IND v AUS: India eye winning start against World Cup big boys Australia in spin-friendly Chennai

There’s no time for easing into the Cricket World Cup for India and Australia as the former champions face each other in what promises to be a blockbuster clash in Chennai on Sunday, October 8.

There has been a bit of wet weather in the days leading up to the host nation’s opening match but it’s expected to be better on the matchday in the cricket-crazy South Indian city. For once, the home crowd will not be backing the Men in Yellow as the World Cup is expected to have its first sell-out crowd at the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium with Rohit Sharma and his men getting a lot of support.

India began the trend of winning the World Cup at home when MS Dhoni’s side scripted history in 2011. Ever since Australia and England have won World Cups in their home soil and there’s pressure on India to keep the streak going and end their 10-year wait for an ICC title. After having won the Asia Cup, their first major title in 5 years, India are heading into the tournament with plenty of confidence and a win against Australia in their opening match will only help further the belief in the camp.

India have 4-8 head-to-head record against Australia in World Cups. The Australian sides have always found ways to intimidate opposition in the biggest cricket carnivals, having won as many as 5 titles so far.

India don’t have a good memory of playing Australia in Chennai as their only World Cup outing at Chepauk ended in a heartbreaking defeat in 1987. A Geoff Marsh hundred helped Australia post 270 following which India made 269. Yes, they lost by a run.

However, India are heading into the crucial opener after having beaten Australia 2-1 in a 3-match ODI series last month. In their last World Cup meeting in 2019, India

Captain Rohit Sharma, though, is not willing to give too much importance to the recent series win, highlighting that the Australians have always managed to peak at the World Cups.

“Yeah, look, what we’ve done in the past, I don’t think it’ll matter too much. You’ve got to play good cricket on that given day. And Australia being Australia, we know how they play in ICC tournaments. There is a reason that they have so many championships. So, for us, it will be very important that we stick to what we want to do as a team, focus on our strengths, and assess the conditions here,” Rohit Sharma said.

India need to make a couple of crucial calls ahead of their opening match as in-form opener Shubman Gill is likely to miss the game on Sunday after testing positive for dengue. Both head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit stressed that Gill was not ruled out of the contest during their interactions with the press on Friday and Saturday, but it looks likely that Gill will not be rushed back even if he feels better on the matchday.

Ishan Kishan, who has proved his mettle at the top of the order, is likely to be Rohit’s opening partner. Ishan, who was asked to bat at multiple positions in the lead-up to the World Cup, trained hard on Friday, getting an extended hit at the nets.

The rest of India’s batting line-up picks itself as Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul have all proved their form in the lead-up to the tournament.

India will be tempted to play 3 spinners and local boy R Ashwin might straightaway make it into the XI after having been called as a last-minute replacement for injured Axar Patel.

“I don’t really consider Hardik Pandya as just a seamer. He’s a proper fast bowler, who can crank up good speed. So that gives us an advantage. That gives us that luxury of playing three spinners and three seamers,” Rohit said, expressing satisfaction with the options at his disposal.

On the other hand, Australia are without Travis Head for the first half of the tournament and Marcus Stoinis is also likely to be sidelined from the opener due to a hamstring issue.

Australia’s Big 3 pacers are expected to be back together while all-rounders Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell will be expected to play a big role. Maxwell will be Australia’s second spinner and he has warmed up well with a 4-wicket haul in the last ODI vs India last month.

PITCH AND CONDITIONS
India had lost to Australia in March after Adam Zampa spun a web earlier in the year in an ODI and the pitch is expected to be spin-friendly in Chepauk. However, the spell of showers in the days leading up to the contest might have an impact on how the pitch plays.

It’s expected to be clear for most of the afternoon with a couple of showers expected in the evening in Chennai. Worry not, the drainage facility in Chepauk is good.