Fantasy: Spinners and batters the way to go in Visakhapatnam

India and Australia will lock horns in the second ODI of the three-match ODI series in Vizag. India won the first ODI by five wickets. Australia need to win this fixture to stay alive in the series. Here are some helpful tips that may help you in creating an efficient fantasy XI for this contest. 

Pitch and conditions

Vizag’s ACA-VDCA Stadium is another high-scoring venue in the country. The average first innings score here, in four ODIs dated back to 2016, has been 298. The overall average of 37.3 runs per wicket is the fifth highest among the 11 Indian venues that have hosted three ODIs or more in the last seven years. 

One difference from Mumbai though. If that was a deck for the pacers, Vizag has mostly supported spinners more. Spinners have picked 55.6% of the wickets since 2016. Wrist-spinners, have accounted for nearly 37% of the total wickets. 

Meanwhile, the weather could play a part with rain knocking the southern cities of India. So a shortened game is on the cards. 

Suggested teams

While you could go for the above team, you can also choose your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.

Captaincy suggestions

For small leagues: Shubman Gill ( c ), KL  Rahul (vc)

For grand leagues: Mohammad Shami ( c ), Mitchell Marsh (vc)

Stats That Matter

> Shubman Gill is the only batter to score above 1000 runs in ODI cricket since 2022 (among Test playing nations). He has scored 1225 runs at an average of 81.7, including nine 50+ scores in 19 innings. 

> Wrist-spinners have picked 37% of the wickets in the last four ODIs in Vizag, as compared to only 20% by finger spinners. 

> Kuldeep Yadav has nine wickets in three ODIs in Vizag at 17.9 runs per wicket. 

> Rohit Sharma will return to the side after missing the previous game. Rohit averages 48.1 in ODIs since 2022 at a strike-rate of 109.8. 

> David Warner missed the last ODI due to his elbow injury but can make a comeback for this fixture. Warner has 552 ODI runs since 2022, at an average and strike-rate of 42.5 and 92.6 respectively. 

> Adam Zampa has dismissed Virat Kohli five times, Rohit Sharma four times and KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya thrice each in 50-over cricket.

Grand League Punts

> Mohammad Shami’s hot form makes him an obvious pick in your Fantasy XI. But making him the captain or vice-captain won’t be the worst of ideas despite the batting-friendly conditions in Vizag. Since 2022, Shami has 14 wickets in nine matches at 25.1 runs apiece. 

> Vizag is also conducive to spin-bowling. Hence, Washington Sundar could replace Shardul Thakur in the XI and could be a crucial player for your fantasy fortunes. 

Here are the Top 10 Criclytics Projections 

Probable XIs

India: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma ( c ), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj

Australia: Travis Head, David Warner, Steve Smith ( c ), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Agar, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa