Men

Men
Australia pulled off a nerve-wracking two-wicket win in the second ODI at Adelaide Oval, hunting down India’s 264/9 with 22 balls still in hand.
Matthew Short has been putting in the work, racking up 82 runs through the opening two games at an average of 41.00, while Adam Zampa absolutely tore through the lineup with four wickets in Adelaide to spearhead Australia’s bowling effort.
That series opener in Perth? Australia took it by seven wickets through the DLS method once rain cut things down to 26 overs a side.
Virat Kohli went through something he’s never experienced in his ODI career, back-to-back ducks. He faced just four balls in Adelaide after an eight-ball duck in Perth, and honestly, it’s been tough to watch.
India’s got to find something at Sydney Cricket Ground to stop a whitewash and salvage some pride heading into the T20I matches.
Let’s dig into the odds for India’s potential comeback and what factors might swing things, like pitch behavior, weather outlook, squad breakdowns, and players who could turn this around.
Australia vs India 3rd ODI – Match Details
This final ODI goes down at Sydney Cricket Ground, one of those historic Australian venues that’s been hosting international cricket since way back in 1882.
In the last 42 matches at this venue, the team batting first has won 24 games, while the team batting second has won 14 times.
| Series | India tour of Australia 2025 |
| Match | 3rd ODI |
| Date | 25 October 2025 |
| Time (IST) | 09:00 AM |
| Venue | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney |
The coin flip happens at 8:30 AM IST, with broadcast coverage kicking off 30 minutes ahead of the toss, giving captains Mitchell Marsh and Shubman Gill time to read the conditions.
India Tour Of Australia 2025 – Squads
Neither side made any changes following Adelaide, though Kuldeep Yadav is still warming the bench despite nabbing 181 ODI wickets at a 26.44 average through 113 matches. Management is sticking with team balance rather than individual picks right now.
India Squad: Shubman Gill(C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul(WK), Dhruv Jurel(WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
Australia Squad (2nd & 3rd ODI): Travis Head, Matt Renshaw, Matthew Short, Jack Edwards, Mitchell Marsh (c), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Matthew Kuhnemann
India’s management dropped hints that bringing Kuldeep in depends on what the pitch looks like. He might be featured in the playing 11 if the surface might be slow and could provide help to spinners.
Australia vs India 3rd ODI – Pitch Report
The Sydney Cricket Ground’s always had its own personality. Batters typically find the ball arriving nicely onto the bat early on, but once the game gets older, the spinners really start taking control.
| Pitch Behaviour | Starts batting-friendly with good bounce, slows down drastically, favoring spinners through deterioration |
| Batting Assistance | First innings averages 256 runs at SCG, while the second innings drops to 233, showing the pitch wears significantly. |
| Bowling Assistance | Spinners extract sharp turn as the surface ages, while pace bowlers struggle beyond initial movement with the new ball |
| Ground Dimensions | The playing area measures 156 meters long and 154 meters wide, with square boundaries around 65 meters |
| ODI 1st Innings Score | Teams batting first posted 200-249 runs 55 times and 250-299 runs 31 times at SCG historically |
| Toss & Dew Factor | Batting first wins 59.4% of matches at SCG. Pitch deterioration makes chasing increasingly difficult as the innings progress |
What really makes this venue stand out is its traditional Bulli soil foundation, which gives the surface that grip and turn you don’t often see at modern Australian grounds that lean on drop-in pitches.

The stats tell the story too, in ODIs at the SCG, right-arm spinners have claimed 81 wickets, just barely trailing the 88 picked up by the quicks, which shows you how much influence spin can have here.
Bowlers grabbed 442 wickets at SCG in ODIs, with catches making up 313 dismissals, proving fielding sharpness matters just as much as bowling talent here.
Australia vs India 3rd ODI – Weather Report
Sydney’s looking at picture-perfect cricket weather for October 25, with temperatures climbing to around 23 degrees through the day.
The forecast’s showing clear skies with basically zero rain chances, so the match should flow from first ball to last without interruption. Players and fans can expect bright, sunny conditions throughout.
| Temperature | Maximum temperature peaks at 23°C during afternoon sessions, dropping comfortably to 16°C overnight after the match concludes |
| Weather | Clear blue skies with abundant sunshine forecast throughout match day, no cloud cover expected |
| Precipitation | Minimal rainfall probability exists, with dry conditions expected to prevail throughout the day’s play |
| Humidity | October humidity levels range between 20-26% creating a comfortable playing environment without excessive moisture |
| Wind | Light breezes blowing steadily at 15-20 kilometres per hour predicted won’t affect batting or bowling |
Match officials and the ground crew are expecting a straightforward contest between two quality sides without the weather throwing any curveballs.
Australia vs India – Head-to-Head Stats In ODIs
Australia’s got the upper hand historically, taking 86 of the 154 ODI clashes between these nations, while India picked up 58 wins with 10 matches ending without results.
| Temperature | Maximum temperature peaks at 23°C during afternoon sessions, dropping comfortably to 16°C overnight after the match concludes |
| Weather | Clear blue skies with abundant sunshine forecast throughout match day, no cloud cover expected |
| Precipitation | Minimal rainfall probability exists, with dry conditions expected to prevail throughout the day’s play |
| Humidity | October humidity levels range between 20-26% creating a comfortable playing environment without excessive moisture |
| Wind | Light breezes blowing steadily at 15-20 kilometers per hour predicted won’t affect batting or bowling |
On Australian soil specifically, the hosts absolutely run things with 40 victories compared to India’s 14 wins across 56 matches played down under.
Some Other Head-to-Head Stats In ODIs
These numbers capture some incredible individual performances from legendary cricketers who’ve defined this fierce rivalry over generations and across tournament stages.
- Highest total: India – 399/5, Australia – 389/4
- Lowest total: India – 63, Australia – 101
- Most runs: India – Sachin Tendulkar(3077), Ricky Ponting(2415)
- Most Wickets: Kapil Dev(45), Brett Lee(55)
Sachin Tendulkar was absolutely masterful against Australia, piling on 3077 runs in ODIs with nine centuries that proved his complete dominance over their bowling attacks.
Ricky Ponting, meanwhile, stacked up 2415 runs and six centuries against India, reflecting just how commanding he was during Australia’s golden era in one-day cricket.

Brett Lee’s express pace got him 55 wickets against India at an average of 23, regularly leaving top-order batters clueless. Kapil Dev carved out his legacy too with 45 wickets against Australia, delivering spells that helped drive India’s emergence in the 1980s.

At the SCG, Steve Smith’s unbeaten 164 against New Zealand still holds up as the highest individual ODI score at the venue, while India’s collapse to 63 all out against Australia sits as their lowest total at this legendary ground.
Winning & Toss Odds For Australia vs India 3rd ODI
Australia’s series win and home advantage at Sydney Cricket Ground show up pretty clearly in their much shorter odds across the major betting platforms.
| Platform | India Win Odds | Australia Win Odds | Toss Odds(India) | Toss Odds(AUS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stake | 2.20 | 1.65 | 1.90 | 1.90 |
| 1xBet | 2.15 | 1.70 | 1.95 | 1.85 |
| 4RABET | 2.25 | 1.62 | 1.88 | 1.92 |
| BETVIBE | 2.18 | 1.68 | 1.90 | 1.90 |
Betting markets have Australia as the obvious favorites even though it’s a dead rubber, which might actually free India up to play with less series pressure hanging over them.
Key Players To Watch In Australia vs India 3rd ODI
These six performers showed exceptional form in Adelaide, and what they do will probably decide which team walks away with the win at Sydney Cricket Ground.
| Players | Reason |
|---|---|
| Cooper Connolly | Scored unbeaten 61 off 53 balls in Adelaide chase, adding a crucial 96-run partnership with Short when Australia stood at 132-4 |
| Matthew Short | Hit career-best 74 off 78 balls, averaging 41.00 across first two matches, steadying Australia after early wickets threatened their chase |
| Adam Zampa | Took 4-60 in Adelaide, now Australia’s seventh-highest ODI wicket-taker with 192 wickets at 5.56 economy rate across his career |
| Rohit Sharma | Made fighting 73 off 97 balls in Adelaide, surpassing Sourav Ganguly into third place on India’s all-time ODI runs list |
| Arshdeep Singh | Delivers accurate yorkers at 140kph-plus regularly, took 2-41 in Adelaide, including Mitchell Marsh’s crucial early dismissal for Australia |
| Shreyas Iyer | Scored fluent 61 off 77 balls with controlled stroke play, built a vital 118-run partnership with Rohit, stabilizing India’s innings |
Kuldeep Yadav grabbed 31 wickets in 23 ODIs against Australia but sits on the bench despite his spin potentially being ideal for Sydney’s turning pitch.
Suggested Reads:
Conclusion: India Needs To Win The 3rd ODI Match To Show Some Vigour & Strength
India’s heading into Sydney already 2-0 down, and honestly, it’s been tough watching Kohli go through those back-to-back ducks, something he’s never dealt with in ODIs before. Gill’s captaincy debut hasn’t exactly gone to plan either.
The batting order hasn’t clicked as a unit yet, though that Rohit-Iyer stand in Adelaide at least gave us something to hold onto.
Meanwhile, Australia has found some real gems in Connolly and Owen, both of whom handled the pressure beautifully and are making strong cases for themselves looking toward 2027.
Nitish Kumar Reddy came out swinging with that quick 19 off 11 in Perth, showing he’s got the temperament for late hitting.
Zampa? Four wickets in Adelaide just proved again why he’s their go-to spinner. Arshdeep and Siraj got the ball moving early, but just couldn’t get those big wickets when it mattered most.
Winning in Sydney matters beyond just avoiding embarrassment. It’d give the boys some belief back and stop this tour from turning into a complete disaster before the T20s even start.
FAQs
Kohli had scored two centuries at Adelaide Oval before the start of this series.
Nitish Kumar Reddy became the first Indian cricketer to debut in both Test and ODI formats at Perth, getting his ODI cap from captain Rohit Sharma.
Travis Head has played 78 ODI matches, scoring 2978 runs at an average of 43.79 and a strike rate of 105.64.
India has played a total of 19 ODI games at the Sydney Cricket Ground and has managed just two wins. Both these wins came while chasing a target.
India could swap Kuldeep Yadav in for Washington Sundar, considering Sydney’s spin-friendly nature.
