IND vs AUS 1st ODI Weather report: After a successful campaign at the Asia Cup 2023, India face Australia in their final assignment before the ICC World Cup 2023. The Men in Blue will lock horns against the mighty Aussies in the first ODI of a three-match series in Mohali. KL Rahul will be leading the team for the first two matches as both Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya will be among the absentees for these two contests.
India's recent ODIs in the Asia Cup were interrupted by rain in Sri Lanka in early September. The Men in Blue managed to win the tournament and defeated the likes of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. However, there is no such threat of rain in Mohali for the first ODI.
PCA Stadium Mohali Weather
There are very minor chances of rain coming down in Mohali on Friday i.e. the match day. According to AccuWeather, there is only a 4% chance of rain coming down in the morning. It slightly goes up to 6% and 8% in the afternoon and evening, respectively but it seems there will be no weather interruptions in the contest.
Suryakumar Yadav, Ravi Ashwin to start in first two ODIs
Meanwhile, head coach Rahul Dravid confirmed in a press conference that Suryakumar Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin will be starting in the first two ODIs against Australia. "We completely back Suryakumar Yadav. We believe he will do well in ODI Cricket and turn things around in ODIs, and will be getting an opportunity in the First two ODIs against Australia," Dravid said in a press conference ahead of the game.
He also hinted Ashwin will be playing in the first game. "We know the quality of Ravi Ashwin and what he brings to the table. We always plan for any injury issues. So we want to give some game time to Ravi Ashwin in this ODI series against Australia. The decision to rest Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma was taken after mutual discussion and consultation as the team wants them to be fresh mentally and physically for the World Cup. Rohit Sharma is one of the greatest captains ever. It's unfortunate he never got the full-strength team. He got a decent team and he won the Asia Cup twice. Hopefully, we'll win the 2023 World Cup under Rohit," Dravid added.
India's Probable Playing XI:
Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (c, wk), Tilak Varma/Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Australia's Probable Playing XI:
David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (c), Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa
