India vs Australia 1st ODI Preview: Team India will return to the field after 8 months, will miss ‘Hitman’ Rohit Sharma
India vs Australia (IND vs AUS) 1st ODI Match Preview: With the new atmosphere in New Jersey and Corona era, the Indian cricket team will return to international cricket against a veteran like Australia, then in the first ODI on Friday, they will be called their ‘Hitmen’ Rohit Sharma will miss. The absence of injured Rohit Sharma will definitely affect the batting order.
Virat Kohli’s team last played an international match against New Zealand in early March. The team, which has been away from international cricket for a long time due to the Corona epidemic, is now facing a tough Australia like that which will not be easy to beat on its soil. The Indian team will be seen in the Navy Blue Jersey of the 1992 World Cup. Those who believe in superstitions would not call it a good sign, as India finished seventh among nine teams in that tournament. However, past performance in cricket does not matter.
In Australia, the focus will be on how the team combination becomes perfect in Rohit’s absence. Mayank Agarwal will start the innings with Shikhar Dhawan or it will not be easy to cope with the balls of Shubman Gill, Mitchell Starc, or Pat Cummins. The Indian batsmen are going to face the best fast attack, while Australia also has skilled spinners in the form of Adam Jampa.
Adam Jampa has troubled Kohli many times. In the presence of Steve Smith, run-machine David Warner and rising star Marnus Labushne, the Indians will have to do their best to beat Australia on their own.
The Indian XI may include both Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami or the team management can field one in a match keeping the Test series in mind. In such a situation, Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini can be given a chance. For KL Rahul, the tour will be nothing short of a litmus test. Vice-captain Rahul was in superb form in the IPL, which he would like to retain, but the real challenge is to replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the wicket where he will have to catch the googly of Yuzvendra Chahal.
Rahul himself admits that it is not possible for anyone to replace Dhoni but that ‘Prince of Ranchi’ has set such high standards of wicketkeeping that it is not easy for anyone to live up to him. Hardik Pandya specializes in aggressive batting at number six or seventh. With this, Kohli can land with two spinners. At number four, Shreyas Iyer did well on the previous tour.
Chahal will be a concern for the Australian middle order. In the absence of a specialist bowler from Death Overs like Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Bumrah will have an additional responsibility. Three T20 matches are to be played after three ODIs. The Test series will begin on 17 December.
Both teams are as follows:
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jaspreet Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur.
Australia: Aaron Finch (captain), David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labushne, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carrey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Jumpa, Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott, Ashton Egger, Cameron Green, Moises Henriques, Andrew Tye, Daniel Symes, Matthew Wade.