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India likely to field same team that was thrashed in second T20I
Out for a rare duck in Guwahati, captain Kohli will be looking to make amends
India will be itching to avenge the thrashing they got in Guwahati when they take on an edgy but resilient Australia in the series-deciding third and final Twenty20 International in Hyderabad on Friday.
The hosts, who dominated the Aussies in the preceding One-Day International series, won the opening T20 comfortably before being soundly beaten in the second game.
Despite the recent success India has had over Australia, Virat Kohli maintains that the tourists are always tough to beat.
With the thumping eight-wicket on Tuesday, Australia go into series-decider with some serious momentum.
India had a forgettable day at the Baraspara Stadium, in Guwahati, in all departments after losing the toss.
Their highly-rated batsmen were found wanting against the swinging ball as rookie Australia pacer Jason Behrendorff did most of the damage.
Captain Kohli was out for a rare duck and he, along with the rest of the batting line-up, must be eager to make amends.
India's new ball bowlers did alright in Guwahati but wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were taken to the cleaners by Moises Henriques and Travis Head, who shared a match-winning partnership of 109 runs.
Yadav bowled either too short or too full and the set batsmen did not have any difficulty in punishing the loose deliveries.
However, dew proved to be a factor as the ball did not turn much in the Australian innings.
Despite the hammering the spinners received, it is unlikely that Kohli will make a change and bring in Axar Patel.
Similar is the case in the pace department, which means veteran Ashish Nehra, who is set to announce his retirement in the next series, will sit out again.
Australia did pull one back in the ODI series before eventually losing it 1-4, but the way they played in Tuesday’s second T20, the same resolve and purpose was missing from their body language in the earlier games.
David Warner has done well in the absence of regular captain Steve Smith, making optimum use of the resources at his disposal.
Behrendorff made his job easier with a spectacular spell of swing bowling before Henriques rose to the occasion after being promoted to number three in the batting order.
Leggie Adam Zampa too played his part well with a twin strike in the middle overs and he would be expected to do the same on Friday.
While Warner has led effectively, he would surely love to be back among the runs after failing in the earlier two games.
The pitch at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is usually good for batting and fans will be expecting a run-feast after the low-scoring affair on a damp pitch in Guwahati.
Though it is a regular venue in the IPL, it will be the first time that a T20 International will be played.
There are chances of rain as well with the weathermen expecting the ongoing spell to last till October 20.
Teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Manish Pandey, M S Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ashish Nehra, Dinesh Karthik, K L Rahul and Axar Patel.
Australia: David Warner (captain), Jason Behrendorff, Dan Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
Match starts 1900 IST.