Australia vs India, 3rd T20I, Match Prediction: Who will win the Match?

The T20I series against Australia hasn’t been a fruitful one for India by any stretch of the imagination. At The Gabba in Brisbane, the Men in Blue were caught napping by the Duckworth Lewis Stern method as they lost by four runs. Virat Kohli and Co got the Aussies by the scruff of their necks at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, but fate had something cruel in store for them.

During the dying stages of the Australian innings, the heavens opened up and it persisted long enough for the match to be called off. Going into the next match in Sydney, both teams have plenty to play for. Even as the hosts would be hoping to win their first limited-overs bilateral series this year, India would want to draw level and save themselves from yet another overseas series defeat.

Pitch and Conditions

The pitch has traditionally produced some high-scoring encounters and it won’t be surprising if the upcoming contest turns out to be another run-fest. Only two out of five matches have been won by the team batting first and hence teams may opt to bowl first after winning the toss. The delighting news for the players and fans is that there are minimal chances of rain tomorrow in Sydney.

Team Combination

Australia

Fast bowler Mitchell Starc has been added to the squad and hence, left-arm seamer Jason Behrendroff is likely to make way for him. In the batting lineup, D’Arcy Short is yet to fire and he would want to make amends. As far as their batting is concerned, the Aussies aren’t short of firepower and with Starc’s inclusion in the bowling lineup, run-making won’t be a cakewalk for the Indians by any means.

Probable XI

D’Arcy Short, Aaron Finch (C), Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ben McDermott, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

India

The Men in Blue won’t tinker with their combination. A steady start would be expected of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are the men in the middle order. Pant, Karthik and Krunal may be needed to contribute as well. Krunal would also wish to replicate his performance. Khaleel, Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah are the pacers with Kuldeep Yadav as the specialist spinner.

Probable XI

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Jasprit Bumrah.

Probable Top Performers

Chris Lynn- Australia, Rohit Sharma- India

Broadcast Details

TV – Sony Six and Sony Six HD

Live Streaming – SonyLIV

Match Timings – 13:20 IST; 18:50 local

The prediction is for Team India to make a comeback and level the series.