India lost the first ODI by 34 runs courtesy of brilliant performance by the Australian bowlers that set SCG on fire. Indian team lost three quick wickets at the start of the innings that made their job look like an impossible task to achieve, however Rohit Sharma’s presence on the pitch gave some hopes to the Indian fans but his dismissal brought down India’s chances to triumph in Sydney.
Virat Kohli was certainly not happy with the team’s performance which may force him to make changes to the squad for the second ODI. Without talking much, let’s look at two probable change that Indian team may make for the second ODI.
2- Vijay Shankar in for Dinesh Karthik
Remembering the 2018 Nidahas trophy final where Vijay Shankar could not understand the variation’s of Mustafizur Rahman and almost lost the final for India before Dinesh Karthik’s heroics ensured that men in blue seal victory in Colombo. No one would have thought that Shankar will again make the comeback in the Indian squad but the Tamil Nadu all-rounder fought back in domestic cricket and India A tour which made way for his selection for the remaining two ODIs against Australia and New Zealand tour.
Shankar replaced Hardik Pandya who was suspended following his sexist remarks on chat show Koffee with Karan.
Karthik looked out of colour in the first ODI and replacing him with Shankar will provide more balance to the team. Shankar has been scoring tons on runs in the India A tours and can also come in handy with his medium pacers. He can be utilized for 5-7 overs in the game.
