Daijiworld Media Network

Bangalore, Nov 2: This ODI series has seen it all - the death of the ODI bowler being the most relevant and significant outcome to have come out of the series. Apart from that, we have seen India chase two 350 scores successfuly - a record in a bilateral series - which has never happened before. Further affirmation of the fact that Virat Kohli is one of the best batsmen in the world, if not the best and a certain George Bailey's resurgence.

Australia have won the toss and have opted to field.

But in a strange decision Australia have recalled Mitchell Johnson back, to prepare for the Ashes series. He won't be playing today which is a big relief to the Indian batsmen, especially to a certain Yuvraj Singh.

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Vinay Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami

Australia (Playing XI): Phillip Hughes, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, George Bailey(c), Glenn Maxwell, Adam Voges, Brad Haddin(w), James Faulkner, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty, Nathan Coulter-Nile

Dhoni: 'This ground is always good to chase on and we would have batted second as well. The team that plays well will win today. The pitch will remain the same. There is one change Vinay comes in for Mishra.'

Bailey: 'We are having a bowl. It looks a good wicket. This has been a high scoring ground so it will be another high scoring game. We will look to restrict them and chase it down. It is an important game. Coulter-Nile comes in for Johnson.'

Pitch Report: 'There is a tinge of green grass. But it is not live grass. There is a bit of a moisture due to the rains. The pitch is slightly damp and the team that wins the toss would like to bowl first. There is some rain predicted, so that will be another reason to bowl first', says Ravi Shastri

Preview

India will yet again rely on their batting firepower as they seek to clinch the one-day series against an equally-determined Australia when the two teams clash in the seventh and final match on Saturday in what promises to be another high-scoring thriller.

After two successive washouts in Ranchi and Cuttack, India bounced back to level the series 2-2 in Nagpur with yet another superlative show by their batsmen, who chased down a mammoth 351-run target. The incredible run chase brought back memories of India's magnificent victory in Rajasthan when they chased a stiff target of 360, achieving the second highest successful run chase ever in ODI history.

Coming to Virat Kohli, he set both the chases on fire with his 16th and 17th ODI tons, the first one resulting in the fastest ODI ton by an Indian while the second was the third fastest. Those two innings led to no less an authority like Sunil Gavaskar to say that Kohli can surpass Tendulkar's record of ODI tons which stands at 49. Here is what Gavaskar had to say about Kohli: 'But the manner in which Virat is batting, the record for 49 hundreds looks possible,' he said. 'Now Virat needs 32 more hundreds to go and the number of ODIs India play he can do it. This cricketing season itself, Virat can get to 20 or 22 hundreds.'

Kohli's batting has given the Aussies headaches and it has led to their captain George Bailey calling for ways to dismiss the young Indian batsman. Bailey was not too concerned about his side inability to defend 350-360, but more worried on how to stop the juggernaut that is called Kohli. 'I'd like to find a way to get Kohli out. That's probably my first thought. I don't think we should read too much into 360 and 350. It's quite clear that given the two new balls and the four (fielders) out, that maybe it is the new 300-290. We're disappointed not to win. But we're not making too much of the score,' he said.

Kohli needs 81 runs today to break Sir Vivian Richards' record for the quickest to 5000 ODI runs. Today's game is at Bengaluru for which Kohli plays in the Indian T20 League. He knows the pitch and the conditions like the back of his hand. What are the odds on him getting the 81 runs and becoming the fastest to get to 5000 ODI runs? It would take a brave man to bet against him today, especially if India are chasing.

Great credit for Australia's performance should go to their laidback, happy-go-lucky, ever-smiling and charismatic skipper, the Tasmanian, George Bailey. Before this series he had played 28 ODIs and had scored 1061 with only one ton. This series his scores are - 85, 92*, 43, 98 and 156 which has resulted in 474 runs - the most by any batsman in a bilateral series. Some turnaround, eh?
Before the start of the series, no-one gave the visitors a chance. Things looked bleak when regular skipper Michael Clarke pulled out. A pretty inexperienced team was there for the taking, all the experts opined. They were lambs to the slaughter said some, but going into the final game at Bengaluru the series is tied at 2-2 and those two Indian wins were no ordinary wins - they chased down 350 both times. They say, never write off an Aussie side and this side is no different.

Bailey's captaincy has been spot-on as well. He has converted Mitchell Johnson into the Mitchell Johnson of old - who used to swing the ball at pace and consistently hit 150kmph. Johnson has taken 7 wickets in the series so far and has constantly been a menace to the Indian batsmen. He in particular has had the measure of Yuvraj Singh who has really struggled against the left-armer. The transformation in Johnson can be attributed to the confidence given by Bailey who has given him the licence to bowl full-throttle without worrying about anything else.