IND v AUS, 3rd ODI: India's predicted playing XI

The Indian cricket team will have done some soul-searching in time for the third ODI against Australia.

A change in venue might come as a breath of fresh air for the visitors, and should hopefully exorcise the ghosts of Steve Smith's metronomical, twin 62-ball hundreds.

The ground they move to, the Manuka Oval in Canberra, has been rarely used for international cricket. The last ODI played here, way back in 2016, saw Australia pummel New Zealand by 116 runs - not exactly comforting news for India, who come off two heavy defeats.

The Man of the Match from that game, David Warner, has been ruled out of the series, but given the consistent contributions for Australia throughout their batting order, the visitors still have much to sweat about.

Indian fans will be hoping Virat Kohli's captaincy perks up, with respect to field placements, bowling changes and assessment of the game situation. Winning the toss for once wouldn't hurt much either. With this being dead rubber, expect a host of changes in the playing XI.

Here is the predicted playing XI for the third India vs Australia ODI on 2nd December.

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Openers: Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan

India will be hoping to see more of Dhawan's famed ODI form in the third game.

With two fifty-run opening partnerships squandered in two games, India would be looking for a change. The Men in Blue's partnerships at the top of the order have paled in comparison to Australia's burgeoning opening stands of over a hundred in both games.

With Shikhar Dhawan having persevered to make a fifty in the first game and recent IPL form suggesting that runs are most likely to come from his blade, expect him to keep his place.

India would be more than keen to swap Mayank Agarwal with the young Shubman Gill, who scored roughly the same runs in the IPL albeit at a more sedate pace. The team management would hope for an opener who is reluctant to throw his wicket away, and Gill might just tick that box to get his fledgling international career underway.

There could be an unorthodox choice taken here as well, in case Mayank is being given a longer rope to prove himself in this format.

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Middle order: Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk)

KL Rahul would be keen to pay back the immense show of faith in him by the team management.

Shreyas Iyer's performances from the first two games haven't justified his India spot. However, a well-paced, run-a-ball start in the second game suggested the runs are very much on their way.

In case the team management loses their patience in this department, they could try bringing in Manish Pandey. The biggest reason against this is potentially reopening a Pandora's box regarding India's No. 4 spot, and the team will be hesitant to move away from someone who seems to have claimed ownership of the position.

The form of India's captain and vice-captain - Kohli and Rahul - was very encouraging in the previous game, and both would look to get a move on and get a big score. In case Rahul is deemed to be better utilised as a specialist batsman at the top, Sanju Samson could come in as the keeper without posing a threat to Iyer's position.

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All-rounders: Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja

Having shown his mettle with bat and ball this series, Hardik will be one of the players to watch out for.

Hardik Pandya rolling his arm over for four crucial overs hinted that the all-rounder could come in to address India's bowling woes sooner than expected. India will still try not to rely too heavily on his bowling in order to allow him a steady path to recovery after back surgery.

One of the biggest upturns from the last game was Ravindra Jadeja's belligerence at the death, as he carried over from his form for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. His bowling returns, while economical, will be disappointing with regards to the wickets column.

A change in India's bowling plans could allow the left-arm spinner to be used as a containing option, with an attacking bowler in tandem - something that the team has found hard to come by thus far.

The duo also remain indispensable for their fielding, and with no direct replacements, they will retain their place.

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Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, T Natarajan

Kuldeep Yadav looks all set to play his first game of the tour.

India have looked flat with their bowling plans, and this might be the area with the biggest changes.

For starters, India's strategy of pairing Yuzvendra Chahal with Jadeja has miserably failed - not only do both bowlers turn the ball in the same direction, but they have also struggled to pick up wickets or control the runs. 19 overs for just one wicket and 160 runs across two games hardly sounds impressive for a lead spinner.

The introduction of Kuldeep Yadav will at the very least provide a fresh challenge for the Aussies, as well as rest Chahal for the T20 leg. While Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah will back themselves to return to more economical days, Navdeep Saini will not be given the same leniency.

The exciting T Natarajan should come in for Saini and make his international debut, as the team desperately looks to control the runs at the death.