Preview: Skipper Virat Kohli will aim to surpass predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni's record winning run as captain when India take on Australia in the fourth One-Day International (ODI) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
Kohli equalled former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's record run of nine consecutive ODI victories after the series-clinching five-wicket win over Australia in the third ODI at Indore on Sunday.
India's Virat Kohli and Australia's Steve Smith. AP
The previous winning run under Dhoni stretched from February 2008 to January 2009. India's current victory run started on July 6 this year with an eight-wicket win over West Indies in the fifth and last match of that series at Sabina Park.
The Virat Kohli-led side has dominated the ongoing series with comprehensive victories in the initial three ODIs handing India an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series against Australia.
The hosts will heavily rely on openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane to get them off to a flying start. Batsmen Kohli, Dhoni and Hardik Pandya who have looked destructive in the series will later be the key to adding vital runs to help India post a dominating total.
In the bowling department, pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah along with wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal who have put up a fine performance throughout the tournament will look to providing brakes on the opposition at regular intervals.
Kohli will have an extra spinning option in the form of Axar Patel who has been called up for the remaining ODIs to replace all-rouder Ravindra Jadeja.
Australia, led by Steven Smith, will look to re-working on the strategies to get the best out of his side in the remainder of the series.
Opener Aaron Finch, who scored a century in the previous match will be the key for the visitors to give them a good start along with hard hitting batsman David Warner and skipper Smith.
Australia will also hope that middle-order batsman Glen Maxwell returns to form in order to provide balance to their batting.
The bowling department will rely on pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins and Kane Richardson to rattle the India line-up.
Spinner Ashton Agar being ruled out for the rest of the series due to a fractured finger will be a big loss for the visitors.
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Lokesh Rahul.
Australia: Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steven Smith (captain), Kane Richardson, Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb (wicket-keeper), Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, James Faulkner, Adam Zampa, Hilton Cartwright.
With inputs from IANS
Watch Firstpost correspondent Jigar Mehta capture the atmosphere outside the M Chinnaswamy stadium ahead of the 4th ODI.
A small cover is placed beside the main pitch on the practice pitches. Don't know the reason but it's nice and warm at the Chinnaswamy at the moment.
More scenes from outside the Chinnaswamy stadium where the action is about to begin in some time.
More scenes from outside the Chinnaswamy stadium where the action is about to begin in some time.
We have a Kiwi couple for the India vs Australia match. They are explaining to the policemen how tough it was to get the tickets and how they were charged via the credit card and then not given the tickets but in the end it all ended well and they are excited to watch the action unfold.
A fan on the way to the stadium with a collage of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, with MS Dhoni in the centre.
Some loyal MS Dhoni and Virat fans outside the stadium, hoping for their favourite stars to script another victory today.
The Australian team bus has just arrived and people in queues facing the road started waving at the bus. The queues are starting to get longer now.
Firstpost correspondent Jigar Mehta here catches fans outside the MA Chinnaswamy Stadium for the game.
IT IS NOT RAINING. That's probably the best piece of news in the last 24 hours. It had drizzled all evening yesterday. It had relented at night but still there were few drops of rain in the air. Right now the weather is pleasant. It hasn't rained since morning. People on the road are talking about the match. Even at the signals people are chatting up about the match on bikes. But let's no get carried away too much, there was bright sunshine yesterday afternoon but it suddenly went overcast and ten started raining. There is forecast of showers and thunder storms in afternoon and evening. People have already started lining up outside the stadium to watch the team bus arrive.
This is home turf for skipper Virat Kohli and Yuzvendra Chahal among others. Kohli has been with RCB for the last 10 years and at the NCA at KSCA for a lot longer. Thus he is perfectly at home in these surroundings. Chahal and Kedar Jadhav too have been with RCB for sometime now while others, Manish Pandey, KL Rahul know KSCA conditions very, very well. Correspondingly, Travis Head is a RCB player. KSCA's relatively small outfield and a pitch that is not as batsman friendly as it was three years ago should be familiar to these players. The square though is due for a turn over and the pitches would be relaid before the next IPL season
The best piece of news is that rains have stayed away the whole morning. Rains are expected but have stayed away thus far. In any case KSCA outfield is brilliant and can handle any amount of rains. India would be keen to stretch their run of wins. Another sell-out crowd is expected. Pitch may help seamers initially after it was kept under covers for the best part of 48 hours. The covers though have been off from early morning and that should help the moisture to evaporate to some extent. A bit of sunshine would help.
Hello and welcome to Firstpost's live blog of the 4th ODI between India and Australia to be played in Bengaluru today.
The hosts have been on a roll in the series having already gained a 3-0 lead in the five-match series. They could use the game to try out some of the players on the bench, such as KL Rahul.
On the other hand, the Australians come into this game with their confidence at a low. A win in this game might help the team get back to winning ways before the spectre of the Ashes at home.
Stay tuned for live scores and updates of the 4th ODI between India and Australia.