India and Australia, two of the world’s best cricket teams, are set to begin the ODI leg of their tour after a thrilling Test series, which saw India retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy with a 2-1 victory. The first ODI match is set to take place on Friday, March 17, at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Both teams have been training hard for the upcoming matches, and some key players are expected to play an important role in the series.
In the lead-up to the ODI series, the Australian team has several injury concerns to deal with. Glenn Maxwell, who is returning from a fractured leg injury, will need to prove his fitness before he is cleared to play. Additionally, Jhye Richardson has been ruled out due to a hamstring issue, and Josh Hazlewood returned to Australia during the Test series. Meanwhile, ODI skipper Pat Cummins recently lost his mother and may not be available for the series, so Steve Smith is expected to continue leading as a stand-in captain for the three-match series.
On the other hand, India will miss the services of Shreyas Iyer, who was ruled out of the ODI series due to a back injury. Skipper Rohit Sharma will also miss the first ODI due to family commitments, with Hardik Pandya taking over captaincy duties in his absence. Despite this, the Indian team heads into the ODI series on a high note, having won the Test series against Australia.
The last time India and Australia faced off in a bilateral ODI series was in December 2020, where India won by 13 runs against Australia. However, Australia has a significant upper hand in the head-to-head record. India also won the last two limited-overs series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, while Australia last played a limited-overs series against England in November 2022, where they whitewashed Jos Buttler’s side 3-0.
Virat Kohli and Cameron Green are two key players to watch in the upcoming ODI series. Kohli recently smashed a century in the fourth Test, and his form will be crucial to India’s chances of winning the ODI World Cup in 2023. Meanwhile, Cameron Green, the Australian all-rounder, has looked promising since joining the squad from the third Test in Indore. With several key players missing, it will be an opportunity for Green to carry the team and prove his worth.
The predicted playing XIs for the first ODI include Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya ©, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Umran Malik, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj for India. Meanwhile, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Steve Smith ©, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, and Sean Abbott are predicted to take the field for Australia.
In summary, the ODI leg of the India vs Australia tour is set to be an exciting match-up between two formidable teams. While India heads into the series with momentum on their side, Australia will be looking to overcome their injury concerns and bounce back after their Test series defeat. Fans of both teams can look forward to some thrilling matches over the coming weeks.
As the ODI series gets underway, team India will be looking to kick off their preparation for the World Cup 2023. In the absence of Rohit Sharma in the 1st ODI, Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan are expected to open the innings for team India. The middle order will be strengthened by Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav & Hardik Pandya.
