The T20 series is done and dusted. MS Dhoni & Co will lift the silverware on Sunday irrespective of the conclusion of third and final T20 of the series. Of course it is a dead rubber clash, but the Men in Blue will look to make it 3-0.
India will face a depleted Australian side in the third T20 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Sunday. Australia clearly missed the likes of David Warner, Steve Smith and others during the second T20. They made six changes to their side and yet were unable to overpower India.
Click here for the the match as it happened.
Dhoni is unlikely to make any changes to his squad, while Australia will make some more changes, for sure. T20 skipper Aaron Finch will miss the third match after pulling a hamstring, which looked pretty serious and is a cause of concern for Cricket Australia ahead of the ICC World T20 2016 in March, which will be held in India.
Watch the highlights of the match HERE
Shane Watson has been named the captain for the third and final T20 of the series. Cameron Bancroft is all set to make his debut, even as Matthew Wade has flown to New Zealand for the upcoming ODI series, along with Smith, Warner, John Hastings and Kane Richardson.
Scott Boland and Andrew Tye stole the show with the ball for Australia in the second T20 when the other bowlers were being taken to the cleaners. These other bowlers will have to step up against India as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are going through a purple patch.
The good news for Australia is Usman Khawaja has been called to replace Warner at the top of the order. Khawaja has been in the form of his life. His average in the recently concluded Big Bash League was 172.50. Australia will look to send him out to bat along with Shaun Marsh, himself a high-impact player.
Problems for Australia lie in the middle order as in both the matches they crumbled like a house of cards.
India have outplayed Australia in almost all the departments. In spite of a number of spills on the field, India have been a better fielding side than Australia somehow.
Indian spinners will look to assert their dominance yet again during the third T20. The likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have been brilliant in this series. Not only have they been economical but have also managed to break crucial partnerships.
Although fans are yet to get a glimpse of Yuvraj Singh with the bat, his spell during the second T20 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was nothing less than crucial. He also managed to pick up the wicket of Glenn Maxwell.
Australia will have to opt for either Cameron Boyce or Nathan Lyon. The spinners have not made much of an impact against the likes of Kohli and Sharma.
The pitch is expected to be meant for a run feast yet again. The weather forecast says there are no chances of showers.
Having won the T20 series already, India will look for a clean sweep against an already weakened Australia. The fans can expect yet another riveting encounter between these two powerhouses of the international game.
Probable lineups:
Australia: Shane Watson (C), Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Bancroft (wk), Nathan Lyon/Cameron Boyce, Andrew Tye, Scott Boland, James Faulkner, Shaun Tait.
India: MS Dhoni (C & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra.
Where to Watch Live
India vs Australia 3rd T20 is scheduled for a 7:10 pm local time (2:10 pm IST, 8:40 am GMT, 3:40 am ET) start. Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD3 will broadcast the final match of the T20 series live on TV in India. Starsports.com and Hotstar are the websites which will show the T20 match by live streaming online.
Channel 9 will broadcast the match live in Australia, while the online live stream option is on Cricket Australia Live.
Sky Sports 1/HD1 is the channel to watch the match in the UK, while the live streaming option is on Watch Sky Sports and Sky Go.
Willow TV will broadcast the match live in the US, while all the action can be live streamed on Willow TV Online.
Fans in the Middle East can catch the T20 match live on OSN Cricket, with the live stream option on OSN Play.
Cricket fans in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa can watch the match live on SuperSport, with the live streaming online option on SuperSport Live.
