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Concern for Stoinis over broken thumb

Allrounder unlikely for series decider in India following fielding mishap during third ODI

Injured allrounder Marcus Stoinis is no certain starter for the ODI series decider in Delhi after it was confirmed he has a fractured right thumb.

Stoinis sustained a small fracture to his thumb in the field in Friday's 32-run win in the third ODI in Ranchi but missed yesterday's epic six-wicket victory in Mohali which saw his replacement, second-gamer Ashton Turner, hit an incredible unbeaten 84 to deadlock the series at 2-2 with one match to play.

The 29-year-old failed fitness test on the morning of the match, leaving him in doubt for Wednesday's blockbuster decider in Delhi, after which the Australia squad flies to the UAE for a five-match ODI series against Pakistan.

Teammate Peter Handscomb said the visitors will be patient with their star allrounder.

"He'll look to play at some stage but it's just pain management with him," Handscomb said.

"When it's your bottom-hand thumb it makes it hard to hold the bat.

"We've just got to wait and see with him."

A really big moment for us: Handscomb

While Turner more than adequately covered Stoinis with the bat, what the Australians did miss was the right-armer's ability with the ball.

Australia captain Aaron Finch had to share Stoinis' workload between himself (0-22 from three overs) and Glenn Maxwell (0-61 from eight) while taking one over from paceman Jhye Richardson, who picked up three wickets but went for 85 runs from his nine overs.

Stoinis is Australia's reigning men's ODI player of the year and has been vital batting late in the innings; he scored 52 to give Australia a sniff of victory in the final-over loss in Nagpur and on Friday his 31 from 26 balls lifted the tourists' total to a match-winning 5-313.

ODI Player of the Year: Marcus Stoinis

The Western Australian's versatility has made him a central piece in Australia's ODI jigsaw puzzle.

"To have someone as flexible as that is a great asset to any team, because then you can build a team around them and they can almost fill any hole you need," Finch said of Stoinis earlier in the tour.

"It provides so much of a chop-out for other guys.

"We've seen that with India, when Hardik Pandya is fit it makes the balance of the team so much better. Same with Ben Stokes for England."

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: Australia won by 32 runs

Fourth ODI: Australia won by four wickets

Fifth ODI: March 13, Delhi