India drew first blood in their ODI series with Australia by virtue of winning a rain affected opening match on Sunday and they can take a significant step towards claiming the series when the two meet for the second game in Kolkata on Thursday.
Australia were competitive at times in that first match but will be disappointed to let their hosts get away from them. There was enough to suggest this will be a tasty match if the weather cooperates.
India
I would imagine India will be fairly happy with their performance in the first match. They certainly put to bed any fears that their top order have to fire for them to win matches. Ultimately we can’t read too much into proceedings given the effect the rain had on the match but a win is a win and it has them in a good position.
India will be pleased with the form that their spin pair showed in the first match. One of the big things heading into the series was how well or badly Australia played the spin and it will be a huge confidence boost for them to already have the wood on the opposing batsmen. The form of the middle order is another positive.
Australia
After having India 11/3 with three big names on their way back to the pavilion Australia will have been very disappointed to let India get as far ahead as they did. They plugged away with the ball but lacked the firepower and then when it came to the bat the rain had probably had the negative effect to impact the match.
I would be interested to see how Australia go if they bat first. I suspect they will struggle against the spin again and if they are to pick up anything from this series then they will need to find a way to combat that. The positive for them was that their new ball bowlers got stuck in and if they can continue to do that they might find a way to win.
Team News
India are likely to be unchanged for this contest unless they decide to bring KL Rahul in for Manish Pandey. Pandey may get another go on what is his IPL home ground though.
Australia may need to rethink their batting line up. Hilton Cartwright didn’t really cut the mustard and it might be that he makes way or at the very least he drops down the batting order.
Eden Gardens
Surprisingly this will be just the 30th ODI to be held on this ground. India are only 11-8 with a no result from the matches they have played here too. Australia have won both their encounters on this ground and conditions might be in their favour in this match.
Scores in Kolkata are generally high with the pace and bounce in the track and there is talk that there is plenty of grass on the pitch after the build up to the match was dominated by heavy rain. That rain is forecast during the match sadly.
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Betting
With that rain forecast for the match I’m not going to go too mad here. I wanted to get more involved in the series at this point but conditions aren’t really going to allow that.
I can’t ignore the form of Rohit Sharma on this ground though. He averages just under 100 in all competitions in his last nine knocks on the ground and hit his mammoth 264 in an ODI against Sri Lanka here. The dimensions and the track suit Sharma perfectly and his confidence should see him cover 33.5 runs.
Tips
Back R.Sharma – Over 33.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Paddy Power
Back him here:
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