The Indians can heave a sigh of relief in Hobart on Sunday: There will be no Josh Hazlewood in the Australian line-up since the fast bowler has decided to take a break ahead of the Ashes and concentrate on his red-ball skills.

Australia are 1-0 up in the five-match series but Hazlewood’s absence will be felt across the board. He almost singlehandedly tore through the Indian batting in the Powerplay overs with a three-wicket haul in Melbourne to leave them in dire straits.

Suryakumar Yadav’s men failed to recover from the shock despite a courageous innings from Abhishek Sharma. While Abhishek looked in fine nick, the others struggled on a wicket which offered bounce and seam movement.

The Indians were at least 30 runs short in Melbourne and that resulted in Australia’s four-wicket victory.

“India were very off, first of all, with the amount of runs they put on the board. They should have scored at least 30 to 40 runs more in these conditions. I think they pulled the trigger and then they just couldn’t stop going after that. Then, with the new ball, they could have been slightly better,” former India pacer Varun Aaron said on Star Sports.

India’s batting will be tested again, especially the likes of Sanju Samson, who has been struggling to adapt to an unfamiliar role in the line-up. How he stands up against Nathan Ellis could decide his fate since the fast bowler has exploited his tendency to get stuck on the crease off the back foot.

“The challenge is that a lot of players, including me, are on their first tour here. We knew about the extra bounce and pace, but still the way they bowled, surprised us,” Abhishek said at the post-match news conference.

It remains to be seen if the Indian think-tank tries out Jitesh Sharma in the remaining matches since he excelled in a finisher’s role in the IPL.

India’s bowling combination, too, will be under scrutiny, especially the decision to play three spinners on pace-friendly pitches. Arshdeep Singh has been unfortunate to be left out though there can be no doubt about his abilities to provide breakthroughs and check the run-rate in the Powerplay and death overs.

India may not be keen to make too many changes but the balance of their playing XI is facing debate.

Do they view Shivam Dube as a viable bowling option in these conditions? Is Harshit Rana the best choice though he did get some runs in the
second match?

The onus has again been on Jasprit Bumrah to deliver. He did provide a couple of breakthroughs but it came too late in the day in Melbourne. If Bumrah can take early wickets, Australia will find the going tough.

Bumrah is two wickets away from 100 in T20Is. Arshdeep Singh (101) is the only India bowler to have got to that mark so far.

Hobart can produce high-scoring games as well as low-scoring games. In February 2024, Australia beat West Indies in a match where both teams crossed 200. Then, in November, Australia bowled Pakistan out for 117 and then romped to victory.

The home team will, however, welcome back Glenn Maxwell, who has recovered from the fractured wrist that has kept him out of action since mid-September. His return will strengthen the batting, particularly against the Indian spinners.