5 Fantastico Battles that could impact the 2nd T20I between India and Australia at MCG

Every big war has some internal smaller battles which decides the way that the whole thing pans out. The second T20I to be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between India and Australia promises to be a mouth-watering prospect especially after the Indians have gone 1-0 up after defeating Australia at the Adelaide Oval by 37 runs.

Let us have a look at 5 Fantastico Battles that might have an impact on the overall game.

Indian Openers Vs Shaun Tait

Rohit played Tait very well in the first T20I but at the same time he was very lucky to not get out to him as well. Tait looked sharp and his pace was right up there but he missed some of his control. Dhawan will have to support Rohit so that Rohit is not under pressure to go after every delivery. If Rohit and Dhawan can tame Tait again then it will mean that the Indian middle order will have the cushion of runs and wickets in hand to launch a middle over burst.

Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina Vs Shane Watson and James Faulkner

Virat has been in prime form and he handled all the Aussie bowlers quite well during his innings of 90* in the first match. Raina struggled but still managed to make a 40 odd score at better than run a ball. These two will have to handle Watson and Faulkner in the middle overs who are very clever with their changes of pace and variations.

Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni Vs Nathan Lyon

Yuvraj did not bat in the first match and Dhoni came in the last over while Lyon did not play the match. I guess Australia will pick Lyon over Boyce for this match and his battle with Yuvraj and Dhoni will be a fascinating one to watch.

Australian Openers Vs Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah

Warner and Finch started the chase swiftly in the first T20I and the Indian new ball bowlers will need to keep them in check in the initial overs. In the absence of Warner, Watson might open and he is a very powerful batsman as well. They must not bowl short as both these batsmen are strong at the pull and cut. They will have to maintain a good length just around the off stump to keep these aggressive batsmen in check. Bumrah was the pick of the Indian bowlers in the first T20I as he bowled with sharp pace and used his variations cleverly.

Australian Middle Order Vs Indian Spinners

This, in my opinion will be the biggest battle that will have a huge impact on how the game pans out. The Australians will definitely look to attack the Indian spinners and not let them settle into a groove. Maxwell missed the first game due to a hamstring niggle and if he is back then the Indian spinners might face a tougher challenge. Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh are also excellent players of spin bowling and will look to dominate the Indian duo of Jadeja and Ashwin.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.