India vs Australia 3rd ODI tip-off XI: Rohit Sharma to lead the side, Mohammed Siraj to get a game and Mitchell Starc back for the Aussies | Cricket News

The game at Rajkot on Wednesday might be a dead rubber from a series perspective but has huge weightage in terms of preparation for the upcoming World Cup. This will be the final battle between these two sides before they take on each other in Chennai. Hence both India and Australia will look to the field in as many main players as possible and also make sure they won’t give away much in the process in terms of tactics.
For India it has been all boxes ticked after the game in Indore. Shreyas Iyer whose form was a bit of concern too was amongst the runs on Sunday. He scored a sublime ton and showed he can be a proper backup who can be called upon if and when needed. However, the star in the 2nd ODI was Ravichandran Ashwin who with his three-wicket haul has made a strong claim for a spot in the squad.
As per Australia, their batting has been poor, to say the least. Their talisman Steven Smith is yet to show what he can do. In both the games so far his dismissals were quite tame and unlike him. Marnus Labuschange on the other hand is looking like a shadow of a player on what he has been in South Africa. And the rest of the lower order has been spineless. Though the bowling too is a concern they would be expected to be in better shape once the big guns Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood and Pat Cummins all play together and Adam Zampa’s slow but steady progress back into form since 113 runs mauling in South Africa in 10 overs is a huge positive for the kangaroos.
Indore: Indian and Australian players meet after the second ODI cricket match, at Holkar Stadium in Indore, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. (PTI Photo/Arun Sharma)
Rohit Sharma into the side
Shubman Gill has been rested for the final game and rightly so. He has been in stunning form this year and doesn’t need any more game time ahead of the World Cup. Rohit who has missed out the first two games will make a comeback into the side. He too though has not been scoring big runs but has been producing quickfire knocks and putting a solid platform for the side and will try and replicate the same in Rajkot.
Mohammed Siraj to get a game
Mohammed Shami has played two games and looked in good rhythm in both games and match-ready. His five-wicket haul in Mohali in fact showed he too deserves a place in the starting line-up in World Cup. However, for this game, the management may try and give a game to Siraj in place of him which will give him some competitive game time ahead of the tournament. Siraj has been bowling beautifully with the new ball and he will be a handful for the Aussies to deal with. Most Read
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Mitchell Starc is back on the side
In the first two ODIs apart from Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood Australia lacked the extra pace in the bowling attack which enabled India to bat comfortably in both games. With Starc coming back in for the next game he not only provides the left-arm angle which has troubled the Indian batters in the past but at times Rajkot due to its dry square is known to reverse swing and Starc is one of the finest exponents of reverse swing in the modern game.

India predicted XI: Rohit Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (c, wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj
Australia predicted XI: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa