India vs Australia Match Prediction: Who will win today's 3rd ODI match?

India and Australia will enter last chance saloon to finetune their preparations for the World Cup 2023 when they lock horns in the third and final ODI in Rajkot on Wednesday, September 27.

The series is already in India's bag. The Men in Blue held their nerve in a tricky chase in Mohali before brushing the visitors aside with frightening ease in Indore to take an unassailable 2-0 lead. They will look to fix the few remaining cracks in the dead rubber.

Australia's concerns stretch beyond the fact that they've lost the series - they've been rather comprehensively outplayed in their recent ODIs, having lost five on the trot. Moreover, with a lot of players in the World Cup 2023 mix, they are yet to narrow in on their ideal playing XI - or squad, for that matter.

India and Australia will meet in Chennai on October 8 to kick off their respective World Cup campaigns. The final ODI will serve as an excellent precursor to the same, especially for the latter, who are likely to see a few faces back in the mix.

Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell are expected to be back for the Aussies, who might have to wait a bit longer to try out Ashton Agar. Travis Head is still out of the picture, but they will take heart from being able to field something close to their first-choice side.

India, meanwhile, have rested a whole bunch of players. Shubman Gill, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya have been given a breather, while Axar Patel hasn't fully recovered from the quadriceps injury he sustained during the Asia Cup.

Nevertheless, a lot will be at stake in Rajkot - there always is ahead of a tournament as important as the World Cup.

---

IND vs AUS 2023: India and Australia look to enter the World Cup on the back of a win

Pat Cummins sat out the second ODI as Australia crumbled

India's bowling attack might feature only two fast bowlers in Rajkot. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj's impending return will boost that department, but they might field Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin in tandem. They don't have any fast-bowling all-rounders in the squad, so Australia could capitalize on that.

In the batting department, though, the Men in Blue should finally be able to field their ideal middle order, sans Hardik of course. Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul make an excellent No. 3 to No. 5, and if Ravindra Jadeja can come up with a meaningful batting contribution, that's another box ticked off for Team India.

Australia have every chance of winning this contest, since India are going to be significantly weaker than them. However, they haven't been able to pull their socks up lately. Over the same period, the hosts have steamrolled oppositions.

While the law of averages could find the third ODI an opportune time to strike and get Australia back on the winning track, India are the slight favorites for the contest.

Prediction: India to win the 3rd ODI.