Australia keen to arrest winless streak

Thursday (September 28) marks the one-year anniversary of Australia's last One-Day International win away from home, against Ireland. Australia, which hasn't lost more than four matches consecutively in foreign conditions in the past two decades, has been on a record-breaking losing streak since that Irish victory.

A 0-5 loss in South Africa last October, a 0-2 series defeat in New Zealand earlier this year and a winless Champions Trophy campaign in June have been followed by three consecutive losses against India in the ongoing five-match ODI series. During that period, there also have been three abandoned matches, stretching the winless streak to 14 games.

In each of three ODIs that Australia has lost in India, it has had its moments but unfortunately for Steven Smith's side, it's been the men in blue who have had the last word every single time. It's hard to believe that the series has already been decided, and there still are two more games to go.

Australia has been good in patches, but lack of consistency hasn't allowed them to take control. While the pace bowlers, especially Nathan Coulter-Nile and Pat Cummins, have done a commendable job in the absence of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, it's been the batting department that has let the Aussies down.

Marcus Stoinis, the Victorian allrounder, has been consistent down the order but has lacked support from the likes of Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade and Peter Handscomb. Smith does have a couple of fifties under his belt but his dismissal in those games played a huge role in triggering Australian collapses in Kolkata and Indore.

David Warner, the experienced southpaw, and Hilton Cartwright failed to make an impact in the first two matches. Aaron Finch, recovering from a calf injury, had to convince the team’s physiotherapist to pass him fit to play. Finch, 30, justified his recall with a brilliant 124 in Indore but despite that, he couldn't help change Australia's fortunes.

"We are disappointed with the loss but we have come here in a right frame of mind," said Warner on Wednesday. "We are trying to win every game that we play. The disappointment lasts for 24 hours. We are not just walking out there for ourselves, we are also representing our country. There is a lot of pride at stake. We have got a couple of T20s after this series. We got to try to make the best out of next five games, try to play and win.

“That's how Virat (Kohli) looked at it (in January 2016, where India lost the first four ODIs before going on to win the last ODI and the three subsequent T20Is) and that's how every team looks at it. You basically split up the series into how many games we are playing and then try to win the overall battle. Even though the series is lost, we still have a total of five games to go."

Since the Indore defeat, Australia lost the services of Ashton Agar, who had to return home after fracturing his right little finger while fielding. The left-arm spinner's departure will pave the way for the return of Adam Zampa, the legspinner who was dropped from the XI after leaking 66 runs in the first ODI. James Faulkner, who made his only international century in Bangalore in 2013, might also be brought back to cover for Agar's ability with the bat.

India, by contrast, is on a record-breaking spree, having won each of its last nine ODIs. Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane have done a wonderful job at the top of the tree in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan. Rohit looked flawless in Indore, where he scored a 62-ball 71 to set up a solid platform for India for India’s successful chase of 294.

Rohit will now look to convert his starts into a big score at the ground where he scored the first of his two double-centuries in ODI cricket, against the same opposition. And if the last two days' training session is any indication, that big score shouldn't be far away. The 30-year-old Mumbai batsman was clearing the ropes with relative ease while facing bowlers of all ilk during the nets.

The biggest plus for India has been the emergence of Hardik Pandya as an all-round package. While there have been regular contributions from Kohli and MS Dhoni, the 23-year-old has taken his game to the next level. Pandya is currently the highest run-scorer in this series, with 181 runs at 60.33.

The match will also provide an opportunity to Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey, who haven't been in very good form, to showcase their credentials. It is possible, though, that one of them could make way for KL Rahul, a local lad like Pandey. India's batting has always been its strength but it's been the bowlers who have played a bigger role in the home side's dominance this series.

The pace duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah has been at its best, both at the start and in the death overs. But the two who have hogged the most limelight are Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. The young wrist spinners have troubled all the Australian batsmen throughout the series and have left Smith and Co. struggling in all three encounters.

After sealing the series in Indore, Kohli had spoken about giving players on the bench a go. Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Axar Patel were given a long run at the nets. But Kohli's ideology of being ruthless throughout the series might result in only one or at the most two changes to the XI.

The series might already be India's, but if Warner and Australia's culture is anything to go by, Kohli's men will have to be on their toes to claim a record tenth consecutive win. Provided the rain, which cut short Wednesday’s practice session, stays away.

Teams (from):

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami.

Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Steven Smith (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade (wk), Peter Handscomb (wk), James Faulkner, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Kane Richardson.