Chennai: On a roll after decimating Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli’s Indian team will be aiming for another comprehensive show against a depleted Australia when the two sides square off in the opening encounter of the five-match ODI series, starting here Sunday.
The Indo-Australia rivalry over the years, have been more traditional with the intensity right up there as lot is always at stake. Not to forget the passion and frayed tempers, a testimony to that was the Test series that India won 2-1, earlier this year.
A 5-0 win for India, which could be a rare first against Australia, will put them at the top of the ICC World rankings while a 4-1 win for the visitors will help them grab pole position.
For India, facing an Australian side without their top two pacers – Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, would certainly work to their advantage but at the same time, the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner and Glenn Maxwell are seasoned pros for whom India is like a second home.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel suffered an injury scare, spraining his ankle while playing football. However the Aussies are well aware of what threat wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal can pose for them. Accordingly, they summoned mystery spinners KK Jiyas and local lad Murugan Ashwin to prepare for the match.
The last time the Australians played a bilateral ODI series in India in 2013, the hosts won seven-match series 3-2. Steve Smith, who wasn’t part of that series is now the leader of the Aussies and would be expected to lead from the front in a tour that promises to be another run fest.
Smith’s men would be aiming to exact some revenge for the defeat suffered in the 2013 series but a lot depends on batting big and the bowlers finding ways to contain a marauding Indian batting line-up led by Kohli and Rohit.
Pointers
12 – Number of matches won by the sides batting first, out of 19 matches at Chennai
1 – Number of games played between India and Australia at Chennai, during the Reliance World Cup in 1987, where the visitors won by one run
6 – Number of games won by India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, out of 11 matches, losing four and one with no result
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