India will look to carry momentum into 2nd ODI

India will aim to produce another complete performance against Australia in the second ODI in Nagpur on Tuesday, even as auditions for World Cup hopefuls will continue.

The Virat Kohli-led team ticked all the boxes in their opening win of the series Australia on Saturday.

With only four ODIs remaining before the World Cup, the hosts will look to finalise the two available spots in an otherwise settled squad for the mega event.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan failed in Hyderabad but is likely to get another game as chances of K L Rahul appear bleak.

Vice-captain Rohit Sharma can take any attack to the cleaners on his day and the Aussies would be wary of him and skipper Virat Kohli, who scored 44 in the first ODI.

Both Rohit and Kohli are always hungry for runs and if the duo fires in unison at the VCA stadium, then the visitors are in for a hard time.

Ambati Rayudu failed in the first game but knowing his abilities and the backing he has from the team management, his place in the playing eleven is more or less guaranteed.

Kedar Jadhav, who steered the team home with an unbeaten 81 on Saturday, has more or less sealed the number six position. He is also useful with his right-arm off-breaks, making him more valuable to the side.

It would have been pleasing for coach Ravi Shastri to see that 37-year-old Mahendra Singh Dhoni hitting form. His unbeaten 59 proved that his finishing skills are not on the wane.

Dhoni and Jadhav now form a vital cog in India's middle order, especially when the top order fails.

The Indian team could bring in the young Rishabh Pant in place of all-rounder Vijay Shankar, who had an off day with the ball in the first ODI.

India's bowling, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, has been impeccable and it reflected in the first ODI, when he made the Aussies dance to his tunes. Along with him, Mohammed Shami is proving to be a lethal weapon in Kohli's armour.

Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav (2-46 in the first ODI) has been leading the spin attack and is effective in the middle overs. But, it will be interesting to see if Ravindra Jadeja, who remained wicketless in his miserly effort, gets another chance or Yuzvendra Chahal comes back to the Playing XI.

Australia, on the other hand, will need to pull one back to ensure that the hosts do not double their advantage early in the series.

Out-of-form skipper Aaron Finch would be a definite concern -- Finch, who had scores of 0 and 8 in the preceding T20 series, continued his bad run in the first ODI.

The 32-year old would hope to get some runs under his belt on Tuesday.

Other batsmen like opener Usman Khawaja, the flamboyant Glenn Maxwell, all-rounder Marcus Stonis, threw their wickets away after getting their eye in and would be aiming for bigger scores.

On the bowling front, leg-spinner Adam Zampa troubled the Indian batsmen and will be key for the visitors. But he needs adequate support upfront from pacers Pat Cummins and Nathan Counter-Nile.

Australia could try Andrew Tye, who regularly plays in the IPL, ahead of Jason Behrendoff in the 2nd ODI.

Teams (From):

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant, Siddarth Kaul, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja.

Australia: Aaron Finch (captain), D'Arcy Short, Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey, Peter Handscomb, Ashton Turner, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff, Jhye Richardson, Pat Cummins, Andrew Tye, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Nathan Lyon. Match Starts at 1:30 pm (IST).

Match starts 1.30.