The Indian men’s cricket team, who stayed away from international cricket for more than eight months due to coronavirus crises, will return to action when they take on Australia in the opening One-Day International (ODI) of the three-match series on November 27 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Virat Kohli will continue to lead the Men in Blue in the 50-over format, while KL Rahul will serve as his deputy in the absence of regular vice-captain Rohit Sharma.
Sharma has been rested for the ODI and T20I series against Australia after he missed most of the second half of the Mumbai Indians’ successful campaign at the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a hmastring injury.
Meanwhile, Aaron Finch will lead the Australian side, with Pat Cummins serving as the vice-captain.
The Virat Kohli-led side was last seen in action during the three-match One-Day Internationals (ODI) series against New Zealand Down Under which India went on to lose by 0-3.
Subsequently, India hosted South Africa in three ODIs at home.The opening match between the two sides was abandoned without a ball being bowled before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to call off the series due to COVID-19 crises.
Australia, on the other hand, will head into the series against India on the back of 1-2 loss in the three-match T20I series and 2-1 win in as many ODIs against England in September.
Meanwhile, India and Australia met each other last time in the three-match ODI series in January this year, when the Men in Blue clinched a 2-1 triumph.
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal are favorites to open the batting for India, who will be followed by Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul in the middle-order.
Meanwhile,all-rounder Hardik Pandya is all set to make international comeback after a long injury-layoff.
For Australia, David Warner and skipper Aaron Finch are most likely to begin the batting, while Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are most expected to come to bat at No. 3 and No. 4 spot, respectively.
Talking about the head-to-head record between the two sides, Australia hold a decent advantage over the Men in Blue going into the clash.The two sides have faced each other in a total of 145 ODIs so far, with Australia emerging victorious on 78 occasions and India sealing wins in 52 matches. 15 clashes between the two sides ended in no result.
As far as weather is concerned, it is expected to remain mostly sunny on the day of the match, with a minimum chances of rain.The maximum temperature is likely to reach around 24-degree Celsius, while the minimum temperature in Sydney is expected to record at 19-degree Celcius.
When to watch:
The first ODI of the three-match series between India and Australia will kickstart from 9.30 a.m onwards.The clash will take place in the absence of the spectators due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Where to watch:
The series between the two sides will be telecast on Sony Network in India, while the live streaming of the event will be available on SonyLiv.
Probable XIs:
India Probable XI: Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(C), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/ Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Australia Probable XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch (C), Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Adam Zampa.
SQUADS:
India ODI squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-captain & wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper).
Australia ODI squad: Aaron Finch (Captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), David Warner, Adam Zampa.
