A batting and bowling performance at the same time is what MS Dhoni will dream as India look to finish off this series against Australia with at least one win courtesy of a victory in the 5th ODI in Sydney.
Only the middle and lower order batsmen know how they managed to throw away victory in the fourth match in Canberra on Wednesday, after Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan had put them in such a position that a loss looked near-impossible.
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But impossible it did not prove to be as Kane Richardson bagged five wickets to spur Australia to an improbable win. With the series now 4-0 in favour of Australia, all India can do is go out at the SCG, play without any fear – much like Kohli and Dhawan did for much of that chase in the 4th ODI – and hope that is enough to finally end the recent hold Australia have over them in matches Down Under.
If Kohli and Dhawan batted the way they did India will have a good chance, particularly the India vice-captain, whose form was so good at the Manuka Oval on Wednesday, it even had Glenn Maxwell praising him to the heavens.
"I don't think anyone in the world is hitting the ball better than Virat at the moment," Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who is a doubt for the 5th ODI with a knee problem, told Cricket Australia's official website. "A lot of us are still in awe of what he can do on the field, and the way that he all but took the game away from us the other night in Canberra was something that we were pretty much powerless to stop.
"It took some really good bowling from our guys to change the momentum, and once we got a couple of quick breakthroughs all the responsibility was pretty much heaped on Virat given the inexperience of their middle and lower-order batters. We thought that might be the case, and luckily for us that plan worked."
With the pitch at the SCG expected to be slightly on the slower side, we might see a few of the spinners come into play, but it does look like being another run-fest. If it is anything like the one in Canberra, nobody will be complaining too much, even if the bat and ball battle might be a bit lopsided.
India might think about making changes after Gurkeerat Singh Mann failed to withstand the pressure of the chase, falling to a loose shot, while his spin bowling is yet to convince. R Ashwin might be brought back in, while Axar Patel is still waiting to play his first match of the series. Barinder Sran might return after Bhuvneshwar Kumar disappointed with the ball again, with Ajinkya Rahane likely to sit out after splitting his webbing, which means a possible return for Manish Pandey.
Australia have concerns over Maxwell, but apart from that, they should go in with the similar XI.
Where to Watch Live
India vs Australia 5th ODI is scheduled for a 2.20 pm local time (8.50 am IST, 3.20 am GMT) start. Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD3 (Hindi) will provide live TV coverage of the in India. Starsports online and Hotstar are the websites which will show the ODI 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 2 is the channel to watch in the UK, while the live streaming option is on Watch Sky Sports and Sky Go. Willow TV will show the match live in the US, while all the action can be live streamed on Willow TV Online.
Viewers in the Middle East can catch the ODI match live on OSN Cricket, with the live stream option on OSN Play. Audience in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa can watch the match live on SuperSport, with the live streaming online option on SuperSport Live.
