By CricketCountry Staff
India will aim to avoid a whitewash in the Twenty20 series against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday, after losing the opening game of the two-match series by 31 runs in Sydney.
Published: Feb 03, 2012, 01:58 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 03, 2012, 01:58 PM (IST)
Team India desperately need a win at Melbourne to avoid a whitewash in the T20 series © Getty Images
By CricketCountry Staff
Melbourne: Feb 3, 2012
India will aim to avoid a whitewash in the Twenty20 series against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday, after losing the opening game of the two-match series by 31 runs in Sydney.
After their crushing loss in the Test series, India had hoped for redemption in the limited over format but they again succumbed to a 31-run defeat in the first Twenty20 on Wednesday.
The young legs did show some energy on the field but at the batting crease, they were no different to their Test seniors and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has to do something to inspire his team on Friday.
In the bowling department too, the Indians failed to make early inroads in the Australian line-up and now that off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s card has been shown up to be blank by a rampant David Warner last night, Zaheer Khan’s return would be crucial to India’s chances.
The wicket at the MCG also might not suit spinners on Friday so overtly as it did in the ANZ Stadium. It’s a batting wicket and the skills of the bowlers would be tested utmost.
Teams:
India: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma.
Australia: Matthew Wade, David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Aaron Finch, David Hussey, Mitchell Marsh, George Bailey (c), Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty.
