After leveling the three-match ODI series against Australia in Adelaide, the Indian team us raring to lock horns with the hosts in the third and final ODI in Melbourne on January 18. Both teams go into this match with a couple of issues to address and every decision taken herewith will play a crucial role in the future considering the proximity of the 2019 cricket World Cup.

For Australia, skipper Aaron Finch will continue to open the batting with wicketkeeper Alex Carey and the former will be keen on grabbing the spotlight in the deciding game after having a quiet series.

The series decider will be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and it has been speculated that the captain winning the toss has decided to bat first given the extremely hot conditions. Since the MCG has a big playing surface, it will not be surprising to see a lot of singles and twos being run. But running will be easier in the comparatively cooler weather conditions of the evening so it will be interesting to see what the captain who wins the toss decides to do.

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For India, question marks have been raised over Ambati Rayudu’s position after the back-to-back failures in the first two matches of the series but in the absence of any replacement, he will continue at his number 4 slot. Virat Kohli will be overjoyed by MS Dhoni’s performance in the last game and the Indian captain also praised Dinesh Karthik for playing the finisher’s role to perfection.

In the bowling department, the Indians have been sweating over their third seamer as Khaleel Ahmed – in the first ODI – and Mohammed Siraj – in the second – were both expensive. This might force India to play Yuzvendra Chahal and go in with three spinners.

Team India’s Predicted XI:

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (WK), Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal