Australia Bowl First Against Unchanged India in Series-Deciding ODI at Adelaide

Australia have won the toss and opted to bowl first against India in the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval, as they aim to seal the three-match series. The hosts made three changes to their line-up, while India stuck with the same XI that suffered a seven-wicket defeat in the first game at Perth.

Wicketkeeper Alex Carey returns to the side after a Sheffield Shield outing ahead of the upcoming Ashes series, joining legspinner Adam Zampa and fast bowler Xavier Bartlett in Australia’s playing XI. The trio replace Josh Philippe, Nathan Ellis, and Matthew Kuhnemann respectively.

Captain Mitchell Marsh said he had no hesitation in choosing to bowl first on a cool evening in Adelaide, where over 50,000 fans are expected for the sold-out clash. “The conditions look good for bowling early on, and we’ll look to take advantage of that,” Marsh said at the toss.

India, led by Shubman Gill in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma as captain, have resisted the temptation to bring back Kuldeep Yadav, instead backing Washington Sundar, who impressed in Perth. Despite the loss, the visitors are confident of bouncing back at a venue where they’ve won their past two ODIs against Australia.

There had been concerns over the weather in the lead-up to the match, but the forecast has cleared with no rain expected.

Teams

Australia: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Matt Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Mitch Owen, Xavier Bartlett, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.

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

With both sides eyeing momentum ahead of a packed international calendar, all eyes are on Adelaide as Australia seek to wrap up the series, while India fight to stay alive.