Men’s ODI WC: Resurgent India face Australia challenge in quest to start campaign on a high

Chennai, Oct 7  The Wallajah Road, one of the main link roads in Chennai, has been buzzing with activity for the last few days. While the traffic increased due to vehicles heading towards the Marina Beach and adjoining areas, the intensity inside MA Chidambaram Stadium is similarly rising in anticipation for India’s opening match of 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup against Australia on Sunday.

In what has been cool evenings in the city, opposite of its hot and humid nature, the stadium’s walls inside and outside have come alive due to the dedicated and diligent efforts of the artisans. They were being given finishing touches by the artists while hectic activity in and around the venue took centrestage to get every work done before the India and Australia blockbuster face-off begins from Sunday afternoon.

Chennai has been a witness to memorable clashes between the two teams across formats, like the one-run win by Australia over India in 1987 World Cup and the tied Test in 1986. Come Sunday, the traditional cricket venue is all set to add another chapter to its book around India-Australia meet-ups.

India is a two-time World Cup winner, having won the trophy in 1983 and 2011. Sunday’s clash will re-start their quest of ending the decade-long global trophy drought. On the other hand, Australia have won the World Cup five times – in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015. They are also the only side to win three successive ODI World Cup titles and have the knack of being at their best in mega events.

Apart from the trend of host nations winning World Cups in the last three editions, the recent form also is in India’s favour. An Asia Cup triumph in Sri Lanka, followed by beating Australia 2-1 at home last month means Rohit Sharma & Co enter the competition as the top-ranked ODI team and with optimism to do what MS Dhoni-led side did in their 2011 World Cup winning run.

For India, they have a first-time World Cup captain in Rohit Sharma, who had missed out on the 2011 campaign. Since then, Rohit has been a destructive opener in the format and even topped run charts in the 2019 World Cup. With Shubman Gill unlikely to be available for Sunday’s game due to illness and Ishan Kishan potentially coming in, Rohit’s role at the top becomes all more crucial to give India a resounding start.

In-form batters Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul look certain to fill spots three, four and five, while vice-captain Hardik Pandya will be entrusted with finishing duties. If India considers going in with a three-man spin attack of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin should conditions allow, especially with a black soil pitch, then Hardik will be the third pacer alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

For Australia, despite having no Ashon Agar in the mix, Glenn Maxwell’s more-than-just part-time off-breaks along with a returning Adam Zampa’s mastery will help them put a stern challenge against the Indian batters in the middle-overs. Expect captain Pat Cummins, along with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to ask tough questions to the Indian batting order.

With India having a quality bowling line-up, the onus also lies on what answers Australia’s batters give in a bid to get a good day with the bat. In the absence of Travis Head, Australia still has an explosive opening combination in David Warner and Mitchell Marsh, followed by Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne at three and four respectively, with Maxwell and Alex Carey coming in next.

They also have to decide in a toss-up between Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis for an all-rounder’s spot in the middle-order. But Stoinis, as said by Cummins in Saturday’s press conference, is touch-and-go for Sunday’s clash due to a hamstring issue, with a decision on his selection to come closer to the game’s start time.

On paper, there is little to separate India and Australia as they build up to Sunday’s clash. If that translates into an engrossing 50-over game between two teams who have won World Cups previously, then fans coming to the stadium via Wallajah Road will get their money’s worth, so as many people seeing the highly-anticipated clash from their TV screens and streaming platforms.

Squads

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav

Australia: Pat Cummins (captain), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, and Adam Zampa