INDIA VS AUSTRALIA 2ND ODI MATCH

India vs Australia, 2nd ODI, Vizag

Starc rattles India with quick strikes

Rohit goes for an expansive drive and ends up edging it to slip where Smith hold on to the ball on the second attempt. In a repeat of his dismissal in the first ODI, Suryakumar has no answer to one that shapes back in as he is trapped in front for a duck. India slip to 32/3 in the fifth over.

Positive batting from Kohli and Rohit

Starc and Green have been slightly on the fuller side, and have ended up going for boundaries. Kohli has creamed a couple of drives through the offside while Rohit has clipped away three fours through the leg side.

Starc strikes early

A wicket in the first over for Starc after he bowled a couple of wides. Shubman Gill pushed at a delivery outside off and ended up handing a catch to Labuschagne at backward point to depart for a duck.

Toss and teams:

Steve Smith wins the toss and opts to bowl. Two changes for both sides. Rohit Sharma returns in place of Ishan Kishan while Axar Patel replaces Shardul Thakur. Australia bring in Alex Carey and Nathan Ellis in place of Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell (who pulled up sore).

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami

Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Build-up:

India outdid Australia in the pace department in the opening ODI in Mumbai, with Mohammed Shami leading the way for the hosts. The top-order struggled for India but KL Rahul came up with a fine knock to take his side over the line comfortably in the end. But the second ODI may not be as productive for the pacemen as Vizag is known to produce wickets that help the batters. Meanwhile, rain threatens to disrupt the game and might lead to a curtailed affair. Read all about the match build-up in the preview by Pratyush Sinha.

KL Rahul: India's middleman on the move

Having someone walk in at 16/3 on a seaming deck and play a match-winning knock isn't a luxury that India have enjoyed in recent times. Far too many times have they been undone by a bad day from their high-functioning top order. The circumstances in the first ODI in Mumbai were ripe for an encore when the presence of Rahul in the middle order, a plan long in the works for India.