The focus will be on Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a buoyant India look to take an unassailable 3-0 lead against the struggling Aussies and seal the ODI series, at the JSCA International Stadium on Friday.
Apart from winning another series at home, which would add to India’s soaring confidence going into the World Cup, the game assumes special significance, for it could be Dhoni’s final international appearance at his hometown.
Of course, it’s been a similar atmosphere in all venues of India so far this year as the former captain’s cricketing future post World Cup is unknown. For sure, Dhoni would like to make a statement before his home crowd, having given an identity to Ranchi.
True, his ability to unleash big strokes right from the word ‘go’ appears to be waning, as he takes some time to settle down these days. But even his fiercest critics will have to admit that if set and there till the final over, Dhoni is still able enough to make some difference as a finisher and be a match-winner as well.
The numbers in the ODIs in Adelaide, Brisbane and Hyderabad are testimony to it. One may argue it wasn’t the strongest Australian bowling attack in the three ODIs, but the situations in each of the games too weren’t ideal or favourable either for India.
In other words, no matter how Dhoni fares on Friday or in the following two ODIs of this series, he still matters a lot for Virat Kohli and his team at least till the World Cup. “You know that he (Dhoni) can win matches for the country from whatever the situation is.
“He knows how to approach the game. So, his experience and form is very important for India,” pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, back for the next three ODIs, said on Friday.
The Dhoni side apart, the Indian team is grappling with some teething issues regarding their top-order batting, especially senior pro Shikhar Dhawan’s string of low scores that has affected the hosts’ starts of late.
However, despite Dhawan having gone off the boil with only two half-centuries in the last 15 ODIs, it needs to be seen if India are willing to tinker with the winning combination. They do have the option in the form of KL Rahul, who looks to be in good form after making a national comeback.
India had to grind and fight hard in both the first and second ODIs. They weren’t convincing victories, but that should still please Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri as the team showed they do have the ability to claw their way out of tough situations.
After Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav stitched a match-winning partnership in the first one-dayer, bowlers helped earn a victory in Nagpur the other evening despite the equation being favourable for Australia. Precisely, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja have all done a commendable job in the two matches so far.
All-rounder Vijay Shankar too bowled well in the final over of the Nagpur ODI. Besides, Bhuvneshwar too is back.
The track at the JSCA International Stadium is likely to be slow, but the ball will skid on to the bat under lights when the dew sets in later in the evening.
For Australia, who had their moments in both matches and came perilously close to winning the second ODI, are in a must-win situation. Things could have been far better for them, though, had they not botched up with their shot selection.
Meanwhile, CoA member Diana Edulji is set to be present at the ground on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, said a JSCA release.
