What

Third ODI of the seven-match series between India and Australia

When

Saturday, October 19, 2013 at 13:30 IST (08:00 GMT)

Where

Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali

The Teams

India

India must be brimming with confidence, like a team that chased down 360 in their previous ODI should. India’s top-three batsmen swooshed Australia off their feet and left them to wonder what just hit them.

Normally it’s hard to pick on the performance of a team just after they have registered a historic ODI win. But India’s Jaipur victory was solely based on a singular strength – batting. There remains a lot to be desired when it comes to their bowling and fielding, if the last match is anything to go by.

The pace bowlers – with the exception of Bhuvneshwar Kumar – seemed pedestrian. There was a deluge of full-tosses and loose short balls that the Aussie batsmen had no problems feasting on. The Indian pacers have to realize that their lack of pace makes their bouncers a perfect scoring opportunity rather than a potent weapon. They will be better off working on their yorkers, especially in the death overs.

While no one doubts the fielding ability of this young and energetic Indian side, they often blow hot and cold in this department. Consistency needs to be inculcated in both ground-fielding and catching.

Australia

Yes, they bore the brunt of India’s batting master-class in the last match but they will do themselves a huge favour by moving on from that massacre and focus on the job ahead. It was a batting display that is witnessed once in a blue moon and not everyday will the Indian batsmen chase down 350-plus. Hence, the Aussie pacers should stick to their guns and keep exploiting the Indians’ weakness. They will hope a relatively pacy and bouncy Mohali track will bring them redemption.

On the batting front there’s not much the Aussies are doing wrong as their scores of 201 (in the only T20I) 304 and 359 on this tour so far suggest. Expect George Bailey to field an unchanged XI with, perhaps, a pacer extra.

Key Players

India

A major reason for India’s bowling debacle in this series so far is the indifferent form of R Ashwin. The off-spinner, who has been Dhoni’s go-to man in limited overs cricket since the last three years, has struggled to land the ball in good spot in the T20I and the two ODIs. Given his quick grasping power and shrewd cricketing mind, it won’t be too much to ask off the spinner to regain his rhythm mid-series. Although the Mohali wicket has a history of assisting the pace bowlers, the tall offie will relish the bounce it offers and get the carom ball to rise up awkwardly into the batsmen. The first thing that Ashwin would want to do, however, is to focus his mind on a plan and not try to bowl every ball differently.

Australia

In Jaipur, Shikhar Dhawan messed with the Aussie pacers’ minds with his flurry of pulls and hooks. He is the same man that took their bowling apart on his Test debut at the same venue en route to a blistering 187. As Australia take on the in-form Dhawan in Mohali again, the onus will be on their fast bowlers to get rid of the left-hander opener before he does any significant damage. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that the contest between Dhawan and the Aussie speedsters will be one of the deciding factors in the outcome of the third ODI.

Statistics

Matches at Mohali

India in last 5 matches at Mohali

Results at Mohali

Pace v Spin at Mohali

(last 5 matches)

Trivia

Among all Indian grounds PCA Stadium, Mohali has hosted most day-night one-day internationals. This match will be the 19th day-night one-dayer at Mohali. Bangalore (17) and Kolkata (16) come next.

Ravindra Jadeja is four short of 100 ODI wickets. He will become third left-arm Indian spinner after Ravi Shastri and Yuvraj Singh to do so. He will also complete the allround double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets thus becoming the 10thIndian to do so.

Squads

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat

Australia: George Bailey (Captain), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Callum Ferguson, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin, Moises Henriques, Phil Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Adam Voges, Shane Watson.