India eye a victorious start against Australia as the final dress rehearsal for World Cup begins

A lot will be on the line as two juggernauts of the sport, India and Australia, clash against each other in a three-match ODI series, the first of which will be played on September 22nd at the Mohali. More than anything else, it is going to be a glance at the last-minute preparation for the two sides, which can even be labelled as a dress rehearsal ahead of the World Cup.

The last time these two sides collided, the Indian cricket team were floored despite a victorious start to the series. Mitchell Starc left the Men in Blue with quite a sour taste in their mouth. However, things are different this time around as India look a lot sharper from their recent outing in the Asia Cup and the team came together as a unit which will be their biggest strength considering the fact that they have a star-studded set-up.

Australia, on the contrary, will be hoping to get their wheels rolling after a defeat against South Africa in their last ODI series. Despite taking a 2-0 lead in a five-match series, the Proteas crushed the Roos mercilessly in the final three matches where the latter suffered more than 100-run defeats in all the three games to relinquish the series.

Injuries have been a major concern for them of late and that is exactly what the Australians won’t like to mount any further. They will be hoping to have more of a detailed look at how their squad should line up, particularly in the Indian conditions.

Venue Watch:

A total of 26 ODIs have been played at the venue, out of which 15 has been won batting first while 11 has been won batting second. The average first innings score in the venue has been 265 while the teams chasing have a bit of problem with the numbers dropping down to 228. Initially offering a significant bit of assistance for the fast bowlers, the surface has now evolved into a decent batting track.

Head to Head:

Matches played: 146

India – 54

Australia - 82

Match Details:

Match – India vs Australia

Venue: IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali

Date: 22nd September, 2023

Time: 1:30 PM

Squads:

India: KL Rahul (c), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna, R Ashwin, Washington Sundar.

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa