Deadline: January 14, 2020 at 1:30 PM IST
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Pitch report
The pitch at the Wankhede Stadium has a reputation of producing lateral movement but only until the ball is new. It then becomes a Bermuda Triangle for the bowlers, so much so that the highest total at the venue is 438 for 4 by South Africa against India in 2015. To make matters worse, boundaries at the venue are short. Expect bad deliveries to soar into the crowd.
Fantasy team
We have opted for a fantasy team on the basis of players’ impact, recent performances, and credit points.
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Wicketkeeper: Alex Carey
Batsmen: Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, David Warner (vc), Steven Smith
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja
Bowlers: Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jasprit Bumrah/Mohammad Shami
NOTE: Pick your fantasy cricket team wisely.
Power players
Virat Kohli has had memorable moments at the Wankhede Stadium. He scored a double-hundred in Test in 2016, followed by an ODI hundred a year later. Against Australia, he has smashed 1,727 runs at a stunning average of 53.9 including 8 hundreds – of which 5 have come at home.
Rohit Sharma‘s numbers against Australia are even better. He has accumulated 2,037 runs at 61.7 including a double-hundred at Bengaluru. Not to forget that he was the highest run-scorer in ODIs in 2019 and that he will be playing at his home ground.
David Warner has been at his absolute best ever since the ban. In the last 10 ODIs, he managed 647 runs at 71.8 including 3 hundreds and as many fifties. Against India he has scored 692 runs including 2 hundreds.
Like Rohit and Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan likes to feed on the Australian bowlers. He has scored a hundred in his last 2 ODIs against them – one of them being the spectacular innings of 117 in the 2019 World Cup. Overall, he has hit 975 runs including 4 hundreds and as many fifties.
Jasprit Bumrah has taken a three-wicket haul twice and two-wicket haul five times in 11 ODIs against Australia.
Mohammad Shami was the highest wicket-taker (42) in 2019, maintaining an economy of under 5.5.
Pat Cummins will be the cynosure of the Australian bowling attack. He took as many as 31 wickets at 21.6 in 2019.
Match prediction
India have a 50 per cent winning record at the Wankhede Stadium. They, however, have lost all three ODIs against Australia. To make matters more interesting, Australia beat India 2-3 in their own den 10 months ago.
Probable XIs
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Kuldeep Yadav/Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Turner, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood/Kane Richardson
Also, get to know the tips & tricks on how to play fantasy cricket.