There was a moment during the Indian training session when all the players suddenly stopped in their tracks and stared at the trees that hang over the practice nets. A group of monkeys hopped widely from one branch to another. As most of the players burst out in laughter, the evergreen Shikar Dhawan remained silent, unperturbed and focused at the task ahead. Dhawan might be a certainty for the World Cup, but the left-hander has not scored heavily in the 50-over format in the past few months. It has been 15 innings since Dhawan last scored a hundred for India and since the Asia Cup in October 2018, he has only averaged 27.30. The concern for Dhawan is that he has not capitalised on his starts and has eight scores in between 10-30 in his last 14 innings. [caption id=“attachment_6193671” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shaun Marsh attends a nets session ahead of the 2nd India-Australia ODI at Nagpur. AP[/caption] The Australian bowlers have also had the wood on the Indian opener in the past few matches and another failure in Nagpur could well lead to his omission and an opportunity for KL Rahul. The pitch in Nagpur is once again predicted to be on the slower side, meaning Dhawan has to be cautious at the start of his innings. Australia will rue the fact they dismissed the top three Indian batsmen relatively cheaply in Hyderabad but still manage to lose the match . One thing that is in the visiting team’s favour is the form of Adam Zampa. The leg-spinner has been in outstanding form since arriving in India and is suddenly proving to be a nuisance to Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper has fallen prey to Zampa four times in the last nine innings in the white-ball format. Speaking on the eve of the match, Zampa downplayed his success against Kohli and felt this Indian team is more than one-man army. “Getting Virat out is one thing, he was in at the time and it was big wicket, but then you also have to think about getting Dhoni out and Rohit out. Virat is a big wicket, but there are six or seven big wickets in the Indian team.” One aspect that will be in Zampa’s favour is the size of the ground. The long square boundaries at the VCA stadium in Nagpur mean that it will be difficult to find the ropes and his bad ball can be protected. The dimensions of the playing area could also tempt India to bring in Yuzvendra Chahal, but with pitch expected to be on a slower side, it will be a brave call to omit Ravindra Jadeja. Indian fast bowlers opted to rest during the practice session, but both Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are certain starters for the second ODI, which means India are expected to field the same XI as Hyderabad. The Australian batting will be bolstered by the return of Shaun Marsh. The stylish batsmen missed the opening game, but batting for a substantial period in the nets. Marsh had been Australia’s most prolific batsmen in the ODI format — scoring four centuries and a fifty in his last 10 innings. The return of Marsh will cause a reshuffle in the line-up, with Ashton Turner expected to be omitted and Marcus Stoinis slipping back down to No 5. Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav handpicked Marsh as the danger man for the Australians, but at the same time also stated he was looking forward to the challenge. “Shaun Marsh was playing really well (against me) and they (team management) wanted to give a break (to me) for a couple of games. After that, I saw his batting is good and Shaun Marsh plays spinners well, plays on the front, then watched a lot and planned accordingly how to bowl, let’s see when he plays how do I bowl to him, that is important.” Kuldeep stated The short turned around and the tight scheduling could also lead to Australia bringing in Jyhe Richardson for Jason Behrendorff or even Pat Cummins. Behrendorff spent a lot of time with fast bowling coach, Troy Cooley, working on his wrist position. The Australians believe the Indian openers are vulnerable against Behrendorff’s full-swinging deliveries with the new ball. The contest between the Australian fast bowlers and the India top three will be pivotal in the context of the match. Australia must be still stinging from their loss in the opening match in Hyderabad. They pushed India to the brink, but at the end failed to strike the decisive blow. With Marsh back in the mix and Zampa at the top of his game, the visitors will believe that if they win those crucial moments, then a victory could be on the cards. One record that is against the visitors is that they have never beaten India at this venue. All three games have resulted in a loss and unless they can knock over the Indian top three cheaply again, the odds of a win are strongly against them. Squads: India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Yuzvendra Chahal, Siddarth Kaul. Australia: Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch(c), Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Alex Carey(w), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Lyon, Andrew Tye. Venue: VCA Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur. Time: 1.30 pm IST.
With Shaun Marsh back in the mix and Adam Zampa at the top of his game, Australia will believe that if they win those crucial moments, then a victory could be on the cards.
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