Australia vs India 2019, 1st ODI, Preview:
After the historic test series between Australia and India which India won comprehensively by 2-1, it's now time for the final leg of the tour - the One Day series. The first match will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the 12th of January.
India would be high on confidence after having lifted their first Border-Gavaskar trophy on Australian soil while on the other hand, the Aussies will be aiming to turn the tides in the limited overs format.
The cricket World Cup is less than six months away and now after completion of the test series, the Indian team will try to get their combinations right for the mega event to be played in England.
With more or less the core of the side decided, the team management would be looking to fill up the backup in the squad. India has rested Jasprit Bumrah from this ODI series, so it will be a great chance for the likes of Mohammad Siraj, Shami or Khaleel Ahmed to bag that third fast bowler's spot in the line-up. Indian side would also be looking to find someone in the lower order to finish the innings as MS Dhoni has not been able to do so in the recent past. Rohit Sharma will be the key for Indian batting as he has a brilliant batting average of 79.13 against Austalia in Australia which also includes 3 centuries since 2011.
The Australian side will be quite different from the Test squad that lost out. Aaron Finch, who had a terrible Test series, will lead the side. There are quite a number of all-rounders that have been included in the squad, who will only add to the balance of the side. They would be at least hoping to put up a strong show in the One Day matches. Finch would like to continue his good performances against India in the shorter format. While playing against India, he has an average of 51.88 in 16 innings.
So far, India has played 16 matches against Australia in Sydney and has won only two of them. However, one of those victories came last time out when the two sides faced off at Sydney, as India defeated Australia by six wickets. The Men in Blue would be hoping to carry their current form to the ODI series and win it while Australia would want to show the gritty nature they are known for.
Probable Playing XI:
India: Shikar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(C), Ambati Rayadu, MS Dhoni (WK), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, K Khaleel Ahmed.
Australia: Aaron Finch(C), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Glen Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey(WK), Ashton Turner, Nathan Lyon, Billy Stanlake, Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff.