Sydney, Oct 25 (UNI) Australia won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the third and final One-Day International at the Sydney Cricket Ground here today.
The hosts, who lead the three-match series 2–0, will aim to complete a clean sweep, while India will look to avoid a whitewash.
Mitchell Marsh, leading Australia, said the surface looked good for batting and the conditions were ideal. India captain Shubman Gill said he would have preferred to bowl first to have a target to chase.
India made two changes. Kuldeep Yadav and Prasidh Krishna came into the playing XI in place of Arshdeep Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Reddy has been ruled out due to a left quadriceps injury sustained during the second ODI, and is currently under medical observation. Australia made one change, bringing back Nathan Ellis for Xavier Bartlett.
Australia’s opening pair Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head walked out to begin the innings. Mohammed Siraj took the new ball for India with two slips in place. There was a brief interruption early when Siraj stopped mid-run-up, indicating discomfort with the landing area. Once play settled, Siraj began with a series of probing deliveries, keeping Marsh watchful. After the first three balls, Australia were yet to open their account.
Australia have a strong record at the Sydney Cricket Ground, having won eight of their last nine ODIs at this venue. All of those matches were won by the side batting first.
Teams:
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
Australia: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Nathan Ellis, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
