India vs Australia 3rd ODI playing XI tip off: Washington Sundar to slot in for added batting depth | Cricket News

India vs South Africa playing XI tip off: Having lost the first of the three ODIs, South Africa pulled one back in Port Elizabeth claiming the second ODI with an eight wicket win, making for the mouth watering prospect of the final match being the series decider in Paarl.
Both teams had walked into the series after the T20Is ended in a stalemate with South Africa winning in Gqeherba and India emerging victorious in Johannesburg, where they also went on to win the first ODI, the same margin as South Africa’s on Tuesday.
Here’s how the teams may line up on Thursday.
Sundar to come into fray
The big talking point from India’s defeat in the second ODI was the failure of the batting order.
“It was a hard wicket to bat on, but a couple of us got set. If one of us, including me, could have gone on to get a hundred we could have controlled the innings and got 50-60 runs extra, which could have made a big difference,” captain KL Rahul had mulled afterwards. It’s likely that India have a rethink of the squad composition. The most obvious choice to strengthen the batting would be Washington Sundar, who can also add value with the ball.
Sudharsan to keep his slot as opener
Having been rewarded for his strong returns in domestic cricket, Sai Sudharsan has gotten off to a brilliant start to his international career. With back to back fifties in the two ODIs, Sudharsan has been India’s top scorer in the series so far and the left-hander is likely to be rewarded for his strong innings.
India had fielded five left handed batters in their playing XI during the T20 series against Australia and South Africa. It would be interesting to see if the Indian think tank look to favor more southpaws in their ODI setup as well with the likes of Rinku Singh also in the fray. If so, Sudharsan to be the obvious picks given his recent performances.

Predicted playing XI
India: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), KL Rahul (c), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav,
South Africa: Tony de Zorzi, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams, Beuran Hendricks