Hyderabad: India might give a chance to benchers Deepak Chahar and Ravichandran Ashwin, replacing off-mark Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal, when India lock horns with Australia in the series-deciding third T20 International here on Sunday.
Harshal, who is making a comeback after an injury, has been the most expensive wicket-less bowler in the series, conceding 81 runs in his six overs at an economy rate of 13.50.
Chahal has been yet another bone of contention as he has faltered, leaking far too many runs, beginning from Asia Cup to matches against Australia.
India were able to square the series in an 8 overs blitzkrieg last night at Nagpur with left-arm orthodox spinner Axar Patel coming to the party. In a fiery two overs spell, he bagged two quick wickets to put Australia on the backfoot.
It is time for senior pro Bhuvaneshwar Kumar to come to terms as return-boy Jasprit Bumrah excelled in the last match as he was applauded by Australia captain Aaron Finch, who was bamboozled by a scorching yorker.
Bhuvi has struggled in the death overs in Asia Cup as well against Australia. He did not play the last match, maybe due to an 8 overs contest.
Indian top order batsmen need to fire in unison, which they have failed to do as yet. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli have been inconsistent, they need to be more consistent. Suryakumar Yadav has also been patchy, while Hardik Pandya has played some stellar knocks.
Dinesh Karthik may get yet another chance as he lived perfectly well to his role of a finisher which he did by tonking a six and boundary in the final over of the last match where India needed nine runs.
Rohit may also promote Axar to gauge how he performs in a crisis.
On the other hand, bowling has also been the bane of the Australians. While Finch and Matthew Wade propelled Australia to post 90 plus on the board, their bowling department failed miserably once again.
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Daniel Sams would like to forget the last match as they leaked 11 runs an over. All-rounder Cameron Green has also been expensive.
An Australian think tank may promote Glenn Maxwell to get back to form ahead of the T20 World Cup Down Under. He has just scored a run in two games so far.
Surely, Sunday's match will be a treat for fans as both will be eyeing on the bilateral cup.
Squad:
India: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav.
Australia: Aaron Fich (C), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.
Match starts at 7pm IST. (UNI)
