After the conclusion of the high-octane Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the two giants of world cricket will take on each other in the three-match ODI series. The first fixture will take place on Friday, March 17, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai at 1:30 PM IST.
The first ODI will see the Men in Blue entering the field without their regular captain, Rohit Sharma, and the side will be captained by Hardik Pandya. In the absence of Rohit, a big headache arises for the Indian team as to who will face the first ball. On the brighter side, the young Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli have been in some serious form since the beginning of 2023. The pace battery of the side will be heavily dependent upon Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. The home team would like to carry forward its momentum from the longest format to the white ball cricket and go 1-0 up in the series after securing the first game. It would be interesting to see how the Indian camp functions in this bilateral series without two of its most important players, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.
On the other end, the Aussies will also play without their regular captain, as Pat Cummins won’t be returning for the upcoming series. The top-order batter, Steve Smith will be captaining the side and will look to finish the tour on a positive note. With the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 being held in India, Australia will look forward to analysing and understanding the conditions well enough before they return to the subcontinent for the mega event. The Aussie line-up has a rich experience of playing in India and could posses a serious threat to the Indians.
Head-to-head:
In the head-to-head competition between the two teams in the 50-over format, Australia have acquired a massive lead. The two sides played against each other on 143 occasions, the Aussies won 80 and lost 53 games.
Where-to-watch:
TV: Star Sports
OTT: Disney+ Hotstar