Coulter-Nile flies home from India tour

Australia have been forced to make a change for tonight's must-win third ODI against India, with paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile on his way back to Perth for the birth of his second child.

India won the toss after Aaron Finch called tails incorrectly, and Virat Kohli put the Aussies in to bat, citing the dew factor for the day-night match as a key reason.

Coulter-Nile was set to leave after today's match but departed Ranchi last night after a message from home called for his immediate return.

The right-armer has played in all four matches on the Qantas Tour of India to date and was player of the match for his 3-26 in the thrilling final-ball win in the opening T20 in Vizag.

Coulter-Nile will link back up with the Australian team in the UAE after he was named in the unchanged squad to take on Pakistan in five ODIs from March 22.

Western Australian teammate Jhye Richardson has replaced Coulter-Nile in the line-up. Left-armer Jason Behrendorff made way for off-spinner Nathan Lyon in the previous ODI in Nagpur and the visitors have persisted with the twin spin threat in the XI.

Finch's side must win the final three matches in the ODI series if they are to leave India with the silverware.

The last time Australia beat India three times in a row on Indian soil in the 50-over format was in late 2003, a team led by Ricky Ponting that took out the TVS Cup, a triangular ODI series also featuring New Zealand.

India will wear special camouflage-themed caps for tonight's match as a tribute for the victims of the recent Pulwama terror attack, and Kohli said all players have donated their match fees from tonight's match to the victims. 

While the series' ledger reads 2-0 to India, Australia have had their chances in both matches, particularly in the second ODI in Nagpur where they went down by just eight runs.

Veteran spinner Lyon says playing in those high-pressure environments can only help his side less than three months out from the World Cup.

"You always want to be put in those challenging environments as a professional sportsman," he said on Thursday.

"You want to challenge yourself against the best under extreme amounts of pressure and that's where you see people really stand up or don't really cope under pressure. 

"I think it's a great experience for the Australian cricket side and as I said we are a young side and if we can keep learning off these experiences, hopefully that will put is in good stead at the World Cup and games moving forward."

Qantas Tour of India

First T20: Australia won by three wickets

Second T20: Australia won by seven wickets

First ODI: India won by six wickets

Second ODI: India won by eight runs

Third ODI: March 8, Ranchi

Fourth ODI: March 10, Mohali

Fifth ODI: March 13, Delhi