Rivalries don’t get older than Australia vs England and whilst both teams are in total different boats, it won’t stop them going head on in this encounter. England had bartered Australia in the 2019 semi finals to take them off their crown. Australia will be in mood of payback to hit the final nail in the coffin of England.
England: Since their heavy loss to New Zealand in the world cup opener, England haven’t struck their cords well. They clearly lack inspiration as none of the big guns have stood up. But back at the Narendra Modi stadium they’ll want to end well as well as put Australia in a tricky position vs Afghanistan. The champions trophy qualifications also are on the line for England
Australia: As the tournament has progressed, this team has gathered steam. With notable exceptions of Smith and Starc, the rest of the team has got decent form going on. They were hit with 2 major changes in the last week with Maxwell going down to a freak injury and Marsh returning home for personal reasons. This gives another chance for the likes of Labuschagne and Inglis to prove their worth. Steven Smith will be more than happy to go back to his favourite number 3 spot.
Australia Probable XI: David Warner, Travis Head, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green,Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazzlewood
England Probable XI: David Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Livi Livingston, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Key Players to watch for:
Travis Head: Despite not a illustrious ODI career at his back, Travis Head’s initial absence for the world cup was considered a huge blow for a reason. He showed it why vs New Zealand. It never looked like he was out of the team
Mark Wood: Mark Wood turned the Ashes literally on his head few months back. He’ll be key in the middle overs where Australia have struggled this world cup .
Interesting Stats:
Jos Buttler averages mere 14.46 after 13 innings in ODIs in India
Joe Root and Steven Smith needs 67 & 5 runs respectively to reach 1000 world cup runs
Australia have beaten England 249 times in international cricket . They could be the first ever to win 250 internationals vs a single team
Weather Report and Pitch:
A re-used pitch of the tournament Opener will be in play. Dew will play a huge role on a pretty good batting wicket. Win the toss and chase.
