The first game of the Australian summer was an up and down affair dominated by the bat and filled with plenty of mistakes in the field. A combined 682 runs were scored as Australia won by 66 runs, thanks to centuries by Steve Smith and Aaron Finch. Hardik Pandya fought hard to keep India alive with a brisk 90 off just 76 deliveries, but it wasn’t enough.
The fears about India’s bowling proved to be true, as the Aussie batsmen hammered them to all parts of the SCG en route to scoring 6/374. India went with five specialist bowlers in Shami (3/59), Bumrah (1/73), Saini (1/83), Chahal (1/89) and Jadeja (1/63), and it ended badly. The Indian attack didn’t have the potency or variety to challenge Australia, expect some changes in personnel on Sunday. Whilst Australia will be forced into at least one change, with Marcus Stoinis suffering a potential side strain.
Can India fight back and level the series? Or will the Aussies take an unassailable 2-0 lead? We have a full preview and tips below!
Australia vs India 2nd ODI Betting Tips
2nd ODI, Sunday 29th November, SCG, 2:40pm AEDT
Australian Squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (vc), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, AJ Tye, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Indian Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur.
Australia
The Aussies were utterly dominant with the bat in Sydney on Friday. A 156 run opening partnership between Warner and Finch laid the platform for Smith (105 off 66) and Maxwell (42 off 19) to catapult Australia to 6/374. Australia managed the tempo of the middle overs excellently, which has been a massive weakness for them in recent years in white ball cricket. The middle order of Maxwell, Stonis and Labuschagne provides Australia with great flexibility to adapt to any situation in a game. Stoinis’ injury could open the door for a debut to young prodigy Cameron Green, which would no doubt excite cricket fans all over Australia.
Australia’s fielding was incredibly poor in comparison to the high standards they set themselves, plenty of dropped catches and missed opportunities kept India in the game for longer than they should have been. Whilst Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell struggled, the rest of the Australian attack put together an impressive performance on a batting paradise, with Hazlewood (3/55) and Zampa (4/54) the pick of the bowlers. Starc will need to get his radar back on target in game two, because if he gives India another chance, they’ll take it.
Even in a year where there has been limited cricket due to the pandemic, Adam Zampa has still been a prolific wicket taker in one day cricket. 24 wickets at an average of 22.25 and an economy of 4.94, Zampa is enjoying the best year of his career. Not only is he having a career best year, Zampa is continuing his incredible form against India. Zampa has more wickets against India than any other nation, with 24 wickets at an average of 31.54 and an economy rate of 5.69. His record against Kohli is as good as anyone in the world, and on an SCG wicket that offers plenty to the batsmen, Zampa will need to produce for Australia. Zampa ripped the heart out of India’s middle order on his way to taking 4/54 in the first ODI, and he’ll be well placed to replicate that performance in the second ODI. At $4.50, Zampa is a solid choice as Australia’s top wicket taker.
Zampa Top AUS Wickets
$4.50
India
In a tough loss on Friday, there were plenty of positives to take out of the game for India. To put up over 300 runs without Virat Kohli getting a score showed that India’s chances of success don’t solely rely on Kohli. Hardik Pandya (90) and Shikar Dhawan (76) kept India in the game, but their batsmen need to capitalise on their starts if they are to beat Australia. India’s inability to manage the tempo of their chase proved to be their downfall. India had brought up 50 runs inside of 5 overs without loss and had Australia in real strife, before losing their heads as Agarwal, Kohli and Iyer lost their wickets playing overzealous shots. There’s no doubting the talent in this batting line up, but do they have the mental capacity to put it all together?
India’s bowling and fielding must improve dramatically if they’re any chance of winning, in the field they missed golden opportunities to get rid of Aaron Finch and Steve Smith which cost them dearly. Whilst the Indian’s struggled with just a five man bowling attack that lacked any variety. The Indian’s will have plenty to ponder at the selection table, they desperately need an all rounder to provide some bowling relief, whilst it would seem astounding to not pick Kuldeep Yadav again given his outstanding record against Australia.
Whilst he failed in the first ODI, expect Virat Kohli to come out firing in game two. Kohli knows that if he can produce in game two India will be tough to beat, especially if he gets a similar start from Agarwal and Dhawan. Arguably the greatest batsman ever in fifty over cricket, Kohli has dominated Australia in the one day arena, smashing 1931 runs at an average of 53.64 and a strike rate off 96.70. If he gets going, Australia will be worried no matter the situation. Steve Smith took first points in the battle of the two best batsmen on the planet, you can guarantee the Indian skipper will be making sure it doesn’t happen again. With the series on the line, expect Virat to rise to the occasion, a safe choice to be India’s top run scorer.
Prediction
Australia struggled with the ball and times and were terrible in the field, yet they won by 66 runs - that has to be causing major alarms within the Indian side. The Australian’s method and execution with the bat was impeccable, now it’s time for Starc and Cummins to really turn the screws early in the Indian innings. Whilst it’s easy to see Australia fixing their mistakes from game one, it’s hard to see this Indian bowling attack restricting such a deep and powerful batting outfit that Australia has. Bumrah has to lift off arguably his worst performance ever against Australia, if the Aussies get on top of him again, it’ll be another mammoth score that India will have to deal with. Whilst the result should be much closer with some of the cobwebs being blown off the players, it’s hard to go past Australia who are deservedly the favourites.
