India vs Australia 2017: India's predicted playing XI for second ODI

After winning the first ODI by 26 runs (via DLS method), the Indian team will look to consolidate their lead by winning the second ODI at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and go 2-0 up against the Australians.

The Men in Blue started off on a disastrous note as they were reduced to 11/3 inside the first ten overs before the middle order batsmen pulled things back and took the team to a decent position, setting the Aussies a target of 282.

Thanks to a brief rain delay, the Aussie target was revised and Steve Smith and co. needed 164 runs to win in 21 overs, their best chance of chasing down the target. But, the Indian bowlers had other ideas as they bowled brilliantly throughout and restricted the opposition to 137 in 21 overs.

Though the Indian players, barring the top order, played brilliantly in the match, it will be interesting to see the Indian XI that takes the field in the second ODI.

Let us take a look at the probable Indian playing XI for the second ODI that takes place on September 21.

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Openers

With the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, the Indian team are missing someone who can be the perfect partner for Rohit Sharma at the top of the order. Ajinkya Rahane has been a liability in this format and in spite of scoring a lot of runs in West Indies, he doesn't look convincing in the format.

In place of Rahane, the team management should give a chance to KL Rahul to express himself at the top of the order instead of using him as an option in the middle order.

Rohit, who had a decent outing in the first ODI, got out trying to hit a pull shot and ended up getting caught at deep square-leg. He will be itching to get back amongst the runs at his favourite venue and against his favourite opposition.

Middle order

In a rare phenomenon in the first ODI, Indian skipper Virat Kohli got out for a duck when he tried to chase a wide delivery and was brilliantly caught by Glenn Maxwell at backward point. Kohli has been mediocre against Australia this year and will look to get things back on track by scoring big in the second ODI.

Just like Kohli, Manish Pandey got out for a duck in Chepauk and that would have dented his chances of cementing his place in the middle order. However, he will get an extended run at number 4 and the Karnataka batsman, who is in fine touch, will look to make the chances count in the upcoming ODIs.

Before the start of the year, there was a lot of talk about MS Dhoni's future, as his form looked to be regressing over the last couple of years. But, the former Indian skipper has silenced the critics in the best possible way in the last few matches. He will look to continue his good work in the upcoming matches.

Kedar Jadhav, after bringing India's innings back on track with a couple of decent partnerships with Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, threw away his wicket. He will be disappointed with himself for getting out in such a manner and will look to make up for the dismissal in the upcoming matches.

All-rounder

The Indian team management has been emphasizing the importance of Hardik Pandya in the Indian team for a while and the all-rounder has repaid the faith the team has had in him by putting in some brilliant performances.

The last match was by far Hardik's best ODI for India as he contributed with both bat and ball and showed what he was capable of with a brilliant all-round show. Coming in at 87/5, he scored 83 runs off 76 balls. The best thing about his knock was the maturity with which he approached his innings and the way he took on the Aussie bowling.

With the ball, he dismissed Australian captain Steve Smith and Travis Head with knuckleballs and ended with figures of 2-28 in his four overs.

Spinners

Nowadays, wrist spinners have become the most important members of a bowling unit and the Indian team are lucky that they have wrist spinners who can provide variety.

Both Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav played a key role in India's victory in the first ODI as they took five wickets between them, conceding just 63 runs in their nine overs. The Aussie batsmen, barring Maxwell, found it difficult to pick them and it was clearly evident by the way they were struggling to get going.

The selectors have recalled Ravindra Jadeja to the team as a replacement for Axar Patel and after the performances of both Chahal and Kuldeep, there should not be any problem in playing them in the second ODI at the expense of Jadeja.

Pacers

After a long time, the Indian team have got a handful of bowlers who can win matches for the team on a consistent basis. In fact, the current fast bowling attack in both Tests and ODIs are the best the team have ever had.

In spite of playing for just over a year, right-arm pacer Jasprit Bumrah is already one of the best bowlers going around at the moment. The Gujarat bowler is very good with the new ball and is lethal in the death overs with his variations.

His bowling partner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, has improved a lot as a limited-overs bowler and has been doing a fantastic job of late. Just like Bumrah, Bhuvi has a very good yorker and has the ability to make any batsman dance with the swing he generates with the new ball.

In all likelihood, both the fast bowlers will retain their places in the team ahead of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.