Game 2 of this enthralling T20 series saw India level the ledger at 1-1 against Australia with an impressive victory in a rain-shortened encounter.
A couple of experienced heads got the job done for the home side, setting up a decider in the third and final match.
Who can claim the T20 series with victory in Game 3? Josh Nevett takes a close look at the contest with his free preview and cricket betting tips below.
India vs Australia: T20 Game 3 Preview & Betting Tips
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, Sunday September 25th, 11:30pm (AEST)
Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandaran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia: Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa
Match Preview
Australia would have been confident after putting up 90 runs in their eight allotted overs on Friday night, setting India a tough chase of over 11 runs per over.
However, the hosts prevailed, winning by 6 wickets with four balls to spare.
Rohit Sharma was the hero with the bat, whacking 46* (20) to steer the chase, aided by a clutch cameo from ‘finisher’ Dinesh Karthik.
As expected, Axar Patel thrived against Australia’s right-hander heavy batting line-up, taking 2-13 off two overs in conditions that suited the batsmen.
Despite failing to wrap up the series, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the visitors.
Aaron Finch returned to form with 31 (15) at the top, and Matthew Wade continued his fine form in the middle order with 43* (20).
Adam Zampa took 3-16 on a night where the spinners performed best, however he had little support from Australia’s pace attack which did not fire a shot.
Both teams messed with their team selection in Game 2 – India recalled Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant while Australia picked Daniel Sams and Sean Abbott. As such, its tough to get a read on how both sides will line-up for the decider and hence how they will perform.
Nevertheless, India would have taken some confidence from returning to the winners list and have a more potent batting group. Therefore, I expect them to wrap this one up in style.
Prop Bets
This was one of my prop selections in Game 2 and I see no reason to stray away from it. Patel has topped the Indian wicket takers in both matches and continues to trouble the Australian batsmen with his left-arm darts.
India Top Wicket Taker – Axar Patel $5.00 (Ladbrokes)
Australia are getting a good look at Cameron Green as an opening batsmen option in this series and he repaid that faith in Game 1 with a 60. I like his chances to go past 23 in Game 3 with the field up.
Cameron Green Over 22.5 runs $1.83 (Ladbrokes)
