For just the second time in his brief ODI career, KL Rahul walked in to bat at number five in the batting line-up in the Rajkot ODI.

"Batting at 5, I wanted to give myself a few balls, you know what the wicket is doing and Virat said that it's coming on nicely," Rahul said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Once settled down, Rahul unfurled his shots and propelled India to a pretty good total on a wicket where Ravichandran Ashwin expressed, on social media, that a road roller might have been used.

What’s the par score on this pitch and ground @cheteshwar1 ?? Road roller was used or not? #INDvsAUS

�?Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) January 17, 2020

Rahul finished on a 52-ball 80, an innings studded with three sixes and six fours. In an Indian innings where no batsman scored at over a strike rate of 110 despite the flat nature of the wicket, Rahul's breathtaking strike-rate of 153.85 was a refreshing, much-needed innings for India.

What it also brought to the fore was the new role for Rahul in the side. With Rishabh Pant injured and the back-up keepers with the India A team in New Zealand, Rahul was the keeper in the side.

Keeping at international level is a fairly new job for Rahul as is batting at number five But it isn't like he has been allowed to play one role in the team. First used as a back-up opener, Rahul was pushed into the number four role before being used again at the top during the World Cup.

Kohli recently said that Rahul would be the back-up opener in the side as that's the role that fits him. Yet, he started this series at number three below the regular openers Dhawan and Rohit.

Now, with him shining at number five and as a keeper you'd hope he can test Rishabh Pant's comfort zone in ODIs. But alas, that's not how Rahul's career has panned out so far and it's unlikely that this path would deviate anytime soon.

At Rajkot, both Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma suffered injuries and it's likely that one of them at least might miss the final ODI at Bengaluru. If that's the case, Rahul might well be called upon as the back-up opener and will have to switch back up the order and also keep wickets.

"Each day I've been thrown different roles and responsibilities and I'm enjoying it for now," Rahul said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

It is testament to the talent of KL Rahul that despite India's constant meddling with his position in the team and his role in the side he continues to excel. What a brilliant player. #INDvAUS

�?Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) January 17, 2020

For now, he has fulfilled a lot of back-up roles in the side and coped an unfair amount of criticism. Maybe, just maybe, it's time to see him as a regular in the side and give him a well-defined role to get the best out of him.

Feature image courtesy: AFP/ Jewel Samad

India were handed a proper thrashing by Australia at Mumbai as they lost by 10 wickets in the opening game of the three-match ODI series. On paper, India's poor middle-order batting, Australia's ruthless openers and India's expensive bowlers cost the game for the hosts. But let us dig a bit deeper.

India fell into a hole they dug for themselves when they made a few selection calls that were mind-boggling, to say the least. Navdeep Saini was benched to accommodate Shardul Thakur and Yuzvendra Chahal was meted out for the same treatment to play Kuldeep Yadav, who has a significantly poor record against the Aussies compared to Chahal. 

By messing up the batting order further, India were already at a disadvantage. KL Rahul was pushed to no 3 with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan opening the innings. Virat Kohli moved to no 4 in the line-up only to walk in during the 28th over, with the team playing at a run-rate of less than 5 per over. 

Read | IND vs AUS, 1st ODI: Four significant things that will be forgotten soon

All of this played into Australia's hands but it wasn't like Aaron Finch didn't use his own tactical nous to further push India into the abyss. At 127/2, India were still poised to put on a 300-plus total given that's the template they generally follow. 

But with Kohli new to the crease, Australia knew they had an opening. 

As soon as Kohli walked in, Finch brought his strike bowler back to the attack. Pat Cummins bowled full and wide outside the off-stump to confuse Kohli. He didn't dismiss Kohli, but Dhawan was trapped in the confusion and spooned a catch. 

With Kohli still out there, Finch now turned to Zampa, who had dismissed him five times before across formats. Once Kohli was sent back by the leggie, Finch turned to Starc to rattle Shreyas Iyer and the left-arm pacer ruffled him with a bouncer before a full ball dismissed the middle-order batsman.

India lost four wickets in those 20 balls with Finch being the mastermind behind the collapse. He rotated his bowlers thrice in the six overs to trigger the collapse. Finch never allowed India to dominate and the trend continued in the batting innings.

Finch got Australia off to a flier by attacking the off-side region by staying on the leg-side of the ball. It allowed David Warner to settle in at the wicket and then go for his shots. At the end of the seventh over, Warner was on 11 off 18 balls while Finch raced to 31 in 24 balls. It paved way for the mammoth stand where Warner later took the center stage. 

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Punit Paranjpe

Virat Kohli, on the eve of the first ODI against Australia in Mumbai, suggested that height ponder moving to no.4 in the batting line-up to accommodate all of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul in the top three of the batting line-up. 

While it made a lot of sense once, now with Shreyas Iyer doing a good job at no. 4, this decision could well be a case of trying to fix what's not broken. Now, there's another completely different angle to this move, which is that Kohli might be facing spin early on in his innings should walk in at no. 4.

Read | Aaron Finch - in pursuit of fine-tuning his record against India

The Indian skipper is a fantastic player of spin and can milk spinners all day long while also helping himself to the odd boundary to get going. But against Australia, at least, it might not be a smart move.  Kohli has 1727 runs against Australia in 35 innings with a pretty good average of 53.96. 

Adam Zampa, on the other hand, has been the most successful bowler in the current Australian setup against Kohli in ODIs, with the leggie dismissing the skipper thrice in 10 matches. Zampa has further dismissed Kohli twice in T20Is taking his tally to five dismissals in limited-overs cricket against the Indian captain.

Read | Will Australia miss in-form Glenn Maxwell against India?

Only two spinners - Nathan Lyon (7) and Graeme Swann (8) - have dismissed Kohli more often in international cricket. Zampa, however, has also gifted runs in an attempt to get Kohli out. In ODIs, he has bowled 91 balls at Kohli, leaking 116 runs in the process, with 12 fours and a six. 

The leg-spinner with three dismissals has however made amends by dismissing him. With Zampa and Ashton Agar available for Australia this series, Kohli will have to contend with spin early on should he move to no. 4. 

Since 2016, Kohli averages a whopping 68.75 per dismissal against right-arm spinners (both off and leg-spin) in ODIs. He has been dismissed by them 12 times in 59 attempts. Of these 12, nine have been inflicted by leg-spinners with Zampa contributing to the most dismissals (three).

Read | Bumrah vs Cummins: The battle between the no. 1s

Two of Zampa's dismissals did not even require the fielder as he had the skipper trapped in front and bowled. What's worked for the leggie is cramping Kohli for room with short quicker straight deliveries angled into the batsman's pads. It has made manoeuvring extremely difficult and Kohli gets rather fidgety when those singles and doubles are being denied. The battle between the two could well decide the course of this series.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Glyn Kirk, Indranil Mukherjee

India were given a proper drubbing at Mumbai as centuries from Aaron Finch and David Warner led Australia to a 10-wicket triumph in the first ODI of the three-match series. As India's performance is dissected, we take a look at a few significant things that are likely to flow under the radar from this game.

Kohli's battle against Zampa

Kohli has 1743 runs against Australia in 36 innings with an average above 50. Since 2016, Kohli averaged 68.75 per dismissal against right-arm spinners (both off and leg spin) in ODIs before this game. As such, his dismissal by Zampa is likely to be dismissed as a one-off. However, this is the sixth time that the Aussie leg-spinner has dismissed Kohli in limited-overs cricket. Only Nathan Lyon (7) and Graeme Swann (8) among spinners have more dismissals against the Indian skipper.  In fact in his last 13 dismissals against spin, ten have been against leg-spinners. A potential weakness there?

Shardul Thakur's month

The last 23 days have been quite eventful for Shardul Thakur to say the least. He hit one of limited-overs cricket's premier pacers Sheldon Cottrell for a six and a four to help India win the series at Cuttack in the series decider against West Indies. At Indore against Lanka, he picked up a three for 23 and then at Pune, he slammed Lasith Malinga and Lahiru Kumara for sixes in a late order blitz. Here in Mumbai, he once again started well with the bat, hitting Cummins for back-to-back fours in a short cameo. With the ball, Thakur started brilliantly, and nearly dismissed David Warner twice in an over. After doing a Stuart Broad and nearly trapping Warner in front, he had him bounced out only for the Australian to overturn the decision. Thakur's day didn't get any better but he still has managed to reveal a few promising signs like late order hitting and swing and bounce upfront with the new ball.

READ | Dhoni ‘may soon end his ODI career�? says Ravi Shastri

Jadeja or Pant and what's Rahul doing in all this?

This is a sequence of events that need to be told in that exact order. India find their innings going nowhere and Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja are rebuilding. Jadeja finds the middle of the bat more often than not and gives the partnership some momentum before Pant finally breaks the shackles with a changed bat and matches up with him. Surely, he would go on to stay till the end and make a match-winning knock? No, that didn't happen as he made three more runs than Jadeja eventually before getting caught out off a bumper, beaten by Cummins' pace. Now, Pant was struck on the helmet in that event and doesn't start as keeper with KL Rahul taking up the gloves. See where this is going yet? Jadeja does as well in the finishing role as Pant, Rahul does a fine job behind the stumps and suddenly India might wonder why they have a hit or miss finisher in Pant.

Rahul - Dhawan thrive but was it any good?

With Rohit Sharma dismissed early, the onus was on Dhawan and number three Rahul to guide India's first innings. They did that with a few eye-catching strokes in a 121-run partnership. After the partnership was broken, India lost four wickets for 30 runs. But here's the thing. When India lost Rahul in the 28th over, India were on 134, a run rate of 4.94. The onus was on the middle-order to not just bat well but score quickly too given that run-chases get easier at the Wankhede owing to the dew factor. In the frenzy, India lost a few more wickets and found themselves in a hole. Australia, on the other hand, made 110 for the loss of no wickets in the first 15 overs with the openers giving them a solid platform that wasn't just runs but quick runs. Are India missing a trick by playing Dhawan, Rahul and Rohit in the same XI and pushing Kohli to no. 4?

Feature image courtesy: Punit Paranjpe/ AFP

As India resume rivalries with Australia, the focus will undoubtedly be on home skipper Virat Kohli, who has a chance to equal Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI centuries record on Indian terrain. The former Mumbai batsman has 20 ODI centuries in 164 games, one more than the current Indian captain. Were Kohli to get a century in the first ODI against Australia, he will have as many tons as Tendulkar, but having done so in just 93 home matches.

Kohli was instrumental in India’s last home series against Australia, scoring a brilliant century which almost helped his team get over the line. The Indian skipper has eight ODI centuries against the Aussies so far, and will be optimistic of adding to that tally in the three-match home series.

Speaking ahead of the first clash, the Indian skipper was eager to play this three-match ODI series, despite 2020 being the year of the T20 World Cup. “We along with Australia are probably the top two sides in the world as far as balance is concerned, so whether it’s relevant or irrelevant that’s for people to decide, but as players, we are excited to play Australia, a full-strength Australia in our conditions to test ourselves against the best,�?Kohli said in the pre-match press conference.

Read | Virat Kohli against Adam Zampa makes for an interesting battle

The 31-year-old also said that he would be open to playing a day-night pink ball Test when India travel to Australia to play a Test series in 2021. �?Look we played the day-night Test here, we were pretty happy with how it went and it has become a very exciting feature of any Test series and we are absolutely up to playing day-night Tests," Kohli told reporters ahead of the first ODI of the three-match series against Australia.

"We are absolutely up for the challenge and whether its Gabba, Perth doesn't matter to us. We do have the skill sets now to compete against anyone in the world anywhere in any format of the game," Kohli added.

Feature image courtesy: Punit Paranjpe/ AFP

There is no denying the impact of Aaron Finch at the top of the Australian batting order. With David Warner now switching to a more conservative approach of starting slow and then building steam, Finch has almost always teed off from the beginning, unleashing a powerful array of strokes all around the wicket.

Captaincy has only spurred Finch's form in the fifty-overs format. The Australian opener has an ODI batting average of 46.59 as captain with four centuries and an innings per fifty-plus score of 2.55. The corresponding numbers when not being the captain are 38.38 and 3.11.

Read | Will Australia miss in-form Glenn Maxwell against India?

As someone who leads the troops from the front, Finch started gaining momentum as an ODI player in 2017. Despite some underwhelming few years at the top for Australia in ODIs, he was persisted with and the fruits started showing in 2017, a year in which he jumped up after a dismal 2016 (655 runs at 28.47) and averaged 50.62 with a fifty-plus score every second innings.

Since then, Finch has only become a better batsman. In 2018, he scored 493 runs at 44.81 with three centuries and in 2019, he tallied over a 1000 runs in a year for the first time. With four centuries, the most in a year for him alongside 2014, Finch made 1141 runs at an average of 51.86.

A Finch's ODI batting summary (year-wise)
Year	Matches	Inns	Runs	Average	100s	50s	Inns/50+ scores
2019	23	23	1141	51.86	4	6	2.30
2018	11	11	493	44.81	3	1	2.75
2017	8	8	405	50.62	1	3	2.00
2016	25	23	655	28.47	1	5	3.83
2015	16	15	561	40.07	1	4	3.00
2014	18	18	790	43.88	4	3	2.57
2013	18	17	514	30.23	1	2	5.67

While captaincy has, in general, spurred him on, this hasn't been the case against India. In nine ODIs as captain against India, Finch has zero centuries and averages 24.33 with a strike rate in the 70s. In fact, he only has one half-century in the format as captain against the Men in Blue.

On the contrary, when not playing as skipper, he averages 51.87 against India with a strike rate close to 90 with two hundreds and six fifties. A lot of this also has to do with India exploiting Finch's problem with deliveries bowled at the stumps early on.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has time and again troubled him with the incoming delivery that goes through his defence to trap him in front or clean him up. Jasprit Bumrah's natural angle is also towards his pads, something which Finch doesn't quite enjoy. 

A Finch's ODI batting summary
is captain	Metrics	is not captain
28	Matches	91
28	Inns	87
1258	Runs	3301
46.59	Average	38.38
87.23	SR	90.41
7/4	50s/100s	17/11
2.55	Inns/50+ score	3.11

43 of his 113 dismissals in ODIs are either bowled or lbw, a total of 38.05% of total dismissals which is pretty high for an opener. Against India, though, the percentage further increases with 12 of his 25 dismissals being bowled or lbw (48%).

The current Indian side has all had success against Finch with Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav (thrice) and Ravindra Jadeja all dismissing him at least two times in ODIs. Finch will have a mighty hurdle to overcome as he looks to lead the charge in a short ODI series early in 2020 in the sub-continent.

Read | Bumrah vs Cummins: The battle between the no. 1s

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Mahmoud Khaled

Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins are both freaks. If one returned from a pretty long injury lay-off that spanned years to become the no. 1 Test bowler, the other came onto the scene as a yorker specialist and went on to become one all-format scary commodity in the last couple of years.

A graph plotted for the rise of both Bumrah and Cummins would just go skyward with the two showing incredible progress over the last couple of years in International cricket. With India set to take on Australia in a three-match ODI series at home starting January 14, Cummins and Bumrah have a chance to go head-to-head in a one-on-one showdown.

Jasprit Bumrah is currently the no 1 ranked ODI bowler while Pat Cummins is the no 1 ranked Test bowler. Cummins, though, is recognised as one exceptional bowler across formats as witnessed by the huge bidding war he triggered in the recent Indian T20 League auctions where he ended up as the highest valued player.

How does he stack up to Bumrah in ODIs though?

Both Bumrah and Cummins have played 58 ODIs apiece. While the Indian pacer has 103 wickets, Cummins comes a close second with 96. Both have the same number of four and five-wicket hauls but the average, economy and strike rate metrics are won hands down by Bumrah, justifying his no. 1 tag. While Cummins has an average of 27.11, an economy of 5.14 and a strike rate above 30, Bumrah has an average of 21.88, an economy less than 5 and a strike rate in the 20.

Bumrah vs Cummins: ODI bowling summary
Bumrah	Metrics	Cummins
58	Matches	58
501.3	Overs	505.3
103	Wkts	96
21.88	Ave	27.11
4.49	Econ	5.14
29.2	SR	31.5
5	4w	5
1	5w	1

But Bumrah's reputation in the format was built over time, while Cummins translated into an ODI bowler very recently. A look at the two bowlers' record in 2019 in the fifty-overs format shows Cummins inching ahead of the uncanny Bumrah.

In 16 matches last year, Cummins took 31 wickets with a five-wicket haul and a strike rate of 27.3. Bumrah, on the other hand, played 14 ODIs for 25 wickets at a strike rate of 31.8. The Indian pacer continues to be the more economical with a rate of 4.62 but Cummins' has brought down his economy too and was pretty close to Bumrah at 4.73 last year. Even in terms of average, the Australian was triumphant over Bumrah.

Bumrah and Cummins against AUS and IND in ODIs respectively
Metrics	Bumrah vs AUS	Cummins vs IND
Matches	11	12
Overs	99.5	114.2
Wickets	17	19
Avg.	29.82	28.78
SR	35.20	36.10

The head-to-head match-ups also have mixed results. Cummins in 12 ODIs against India has 19 wickets at an average of 28.78 and a strike rate of 36.1. Bumrah against Australia in this format has 17 wickets at 29.82 (higher than Cummins) and a strike rate of 35.2 (lower than Cummins).

Whatever turn this series takes, the battle between these two exceptional pace bowlers will be one to watch out for, especially with the Mumbai surface (where the first game will be played) aiding quick bowlers. There is little to separate Bumrah and Cummins in ODIs as the numbers suggest and we could be in for quite a spectacle as they go head-to-head again.

Read | Glenn Maxwell sets Twitter on fire with a thrilling display in BBL

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Indranil Mukherjee, Sajjad Hussain

Glenn Maxwell, returning from mental health issues, wasn't picked in Australia's ODI team for the upcoming tour of India which comprises three ODI matches. The swashbuckling all-rounder had an underwhelming World Cup in the fifty-overs format in England last year, making 177 runs in 10 matches at an average of 22.12. He went wicketless with the ball too.

Maxwell was subsequently dropped from the ODI side although he went on to play a few T20Is in Australia before mental health issues struck him down. He was ignored for the Indian tour with Australia preferring 2019's highest Test run-scorer, Marnus Labuschagne, in the ODI setup. With Steven Smith, Peter Handscomb, Ashton Turner and Alex Carey available in the middle-order, Maxwell was deemed surplus to requirements.

However, the blistering middle-order batsman has been in stunning form in the Big Bash League in Australia for the Melbourne Stars. Maxwell is the second-highest run-scorer with 311 runs in 8 matches at an average of 77.75. He has also struck runs at a deadly rate of 169.95, the best for any batsman with 200 runs in the season. 

With a whopping 18 maximums so far, Maxwell leads the six-hitting chart too. Maxwell credited the mental health break he took recently for his exceptional hitting in the Big Bash. On Friday, he marshalled a run-chase of 169 against Melbourne Renegades with a calculated assault that confirmed how Australia might miss him in this ODI series in India, particularly given his efficiency against spinners in the middle overs.

Read | Glenn Maxwell sets Twitter on fire with a thrilling display in BBL

He was on 34 off 29 balls at one point, happily leaving close to 100 runs to get off 10 overs. It went down to 61 runs to take off the last five overs before Maxwell burst open. In his next 16 balls, the all-rounder slammed six maximums to finish on 83* off 45 balls. It was his second half-century on the trot in the league. 

Maxwell has played 14 ODIs in India and has a batting average over 30 and a strike rate of 128.35 in the format. In T20Is, he has 322 runs in 8 innings in the country and averages 40-plus while striking at 152.6. He even has a T20I hundred against India in India and strikes at 145. 

This is in addition to his vast experience of the conditions in the IPL. With even a Test century to his name in the country, Maxwell will be a huge miss for the Aussies, particularly with his sensational recent form in the Big Bash. 

What Maxwell brings to the middle-order is an ability to add impetus and strike against spinners, a great quality to have in the sub-continent. While Labuschagne in his short Test career and Peter Handscomb are good players of spin too, Maxwell brings an x-factor with his ability to demolish attacks and produce match-winning knocks like he showed in the game on Friday against Melbourne Renegades.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Paul Ellis

India have ended 2019 on a winning note after defeating West Indies 2-1 in a three match ODI series at home. This was India’s 10^th straight ODI series victory against the Windies who just can’t seem to find a way past the Men in Blue in the 50-over format. Now, their squad is bolstered by the return of key players, Jasprit Bumrah and Shikhar Dhawan.

New year will bring in new challenges as India embark on a three-match T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka and Australia respectively in the comfort of their own backyard. India’s lethal pacer, Jasprit Bumrah is fit and is back in the squad while the left-handed opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan also returns into the picture after missing the series against the Windies.

Read | Shardul Thakur - Ravindra Jadeja - from IPL finals to Cuttack

The chairman of the selection committee, MSK Prasad after much deliberation has decided to rest Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami, keeping in mind the long tour of New Zealand just after the series against Australia. Rohit has played more matches than his skipper, Virat Kohli this year and has been given a much-needed rest by the selectors.

The mystery around MS Dhoni still prevails while fast bowler Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar miss out due to injuries. Pacer Navdeep Saini has been brought in place of Shami.   

After a break of couple of weeks, India will take on Sri Lanka in three T20 Internationals from January 5 which is followed by three ODIs against Australia, which commences on January 14.

Squads:

India Squad (T20Is against Sri Lanka): Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson.

India Squad (ODIs vs Australia): Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Paul Ellis