IND vs AUS, 4th ODI Preview: With Pant replacing Dhoni, India eye to win series in Mohali

Providing opportunities to all Cup hopefuls would be on Virat Kohli's mind and the team management is expected to ring in a few changes in the playing XI in the remaining two matches of the series

With MS Dhoni rested for the last games of the ODI series against Australia, young Rishabh Pant is all set to take his position behind the wickets on Sunday in Mohali. Providing opportunities to all Cup hopefuls would be on Virat Kohli's mind and the team management is expected to ring in a few changes in the playing XI in the remaining two matches of the series.

In earlier ODIs, Pant had played purely as a batsman but with Dhoni being rested, Pant will get a chance to don the big gloves. The Indian playing XI will also have Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Sunday as he replaces Mohammed Shami, who was hit on the leg in his follow through during the third match.

Shami completed his spell but since he will be sharing the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah in England, it is natural to give him precautionary rest.

However, what will keep the Indian team worried is the batting form of the top-order, save skipper Kohli, who has been the lock, stock and barrel above everyone in his team. Kohli has 283 runs in three games with two hundreds and the next best in the Indian team is Kedar Jadhav with 118 runs.

Rohit Sharma is undergoing a rare slump in ODIs, having scored only 51 runs in three innings. At the same time, Shikhar Dhawan's struggles are well-documented and he has scored only 22 runs in three games.

There are certain problems in both Dhawan and Rayudu's games but they won't get adequate time to correct those follies with just two games to be played in five days and the cash-rich IPL to follow soon.

India will be worried about Aussie leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who despite conceding a lot of runs, has managed to get Kohli and Dhoni on multiple occasions.

Teams (from):

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rishabh Pant (wk).

Australia: Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Jhye Richardson, Adam Zampa, Andrew Tye, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Alex Carey, Nathan Lyon, Jason Behrendorff.