IND vs AUS 1st ODI: After a victorious end to the Border-Gavaskar series, India take on Australia in a three-match ODI series. The series is sandwiched between the concluded test series and the upcoming 16th edition of the Indian Premier League. Still, the stakes are pretty high as it is all about the World Cup year.
India are unbeaten at home in the ODI series since 2018-19. They have won seven consecutive ODI series at home and have clean-swept both Sri Lanka and New Zealand this year at their home. The last team to beat India at their home was Australia, who prevailed by 3-2. India are so dominant at home that they have lost only three ODI series since November 2009. However, they will have some things to address in the series before the World Cup.
Iyer's injury paves way for Suryakumar
Shreyas Iyer is injured and will miss the ODI series. No replacement has been announced which means Suryakumar Yadav can get another chance to prove his worth in the middle order. As Rohit Sharma will miss the first ODI, Hardik Pandya will lead the team. The stand-in captain cleared the opening combination would have Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan. “Ishan and Shubman will be opening. The wicket looks how it is throughout the year. I have played here for almost seven years and it is one of the finest grounds I have played on. It’s going to be challenging since this wicket will give equal opportunities to both sides,” Pandya said in a presser.
Too many Bowling options
The Indian team will also have to deal with too many bowling options. Ravindra Jadeja has returned, while Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are the spinning options, while fast bowling has the likes of Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. India need to fill the shoes of Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant, both of whose return is not certain at the moment. Siraj has proved to be a great bowler for India in all three formats.
Australia's too many allrounders
Meanwhile, Australia also have too many all-rounders on the side. Maxwell has returned, while Cameron Green, Ashton Agar, Sean Abott, Micthell Marsh, and Marcus Stoinis also are available for the ODIs. They don't have the services of Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins available for the series but will they lack expert bowling in tricky conditions? It will be seen soon.
The match will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the venue where India have not won an ODI since 2011. They would surely want to break the jinx in the opening ODI. The pitch at the venue is a belter of a track for the batters and the hitters shall enjoy more batting there. This series can be in many ways help both these sides to find solutions for some of their places.
