The last time Virat Kohli and Co. were here was during last year’s navratri festival to feature in the city’s maiden Test match.
Come another navratri and Kohli’s comrades are back in an otherwise laid-back city that is often referred to as mini-Mumbai for its cosmopolitan diaspora.
No wonder then, as the Men in Blue slogged it out at the Holkar Stadium for almost three hours in the sweltering afternoon heat, the streets outside the stadium were flooded with fans waiting for a glimpse of their favourite stars.
With Kohli’s cavaliers just a win short of sealing the five-match ODI series against Australia and the customary frenzy following the Indians, it may seem as if the hosts have little to worry about.
However, despite the convincing victories in Chennai and Kolkata, largely shaped by an impeccable bowling unit, Kohli’s men will realise they need to overcome a plaguing issue soon before the run-up for the 2019 World Cup starts.
For almost two years now, India has been searching for a set middle-order.
Barring Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav, who have tasted intermittent success, none of the other batsmen have been able to make a case for a permanent slot. With Pandey and Ambati Rayudu having been sidelined due to injuries, the selectors were forced to fall back on Yuvraj Singh for the Champions Trophy.
The selectors appear to have moved on from Yuvraj, who is at the end of a glittering white-ball career.
Rayudu is yet to prove his fitness; Suresh Raina is far from proving his fitness and form, and Dinesh Karthik failed to impress on yet another return to the squad in the West Indies.
It has forced the selectors and the team management to fall back on specialist openers being moved to the middle order.
As a result, K.L. Rahul has been moved around in the batting order since the Sri Lanka series and Ajinkya Rahane is considered a reserve batsman in the unit.
If Shikhar Dhawan, who had to leave the squad just before the start of the series to be with his ailing wife, returns for the last two ODIs, India may have four specialist openers in the squad, with Rahul and Rahane doubling up as back-up openers and middle-order batsmen.
It may appear a problem of plenty but with the middle-order wearing a far from settled look, it is high time India finds a settled No. 4, 5 and 6 for its batting line-up.
While India has to deal with minor issues, Steve Smith’s unit is staring at a demoralising series loss.
If Australia has to keep the series alive, it will have to improve its faltering batting unit.
Steve Smith would be hoping for either David Warner or Glenn Maxwell to play a sensible innings rather than trying too hard against India’s wrist spin combination of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
If it doesn’t happen, then the last two matches could well become a meaningless exercise.
The teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (capt.), Rohit Sharma, K.L. Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Ajinkya Rahane, M.S. Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja.
Australia: Steve Smith (capt.), Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa and Peter Handscomb.
Match starts at 1.30 p.m.