India vs Australia ODI series in India and Australia leading the series by 2-1, this may be called as a surprise. None of the experts would have expected this either, but Australia have played really well and they deserve the lead they currently have. However, playing a match in Ranchi which is also the home ground of the Indian captain might not be an easy task for the Aussies. After what happened in the last match that India played at Ranchi, when India thrashed England and it was an excellent bowling display, Aussies might be a bit worried.

On the other end, the form of Finch, Hughes, Bailey, Voges, Johnson, Mckay and Faulkner is a huge plus for the team, and when 7/11 players are in good form they seem favorites to win once again. The Indian batsmen seem to be inconsistent, with the exception of Virat, and that is why he is regarded as the 2nd best batsman in the world. 

Team News
Ishant being included Dhoni’s love for the Sharma’s, may it be Ishant or Rohit, is strange. However, his persistence for Rohit is starting to pay off, and it could be the same for Ishant too. None of the bowlers except Bhuvi are performing their task, and the non-performing Ashwin is one of the biggest problems currently. Ashwin has to step up his game, pick wickets, stop the flow of runs and earn the confidence of his captain. Dhawan and Rohit also need to step up and play like they did in the 2nd ODI, which would give confidence to the struggling Indian middle order. 

Watson’s bowling has been very good and that has solved their headache for the 5th bowler. Maxwell is playing as a pure batsman and he has also been performing consistently which is a big plus for the team. With Voges and Faulkner coming good in the last match, the Australians have a very strong batting line up. With Johnson bowling the way he is, Bailey must certainly be delighted. Faulkner’s heroics cannot be forgotten so easily, and he will be waiting for the time when Ishant comes on to bowl, because he knows he can get the better of Ishant. Hughes has been the team’s anchor and he must do so for the remaining ODI’s too to ensure the team can post a good total. 

Probable Teams
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Dhoni (c)(wk), Ravi Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin/Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar Jaydev Unadkat

X-Factor: Yuvraj Singh performed very well in his comeback T20 game and won India the match single handedly, but since then he has disappointed. It is a known fact that he is a proven match winner, but he struggled against Johnson, who was the bowler who got him out in the 1st and 3rd ODI.   He needs to get in, spend some time in the middle and then unleash himself on the Aussie bowling. If he performs India have a much better chance of winning, and much is expected from him. 

Australia: Aaron Finch, Philip Hughes, Shane Watson, Adam Voges, George Bailey(c), Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin (wk), James Faulkner, Clint Mckay, Mitchell Johnson, Xavier Doherty

X-Factor: Aaron Finch has been Australia’s 2nd most consistent batsman and he has negated India’s best bowler Bhuvneshwar with ease. If he can continue to do so, he might as well give the team a great start and put India in a spot. What’s even better is that he known at what point of time to accelerate and increase the scoring rate, which helps the team out a lot. 

Expected Result: India Win

If there was a pitch in this entire series that would assist the bowlers, it has to be the Mohali wicket. After the carnage, this might be a chance to fight back for the pace bowlers. Faulkner, Mckay and Johnson would be licking their lips as they can now bowl fast at the batsmen, whereas Bhuvi, Ishant and Vinay would be feeling lucky since 1 or 2 more bad performances could see them out of the playing 11 even before they notice it.

Does India have the strongest bowling line up in the world? The answer is yes. But the mind boggling fact is that in a country of over 2 billion people, India have not produced 1 world class pace bowler after the likes of Srinath and Zaheer. This match will once again be a contest between the Indian batsmen and the Aussie bowlers, and the ones who come out on top will lead their team to victory. Mohali does get a lot of dew, and if Bailey decides to bat 1st it might put his team in a spot, but well it’s his and his team management’s decision.

Team News
Team India might as well stick with the same XI, with the only possible change could be bringing in Unadkat for one of the pacers who have been ineffective till now. Their batting power is so good that they can chase down any target with a few overs to spare. On top of that, the main batsman of the team Yuvraj did not even get a bat, which further adds to the team’s batting strength. Now that Dhawan and Rohit are in form, the Aussies might find it tough to win even one of the remaining 5 games.

The Aussie batting looks good, but is nowhere equal to the power the Indians possess. However, their bowling is their biggest strength and if Johnson and Faulkner can pitch it in the right areas and trouble the batsmen, they might be in with a slim chance. Virat and Yuvraj’s wicket would be the key and if the Aussies can knock over those 2 cheaply, the match would definitely be an even contest. If bailey decides to bat 1st, as that has been the trend till now, nothing less than 350 would be a good total considering that all Indian batsmen have been in good form lately.


Probable Teams
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Dhoni (c)(wk), Ravi Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar Jaydev Unadkat

X-Factor: Ravindra ‘Sir’ Jadeja, the once assumed to be the joke of cricket had silenced some of his critics in the champions’ trophy, where he bowled superbly. However, he is once again starting to be one of those who performs for a certain time and then is a complete waste. He needs to put his hand up and perform once again, particularly after his disastrous performances in the Champions League T20, and the 2 ODI’s. He might not be needed much with the bat, but he has to do his job with the ball. With the pressure rising from the Nayar’s and the Pathan’s, ‘Sir’ Jadeja would soon be contesting for his place in the XI if he does not dish out a good performance soon. 

Australia: Aaron Finch, Philip Hughes, Shane Watson, Adam Voges, George Bailey(c), Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin (wk), James Faulkner, Clint Mckay, Mitchell Johnson, Xavier Doherty

X-Factor: Shame Watson is a very diverse cricketer mainly because he has so much to offer with the bat and the ball. His bowling in the last match was awful, but he made up a little with the bat. He is the most experienced cricketer in this line up and he has to be the one who goes on to score a big one, if Australia are to win. He might not be opening the bowling, but he does bowl towards the death and that is when the Indian batsmen are most dangerous. If he can contain them and pick up wickets, he deserves a pat on his back. 

Expected Result: India Win

By Sanchit Gupta

India made a laughing stock of an exceptional Australian batting effort to post 359-5 in the alloted 50 overs by spriting to their target in just 43.3 overs and winning the match by 9 wickets,all thanks to 3 incredible innings from Rohit Sharma(141 of 123 balls), Shikhar Dhawan(95 of 86 balls) and Virat Kohli(100 of 52 balls).

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Rajasthan which is home to two Australian players,Shane Watson and James Faulkner who play for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL was treated to an absolute run feast as over 700 runs were scored and much to the delight of the home fans,The Indian Team came out triumphant.It wasnt a day when a bowler could proudly say the fact that he was a "bowler" as Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the only player on either side to end the game with an economy rate of less than 6 and only 4 wickets were taken by the bowlers in the whole course of the match.

Earlier, Australia won the toss and once again chose to bat which has been their strategy all through the series.Both teams were unsurprisingly unchanged for the match.India's decision of not changing their bowling combination backfired as they were clobbered for 359 runs in 50 overs with each of the top 5 Australian batsman scoring a 50 atleast. A steady opening partnership between Finch(50 of 53 balls) and Hughes(83 of 103 balls) set the tone for a big score. Shane Watson returned to form with a fluent 53 of 50 balls.Glenn Maxwell added more woes to the Indian camp with his knock of 53 of 32 balls.But,the skipper,Bailey was the man who took his side to a huge score by batting till the end,smashing 92 of just 50 balls.

India's bowling continued to be mediocre and wayward with hardly a memorable delivery bowled all day.Australia smashed 12 sixed and 36 fours with the Indian team appearing clueless on how to stop the onslaught.

Chasing a massive 360 to win,India's openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma started cautiously but still managed to keep the required rate within bounds.The duo added 176 for the opening wicket in just 26 overs before Dhawan was caught behind off the bowling of Faulkner.Kohli came in to bat at number three with India still needing another 184 to chase down Australia's mammoth 359 run target.He along with Rohit was involved in an unbroken 186-run stand for the second wicket as India reached the target with 39 balls to spare.Virat Kohli scored the fatest hundred by an Indian batsman in ODIs as he smashed an unbeaten 100 off just 52 balls,overtaking Virender Sehwag's record of a hundred off 60 balls that he made against New Zealand in 2009.In his record-breaking knock, Kohli stroked eight boundaries and seven sixes.His shots were pure cricketing strokes and not slogs that one generally associates with power-hitting and limit over cricket.

India's run chase of 360 was the best ever by an Indian side and the second best of all time.

The teams will now head to Mohali wehere they will resume the battle with the series tied at 1-1.

Finalllyyyyy, a match involving 2 IPL teams after one between MI and RR just took place a while back. This is match is definitely going to be a crowd puller given that the Indian crowd mostly shows up just to see their stars play. It’s the battle of the D’s, the cool Dhoni vs the flamboyant Dhawan.

Both teams are coming off great wins, and would want to continue that winning momentum with them. The Sunrisers are coming off a win on the back of Thisara Perera’s brilliant hitting, whereas the Super Kings won their last game on the back of a brilliant all-round batting performance. This is definitely a mouthwatering contest, and it is to be seen as to who will come on top. Super Kings would have the home advantage given that the match is being played in Dhoni’s backyard, Ranchi and there will be no surprises as to whom does the crowd want to see as the winners.

Team News
Could there be a more balanced team than the Chennai Super Kings? This team is as strong as any top class national team with there being so many big names in their lineup. The ever consistent Hussey, an awesome t20 player Raina and 2 brilliant allrounders in the shorter version Jadeja and Bravo are just a few out of the main 11. The best part about CSK is that if today is not Raina’s day, then Hussey or Vijay step in, and if it is not Dhoni’s day then Jadeja or Badrinath step in and get the job done for the team. The play as a unit, and it is going to take a hell lot to beat them on a flat track.

The Sunrisers always seem to be short on batsmen, particularly since their Indian batsmen have not stepped in as yet. Vihari and Reddy both have not played a good knock yet and that may worry the captain just a little bit. That being said, they have 2 brilliant all-rounders who perform consistently. In Perera, Steyn and Dhawan they have 3 of the best match winners a team could ever demand. Should they play as a team, they certainly can win this game.


Probable Teams
Super Kings: Murali Vijay, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, Subramaniam Badrinath, Mahendra Dhoni (c)(wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Morris, Mohit Sharma, Ravi Ashwin, Jason Holder

X-Factor: Murali Vijay would be a bit nervous as he got out for a duck in the previous game, and with his rival openers Sehwag getting match practice for India A, he would want to put in a good performance to book his place on the flight to South Africa. Here is his chance to face off against Dale Steyn on a Ranchi pitch rather than a pitch in Cape Town, and he can get his confidence high if he plays Steyn well. He is also the quicker of the 2 openers in terms of strike rates, given that Hussey’s role is to act as an anchor throughout the innings.

Sunrisers: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Parthiv patel (wk), Hanuma Vihari, JP Duminy, Darren Sammy, Thisara Perera, Karan Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Dale Steyn

X-Factor: Amit Mishra has never been the 1st choice bowler for India even though he performs regularly and consistently. This sheer ignorance is intolerable but well, he has taken it in a positive way and is constantly putting in brilliant performances for the Sunrisers. Tomorrow is a big game against a strong batting line up and if he can perform against the national team captain, he might be in with an outside chance of making the trip to South Africa later in November. The CSK team has a couple of left handers in their line up, and it would be interesting to see Mishra bowl against them if given a chance.

Expected Result: Super Kings Win