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1. Shikhar Dhawan
The left-handed opener regained some form during the Mohali ODI scoring a fine hundred. Dhawan's escape from the recent lean patch would come as a relief for the team management ahead of the series-decider. Once again, the onus will be on the home boy to give a good start to the Indian innings in the company of his partner Rohit Sharma.
2. Rohit Sharma
Like Dhawan, Rohit too was not among too many runs in this series against the Aussies. But he made a 95 at Mohali in the company of Dhawan to record their 15th 100th alliance. In the process, they equalled the record of former West Indian opening pair - Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes. Now, the Dhawan and Rohit have only Matthew Hayden- Adam Gilchrist and Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly pairs ahead of them. They would like to build on at Kotla and propel India to a series win.
3. KL Rahul
Though he has not done anything extraordinary at Mohali, the Bengaluru man will keep his place in the squad ahead of Ambati Rayudu. And he might still come down at No 3 and certainly a good chance for him to get some runs against his name and keep himself in the mix to ICC World Cup 2019.
4. Virat Kohli
Kohli has made back-to-back hundred - his 40th and 41st in ODI cricket - in this series. And if India are to challenge a rejuvenated Australia, the skipper, who fell cheaply at Mohali, too will have to chip in. Kotla is his home ground and knows it like the back of his palm. He certainly does not need the comfort of home to score runs but it will be added edge for him to come up with a special knock.
5. Rishabh Pant
Another home boy in this India line-up. Pant had a miserable time behind the wicket at Mohali, missing two stumping and initiating a review that eventually ended in India losing it. It also brought the ire of captain Kohli on Pant. He would like to sign off the series with a win and an infinitely better personal effort. For some, there is no better place than home.
6. Kedar Jadhav
In the last couple of matches, the Aussies found a way to tackle Jadhav's round-arm off-spin. Finch, Peter Handscomb and Usman Khawaja have negated Jadhav quite effectively and he would like to reassert himself in Delhi and propel India to a victory - in the match, in the series.
7. Vijay Shankar
The Tamil Nadu all-rounder has been quite impressive in the last few matches and India in fact did not get hurt by the absence of Hardik Pandya. Apart from proving his worth with the bat, Vijay has also been good with the ball, especially at Mohali when many others went for big runs, and his lively presence in the outfield gave Kohli lot of peace of mind, often saving him the need to go to outfield.
8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The pacer has not been quite impactful in the two matches he played so far, though managed to pick up an early wicket. He was taken apart by Ashton Turner at Mohali and that would have been bruising for him. Bhuvi would like to make a quick comeback at Kotla and sign off the series with a win.
9. Kuldeep Yadav
The chinaman bowler has been among wickets in this series but dew had reduced his impact at Mohali and Turner took full advantage of the situation. However, Kuldeep is a tough fighter and he would like to make a comeback at the capital and make a decisive contribution to an Indian triumph.
10. Yuzvendra Chahal/Mohammed Shami
Chahal has not been any impressive thus far against Australia often struggling with dew or against the hard-hitting batsmen. That he is the more conventional of the wrist spinner has helped the Aussie batsmen to focus more on him after negating Kuldeep. The likes of Finch, Handscomb and Turner have used the feet too well against Chahal. He could be given a chance at Kotla but if Shami is fit then the management could be tempted to carry him as the third pacer, especially since Bhuvi has not been able to make full impact.
11. Jasprit Bumrah
Bumrah made his mark on the series a couple of times coming up with a few splendid death overs. But at Mohali he was rendered completely ineffective by a combination of dew factor and the innovative and hard-hitting Turner. Bumrah too struggled to find his line and length at Mohali, so unlike of himself. A series-decider could be a perfect stage for him to weigh in with a stunner.
