pride by avoiding a whitewash. Their spiritless bowlers need to put up a far more inspired show to stop the Australians in the fourth and penultimate ODI in Canberra on Wednesday.
India’s batsmen have gone about their job efficiently, posting big totals on the board but the bowlers have been ordinary at best, allowing the hosts to chase down those tall scores in each of the first three matches in Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne to concede a 3-0 lead.
It will be the first time that India will take on Australia at the Manuka Oval. The Men in Blue have played here only once before, losing to Sri Lanka in the 2007-08 CB Series.
India’s Young Guns
The focus will be on the young trio of Manish Pandey, Gurkeerat Mann and Rishi Dhawan when Dhoni names his playing eleven.
Shikhar Dhawan scored his first half-century in this series at Melbourne, his second in eight ODIs, and in doing so perhaps assured himself of playing in the remaining two matches as well.
R Ashwin could come back into the frame, with the management keen on giving him a couple of games to fine- tune his bowling ahead of the T20 series.
He is a key member of India’s T20 plans, irrespective of conditions and thus India could be looking to play two spinners once again.
That could put Rishi Dhawan’s spot in danger, while strengthening the case for Mann. Alternately, the latter’s control in the middle overs at Melbourne, as well his change of pace could put him in pole position.
Tired Fast Bowlers?
Umesh Yadav has been playing since the onset of the season in Sri Lanka, while Ishant Sharma has played a number of matches.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar could be given a look-in again if one of the three pacers is rested.
Australians Aim 5-0 Sweep
Meanwhile, in the Australian camp, the players were pretty relaxed during a training period ahead of the 4th ODI. Even so, Glenn Maxwell pointed out immediately after the MCG win that they intend to go for a 5-0 whitewash.
The men in yellow have registered 17 ODI wins at home in a row, which is a world-record. Australia wants to push the record even further.
There will be no letting up of intensity from the hosts, therefore, and a full-strength squad will be presented to the Indian team.
David Warner is back from paternity leave, and given the nature of the wicket, Nathan Lyon seems a certain inclusion in the playing eleven.
In that scenario, it will be interesting to see which bowler is left out. Perhaps it could be Scott Boland who has been a touch expensive as compared to John Hastings and Kane Richardson.