IND vs AUS: Australia to drop their top-ranked T20I bowler for Mitchell Starc in must-win match vs India?

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IND vs AUS: Australia landed in a soup after losing their second Super 8 match against Afghanistan by 21 runs in St Vincent on Sunday. The defeat has made their road to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final a very difficult one.

They no longer have their fate in hand and a comprehensive win against India in St Lucia on Monday is the first thing they need now. The win will take them to four points. India also have four points from two matches. The Men in Blue also have the best Net Run Rate (NRR) ahead of their third and last Super 8 match at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium against Australia.

In case Bangladesh beat Afghanistan in their last Super 8 match in India, they will also get to four points and the NRR would then come into play. In contrast to Afghanistan negative NRR (-0.650), India and Australia have a positive NRR of 2.425 and 0.223 respectively.

A win against India will give Australia a big sigh of relief, and they would be hoping to put their best foot forward. Picking the desired playing eleven will become crucial in St Lucia where the wicket played slow in the last game between South Africa and England.

Australia Playing 11 vs India: Josh Hazlewood or Ashton Agar to make way for Mitchell Starc

India have struggled against left-arm pace in the past, and Australia would once again look to unleash Mitchell Starc against India. Starc holds a very good record against India across formats. He has 30 wickets from 19 matches against them in the ODI format, while in the T20Is the star left-arm pacer has picked five wickets in four matches at an economy of 7.68 and an average of 24.60.

In the final of ODI World Cup 2023, Starc registered figures of 3/55. He picked the crucial wickets of Shubman Gill and KL Rahul - India's top-scorer in the match. The blows helped Australia bundled out Australia for 240 runs only.

Left-arm pace also troubled India in their match against USA when Saurabh Netravalkar picked the wickets of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The experience of Starc and his big match temperament is something else which can help Australia pass the India Test on Monday.

Australia Predicted Playing Eleven vs India

But Australia will have to make a tough selection decision to include Mitchell Starc in the playing. One between Josh Hazlewood and Ashton Agar will have to be dropped.

While Hazlewood is Australia's top-ranked ICC bowler and their best pacer in the format over the years, Agar was exceptional against Afghanistan. The left-arm spinner gave away just 17 runs from four overs. He also opened the bowling for Australia.

The St Lucia pitch has helped the spinners. Adil Rashid and Keshav Maharaj were also highly effective in the previous game at the venue, and therefore Australia might decide against dropping him.

Hazlewood, on the other hand, leaked 39 runs without any wicket against Afghanistan. He was Australia's most expensive bowler in the match. Pat Cummins has taken back-to-back hat-tricks, and Adam Zampa is Australia's first-choice spinner.

In all probability, it's Josh Hazlewood, who can be dropped to bring in match-winner Mitchell Starc against India.

Australia's Predicted Playing 11 vs India: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc

Bench: Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis