Desperate Australia seeks Finch for 3rd ODI

Finch, who injured his right calf muscle while playing for Surrey last month, has not played a single game on this tour of India. In his absence, 25-year-old Hilton Cartwright made his debut as an opener but cut a sorry figure in the first two ODIs. 

In Chennai, he was bowled by Jasprit Bumrah for one and in Kolkata he was cleaned up by Bhuvneshwar Kumar for an identical score. With David Warner also struggling for runs, Australia has not been able to make an aggressive start. To Australia’s relief, Finch hit the nets on Saturday and also looked smooth while running between wickets. 

“I think you know what he will bring. He is a very good player and he has played a lot of cricket for us in the past couple of years,” Warner said on the eve of the third ODI. “He brings a lot of aggression at the top of the batting order. It was good to see him practising hard and hopefully he will be fit for the game on Sunday.”