India cricket team could make at least one change to their playing XI for the IND vs AUS 3rd T20I at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Sunday. Suryakumar Yadav and co. were handed a 4-wicket thrashing by the Aussies in what was a low-scoring game in Melbourne. India have never played a T20I at this venue in Hobart and the last T20I that was played at the venue saw Australia chase down a 117-run target set by Pakistan with 52 balls remaining.
India predicted XI for IND vs AUS 3rd T20I
Shubman Gill (VC)
Abhishek Sharma
Suryakumar Yadav (C)
Tilak Varma
Sanju Samson (WK)
Shivam Dube
Harshit Rana
Kuldeep Yadav
Varun Chakravarthy
Jasprit Bumrah
Arshdeep Singh
On bench: Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar
Axar, who wasn’t used with the ball in the last game while he managed to score just 7 runs with the bat, could be benched for the IND vs AUS 3rd T20I. The southpaw could make way for Arshdeep’s inclusion in the playing XI, even if that means India will be short of a batter, which is unlikely given the way Gambhir operates.
Regardless, pairing India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is – Arshdeep – with the lethal Bumrah would make India’s pace battery look intimidating. Harshit Rana will serve as the third pacer while Shivam Dube can also be used.
Axar’s exclusion will also mean India will have just two spinners in the XI – Kuldeep and Varun. Given that pacers and medium-pacers enjoyed more success at the venue in the last T20I played at Hobart, India won’t mind going with one less spinner in the contest.
India are expected to stick with the same top and middle-order, with the onus on captain SKY and vice-captain Gill to perform well. Both had miserable outings at the MCG as they were dismissed for 1 and 5 respectively. The captain is expected to come in at number 3 unless India suffer a collapse like they did in the 2nd T20I which prompted them to send Samson ahead of him.
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