India vs Australia, 4th ODI: Here's what Steve Smith and Virat Kohli said at the toss
As both team India and Australia are gearing up for fourth One-day International match at at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Steve Smith-led Australian side have won toss and elected to bat first against Virat Kohli's team.
Following the toss, Indian skipper Virat Kohli said that the wicket is much dryer than the last season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), before insisting that they are looking forward to grab every opportunity during the match.
"It's much dryer than the last season of IPL in 2016. Think it has to do with levelling of the field, taking off the clay. We would have batted first, but not a bad thing, under lights, the pitch settles. We want to grab every opportunity. Good habits are tough to create. We have given a few guys a rest," he said.
As far as Playing XI is concerned, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been left out. Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Axar Patel have been called in as their replacements.
Meanwhile, Australia has made two changes in the squad that suffered a five-wicket defeat in the third ODI in Indore.
While Mathew Wade comes back in the Playing XI for Glenn Maxwell, Adam Zampa replaces Ashton Agar.
Having already clinched the ODI series against the Steve Smith-led side by 3-0, India will aim for a record ten victories on the trot for the first time in ODIs.
The Kohli-led side will also look to maintain supremacy and retain their recently-acquired top spot in the ICC rankings.
On the other hand, Australian opener David Warner is all set to play his 100th ODI and his teammates would be rearing to give him a fitting tribute.
The Bengaluru ODI will also present India with an opportunity to touch a new high. The Men in Blue have never won five games in succession against Australia and this would be a great chance for them to achieve the same after having won four matches in a row.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma is also on the verge of reaching a unique fifty. He needs to smash just two more sixes to become the first batsman in history to have scored 50 sixes against Australia.
India Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(w), Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Australia Playing XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith(c), Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade(w), Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa.
Teams:
India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja and Lokesh Rahul.
Australia: Steven Smith (capt), David Warner, Hilton Cartwright, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar, Kane Richardson, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, James Faulkner and Adam Zampa.
-With agencies inputs.
