The Indian team will get set for their last dress rehearsal before the all-important ICC World Cup after the two-match T20I series against Australia. Former Australian batsman Matthew Hayden predicted the top scorer and top wicket-taker for the five-match ODI series.

“Highest wicket-taker I think will be one of the spinners for India. I am going to go with Kuldeep Yadav. Every time he seems to play Australia, he makes a nice impact and highest run-scorer I think also will be from India, and I am going to say Ambati Rayudu. I think the No. 4 position, you know such a critical one for India. I think the top order will have it’s difficulties with our new ball bowlers and then Virat and Rayudu to come in and dominate the series,” Hayden told Star Sports.

India did not lose a series in Australia but could not maintain the momentum against the other half of Trans-Tasman, New Zealand. India had a blip in the Kiwi land, missing the series decider by four runs in the third absolute thriller T20 International match.

With an aim to regain their winning streak, India will kick-start their home series against Australia at the ACA-VCDA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, where the teams will meet for the first T20I on Sunday.

The return of skipper Virat Kohli will make India formidable along with the openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. All three of them were among the runs in recent outings and are likely to provide a good start.

(With inputs from agencies)

First Published: Feb 24, 2019 14:06 IST