IND vs AUS 5th Match Prediction

IND vs AUS Team Previews

India

India made several changes to its lineup as Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Kumar, and Jitesh Sharma came into the playing eleven. Iyer and Chahar had a forgettable match, but Mukesh Kumar and Jitesh Sharma were very impressive. 

There is something about Jitesh Sharma's ability to strike big from the very first ball that he plays that makes him rare in Indian cricket. Also, Rinku Singh showed that he is a complete T20 batter and does not need to be pigeon-holed as someone capable of playing just the last five overs. 

India's approach remained fearless throughout the inning and only the late collapse of the lower order is something that they would be worried about. 

India's bowling performance was salvaged by India's spinners. Both Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi had a terrific match. Axar Patel picked up three wickets but Ravi Bishnoi was instrumental in creating pressure. Both of them will continue to be the main threat against the new-look Australian batting lineup that is not adept at playing spin. 

Mukesh Kumar is excellent at the death, Avesh Khan also did quite well but the lack of any sort of menace in Deepak Chahar's bowling was very concerning. He got away with some lucky wickets in the death overs but we have no doubt that he is currently short of confidence and may end up costing India heavily. 

India is unlikely to make any change for this final T20 international. 

Australia

Australia was found a bit short of quality in the previous match. After a good start where it took early wickets to peg back the Indians, poor bowling in the middle allowed India to get to a competitive total. Similarly, a fast start in the chase was followed up by a lack of intent and clear ideas against the spinners. 

Matthew Wade admitted that they were just not good enough and unfortunately for them, the fix does not appear to be straightforward. 

Players like Ben McDermott, Josh Philippe, Aaron Hardie, or even Matthew Short are not comfortable against spin. They will always be vulnerable to getting out to the slower bowlers or struggle to keep the run rate high enough. In fact, we think Australia is lucky that India does not have a third-spin bowling option in their ranks at the moment. 

In such a scenario, Travis Head remains the only real match-winner for Australia on most days. 

The bowling lineup is not too special either. Chris Green, Tanveer Sangha, and Matt Short as the spin options are underwhelming. No real spin, mystery, or threat. We like Jason Behrendorff and Ben Dwarshius as T20 bowlers but their match-up against a left-handed heavy Indian batting lineup is not too encouraging either.