India eye comeback in IND vs AUS 3rd ODI after 10-wicket drubbing in Vizag

After a humiliating 10-wicket loss in the second one-day international against Australia in Vizag on Sunday (March 19), India will look to make a comeback and win the 3-match series in the final ODI against the Aussies at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday (March 22).

Australia showed an exemplary performance in the second ODI, with pacer Mitchell Starc taking a five-wicket haul and Sean Abott clinching three wickets. The Australian bowlers destroyed the Indian batting line-up and bundled the team for just 117 runs.

With the bat, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh did the needful as they chased down the target in just 11 overs.

India vs Australia stats ahead of 3rd ODI: India and Australia have faced each other in 145 ODIs, out of which Australia have won 81 while India have registered victory in 54 games. 

Australia’s success rate against India is considerably good at 60.15%, while India's winning rate stands at 39.85%. 

But the stat that stands in India’s favour is the fact that the Men In Blue have not lost an ODI series at home since 2019. This is a psychological advantage the team will have over the Kangaroos.

But then there are other worries for the Indian team.

What will be India’s biggest concerns? India’s batting will be a big worry for Rohit Sharma as the top and middle order have failed to deliver so far. Flamboyant batter Suryakumar Yadav has been a flop show so far in the series.

Even in the first ODI, when India was chasing a target of 189, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya were sent to pavillion by the end of the first powerplay. It was Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul who stood on the crease and took the team across the finishing line.

But in the second ODI, even Jadeja and KL Rahul succumbed to the bowling power of Starc and the entire team collapsed.

Suryakumar Yadav out of form: Suryakumar Yadav has failed to perform in the first two ODIs and was dismissed twice on duck. Before the start of the series, it was expected that Yadav and Kohli would show their battling prowess against the Aussies at home.

But Yadav's poor show has been a big blow for India.

Mitchell Starc's with the new ball: There is no doubt that Starc is one of the best pacers in world cricket with the new bowl and Indian team batters’ poor record against the left-arm bowlers has not been that good. Be it Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi or Trent Boult, the Indian batting line-up has struggled against the left-arm pacers.

Starc dominated against the Indian batters in the second ODI as he sent Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav to the pavillion even before the team could reach 50 runs. 

Starc got his 9th five-wicket haul in the ODIs, a record which is held only by Waqar Younis (13) and Mutiah Muralitharan (10). He has already taken 8 wickets in two matches and will be a big concern for the Indian batters in the third ODI.

Record in Chennai: In the last five matches India has played in Chennai, the team has won 3 and lost two.

Overall, India has played 13 ODI matches at the MS Chidambaram sStadium, winning 7 and losing 5. One match ended without a result.

The 3rd ODI starts at 1:30 pm IST on Wednesday (March 22). It will broadcast live on Star Network and will also be streamed live on Disney+Hotstar.