New Delhi: Australia captain Steve Smith hailed the Indore pitch as possibly the best batting pitch of the series on Sunday, during the toss of the third ODI match. (LIVE BLOG | SCORECARD)
The visitors are already down 0-2 after defeats in Chennai and Kolkata. The series opener in Chepauk witnessed rain stopagges, but the second match at Eden Garden was played under the threat of seasonal rain.
"We are going to bat. I don't read wickets too well, hopefully we can post a good total. The next three games are must-win for us. Finch and Handscomb are playing in place of Cartwright and Wade. We are trying to strengthen the middle-order a little bit, hopefully we can step up today." Smith said during the toss.
IND vs AUS 2017, 3rd ODI: Toss https://t.co/qsAwFJy0XE #BCCI
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India captain Virat Kohli said that he would have opted to bat first, and predicted that wristspinners will do good.
"We would have batted first as well. The pitch could play better for the batsmen under lights, maybe it will be a little slow during the day when it is dry. Under lights it is beautiful to bat on, I have played here before. The wrist spinners are going to turn the ball on any surface anyway, but hopefully we will get some turn during the day. We are playing the same team," Kohli said.
Australia made couple of changes in their playing XI with Aaron Finch coming back for Hilton Cartwright, while Peter Handscomb replaced Matthew Wade.
Australia need to win this match to keep the five-match series alive.
India are playing the same XI.
Australia: Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Kane Richardson
India: Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
