If one looks at the scoreline of the series, the immediate conclusion that one will come to is that India have been beaten black and blue over the course of the four matches. But, that hasn't quite be the case. On the contrary, India have dominated almost fifty percent of the time in almost each of the games. And, that is rather impressive irrespective of the circumstances. Unfortunately, the thought India will take into the final ODI is that of the disastrous batting collapse at Canberra, and of the fact that they should never have lost the game after the kind of impregnable situation they found themselves in.
The objective for India at Sydney obviously will be to prevent a whitewash so that they can at least save some pride, and with it, their number two ranking in one-dayers. But, under current circumstances that really seems a massive task. In the first three matches it seemed that it was their bowling that has let them down. But, at Canberra, they had everything going for them to chase down a mammoth total. And yet, they faltered, in spite of the fact that it were the Australian bowlers who were under pressure. The Canberra disaster points towards an overall malaise ailing the team, that off their inability to finish off the match, be it with bat or ball.
There is not a lot in terms of changes that India can ring in. But, with Sydney expected to offer some turn for the spinners, offie Ravichandran Ashwin could make a comeback after being dropped for the last two matches. Ashwin must at least keep it tight even if not picking wickets else he wouldn't be rated highly in world cricket. India might also try out Axar Patel. Ravindra Jadeja hasn't done badly with the ball, but with the series lost, there is no harm in experimenting. Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma both were among the wickets in the last match, but it didn't count for much as they were also the most expensive of bowlers.
In the batting department, India will be forced to make a change as Ajinkya Rahane will miss the final match due to injury having split the webbing in his fingers. Manish Pandey will get a chance to make an impression again, and will be keen to make an impact in Australia in case he gets an opportunity to bat. Shikhar Dhawan roared back to form in the previous game, which is great news as far as India are concerned. In fact, the top three are now in scintillating touch with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli striking the ball like gold. The problem arises with MS Dhoni and the completely inexperienced middle order.
Although Australia were 3-0 up in the series going into Canberra, the miraculous triumph in that game must have lifted their confidence notches higher. They will believe they can beat India from any position. Aaron Finch and David Warner batted wonderfully well in the last game. In fact, the entire batting order is in great nick, with the likes of Steven Smith, George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell all among the runs. Shaun Marsh remains unlucky, having to sit out in spite of consecutive half-centuries. But, that also tells you about the difference in the bench strength of the two sides. How Team India would wish a Marsh was playing for them as well.
-- By A Cricket Analyst
