With series sealed, India could try out new options in Bangalore

The series is done and dusted and the fifth and final T20I against Australia in Bangalore on Sunday (December 3) will allow India to try out players who are yet to feature in the series, which the hosts have already sealed, thanks to their 3-1 lead. The next T20 World Cup is around six months away and both India and Australia would want to make the most of every remaining match before the showpiece event. 

Things to watch out for

Rinku is something else

Rinku Singh has only batted five times in his nine-T20I career so far and has played an important role in every match. 38 off 21, 37* off 15, 22* off 14, 31* off 9 and 46 off 29 - the left-hander has 174 runs at an average of 87 and a phenomenal strike rate of 197.7. 

Rinku walked into bat in the 9th over in the fourth T20I and it was the first time that the 26-year-old had come out to bat before the end of 12 overs. India were already three down, so he knew he couldn’t start swinging from ball one. He still got 10 off his first eight deliveries before getting 36 off the next 20. He still ended his innings with a strike rate of 158.62.

His numbers in the death overs (16-20) are unbelievable - 135 runs at a strike rate of 221.31. He has already finished a couple of games for India and it would be a shame if he can’t find a spot in the XI even when some of the senior members make their return.

Australian batters finding it tough against spin

The Australian batters struggled big time against spin in Raipur, leading to their downfall. They were 40 for no loss in three overs in the 175-run chase before Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel forced them into submission. The two spinners claimed four wickets between them and conceded only 33 runs in eight overs.

Also read - 'Ravi' Bishnoi shines as India's new wicket-taker

If you look at this series, the Australian batters have scored at a strike rate of 182.3 against pace, but that number drops to 131.8 against spin. They have also lost a wicket to spin every 16 deliveries. These numbers aren’t too bad but are enough to make a difference in a high-scoring series like this.

Ground details

This is M Chinnaswamy Stadium we are talking about, of course, there will be runs on offer. This is one of the best batting surfaces in India and smaller boundaries only make things easier for the batters. The venue hosted seven IPL games earlier this year and the batters here scored runs at an average of 31.2 and a scoring rate of 9.7. 

In those 14 innings, only once a team failed to cross the 170-run mark. There were also seven 190-plus totals. In the bowling department, the pacers have operated at an average of 31.8 and a strike rate of 19.6, while the corresponding numbers for spinners are 35 and 22.8, respectively. The latter, however, have been slightly more economical (9.2 vs 9.7).

Tactical insights

- Shreyas Iyer is in the T20I set-up to bash spin in the middle overs. The right-hander, however, has an average of just 14.3 against legspinners in T20s since 2022. He has gotten out to them six times in 13 innings. Even in Raipur, it was Tanveer Sangha who got his wicket.

- In T20Is in India, Suryakumar Yadav has five dismissals against left-arm pacers, averaging 23.4, the only bowling type against whom he averages less than 45. 

Probable XIs

The Men in Blue could bring in Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar to give them some game time. 

India - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rinku Singh/Shivam Dube, Axar Patel/Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.

Expect Australia to go unchanged.

Australia - Josh Philippe, Travis Head, Ben McDermott, Aaron Hardie, Tim David, Matthew Short, Matthew Wade (c & wk), Ben Dwarshuis, Chris Green, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha.