Australia vs India, 2nd ODI: Where to watch, pitch report, weather forecast and probable XI

The opening game of the three-match ODI series between Australia and India ended in a one-sided victory for the hosts in a rain-marred contest at Perth. With a 1-0 lead, the Aussies head to the Adelaide Oval in a bid to seal the series with most of their key players available for selection. India had an off-day and they will hope to put in a much improved show in the second ODI.

Australia

The Aussies are bolstered by the return of wicket-keeping batters Alex Carey and Josh Inglis with the former expected to slot back into the XI for Josh Philippe. Matt Renshaw had a good debut and might keep his place although the temptation of playing Inglis will be there. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa is also back after missing the series opener and Matthew Kuhnemann has been released from the squad.

These are all obvious changes that were expected before the series started and the Aussies aren't expected to make any other alterations to their playing XI for the second ODI. There could be a case for resting Josh Hazlewood in a bid to ease his workload but the world champions might want to seal the series as a priority before doing that, especially with sufficient rest days between the matches.

India

Kuldeep Yadav's absence was a big talking point in opening ODI but as it was a shortened game, that wasn't talked about as much. India's batting unit failed as a whole but with no practice games and little preparation time, this was expected as Perth is arguably the fastest surface in Australia right now. India haven't played on lively surfaces for months and the transition takes time, even for the best of players.

Do India play Kuldeep for this game? It's a tricky one because the Adelaide Oval has very short square boundaries and even mishits can clear the ropes easily. Being early season in Australia, there might not be much for the spinners anyway and hence, India might want to stick to Axar Patel and Washington Sundar as the spin options. Playing Kuldeep could be a double-edged sword at this venue, although India will have to be brave if they want to bounce back.

Probable XIs

Australia: Mitchell Marsh(c), Travis Head, Matt Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey(wk), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.

India: Shubman Gill(c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(wk), Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh

Pitch report

Surfaces at the Adelaide Oval are generally good for batting with even pace and bounce. The new ball, though, does tend to do a fair bit, especially as it is early on in the Australian cricket season. The short square boundaries mean that set batters can make merry.

The average score batting first is 225 and if you calculate it for the last five ODIs at the venue, it is 235. This tells you that the pitches generally haven't been very flat. Historically, it is a 49-43 lead in favour of teams batting first winning as against teams chasing. However, four of the last five games have been won by chasing sides.

Weather forecast

It is expected to be a largely overcast day in Adelaide with cool temperatures and slight chances of a shower or two. However, the game is unlikely to be as affected by rain as it was in Perth.

 

Where to watch?

The Australia-India ODIs will be telecast on the Star Sports Network on television while JioHotstar have the streaming rights of the series.