India won the toss and elected to bat first at Mohali on a pitch that looks good for batting. But that wasn’t the big news. Rather, it was the four changes that the hosts have made to the playing XI.
“We are going to bat first. Looks like a belter of a pitch. Can’t really predict when the dew is going to come, if at all it is going to come at all. Four changes. Rishabh [Pant] is in for MS [Dhoni]. KL [Rahul] is back in place of [Ambati] Rayudu. Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] takes [Mohammed] Shami’s place and [Yuzvendra] Chahal replaces [Ravindra] Jadeja,” said Virat Kohli at the toss.
One change was expected. Rishabh Pant comes in for the rested Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But KL Rahul’s elevation into the playing XI in place of Ambati Rayudu is an interesting one. Does it mean that the Indian team management is looking at KL Rahul batting in the top-order and not necessarily the opening slot?
Bhuvneshwar gets a game and it will be a chance for him to reclaim his spot as Jasprit Bumrah’s new-ball partner.
And finally, Chahal comes back into the playing XI in place of Ravindra Jadeja.
Australia skipper Aaron Finch said they would have batted first if they had won the toss as well.
“It will stay together for the whole game. We have been expecting dew throughout the whole series but it hasn’t come. We want to win the series,” said Finch.
Kohli:
Teams:
India XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), KL RAHUL, Rishabh Pant(w), Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.
Australia XI: Aaron Finch (c), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Alex Carey (wk), Jhye Richardson, Pat Cummins, Jason Behrendorff, Adam Zampa.
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