The day has come. The day when the nation starts it's a parade to reach the podium to touch the silverware. It's been a decade since an ICC trophy has reached the cabinet of the Indian team. They would look to leave it behind in quest of winning it this year the upset they faced last year in the semi-final and would be full of positive mindset when they face the dragons of the World Cup and 5-time champions, Australia.
India: The number 1 ODI team head into the tournament defeating Australia in the recently concluded ODI series just a week back. Shubman Gill who was the player of the series is likely to miss the game as he is suffering from Dengue. This could be a big blow for the team as he has been in sublime form. In case of absence, Ishan Kishan is likely to be roped into the side. Talking about the form, India has ticked all the boxes ahead of the World Cup as all their key players are in terrific form. With, Rohit Sharma scoring runs at the top, and Virat doing what he does, Shreyas got his rhythm back against the same Aussies where he scored a dashing hundred. Hardik providing solid balance to the team with his all-round performances, KL Rahul ensuring the middle-order’s stability, Kuldeep picking wickets like there’s no tomorrow, Siraj evolving at rockets’ pace and becoming the number 1 ODI bowler. Ever since Rohit Sharma has taken over the captaincy, team India hasn’t lost a single ODI series in India. Chepauk's pitch is known for being sluggish, which should bring local boy Ashwin into the side ahead of Shardul Thakur. Can they continue the form and lift the trophy? Only time will tell.
Australia: Five-time world champions have had wood over India in the ODI world cups as they trumped India 8 times in 12 matches, they faced in the ODI world cups. They head into the tournament with 2 consecutive series defeats South Africa and India. However, one can’t discount them at all, especially in the World Cup, having won the World Cup five times, this team certainly knows how to knock teams out. Just like India, their top players are in red-hot form. David Warner has been magnificent with the bat as he amassed 206 runs against Africa and 161 runs against India. Smith looked rusty in the first two games against India but regained his form in the third ODI scoring 74. Maxwell couldn’t do much with the bat but was out of the syllabus for Indians in the third ODI with his 4 wickets to give Australia a consolation win. In the meanwhile, with Ashton Agar ruling out, Travis head, and Stoinis being injured, Australia will have to come out in this game with few concerns. Zampa on the other hand will have huge pressure on this shoulder being their specialist spinner. Having said that, Maxwell and Cameron Green will have to support with the ball. Their pace trio has always been threatening; however, it will be interesting to see how they come up on the expected slow Chennai pitch.
Probable Playing 11: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.
Probable Playing 11: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschange, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (captain), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
Key players to watch out for:
Kuldeep Yadav: Kuldeep Yadav has been a vital cog for India in the white ball format since his comeback. The latter has picked 45 wickets in his last 25 ODI matches. He has played 20 ODI matches against Aussies where he could only pick 29 wickets. However, Kuldeep has now established himself as the potential match-winner, temperamentally very strong, Australians will be wary of him.
Glenn Maxwell: The all-rounder known for his explosive batting and part-time spin has kicked just at the time, having won the player of the match award in his come-back game, Maxwell has proved yet again that he will be the man to watch out for. He has scored 926 runs against India in just 29 innings at a decent average of 35.61 and a terrific strike rate of 136.77. The strike rate says it all. He also has 8 scalps to his name against India. His role will be crucial with both bat and ball on chepauk’s spinning-friendly pitch.
Updates:
- Shubman Gill is suffering from Dengue and may miss the game.
- Marcus Stoinis has a hamstring injury, he is likely to miss the game.
- Travis Head hasn’t recovered yet, thus he will be unavailable too.
Interesting stats and facts:
- Both India and Australia will play their 150th ODI Match.
- Rohit Sharma needs just 3 more sixes to go past Chris Gayle to become the most sixes hitter in international Cricket.
- Glenn Maxwell needs just 7 runs to complete his 6000 international runs.
- Steven Smith is just 1 six away from completing 50 ODI sixes and 4 fours from completing 450 fours in ODIs.
- Ishan Kishan needs 10 fours from completing his 100 ODI fours.
- Steven Smith (14) needs 1 more century to be leading centurion vs India in international cricket.
Weather and Pitch report: It will be humid as the temperature will be 33 degrees Celsius. Team winning the toss will prefer to bat first, the pitch will be expected to be dry initially, and it may slow down as the game progresses. Team winning the toss should bat first and expect the score to be around 250-275. Anything above 275 will be a good score to defend in the second half.
Date & Time: 8th October 2023, 2.00 PM (IST)
Venue: Chepauk Stadium, Chennai.
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney Hotstar
Dream 11:
