Australia opt to bat against India in Chennai

Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first in their opening match of the ICC ODI World Cup against hosts India in Chennai on Sunday. Marcus Stoinis hasn't yet recovered from his injury. For India, Ishan Kishan replaces opening batter Shubman Gill, who is out with dengue.

Though India and Australia have faced each other in the recently concluded bilateral series, their World Cup 2023 bout at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai today will be the start of an all new campaign.

While Australia have an obvious advantage head-to-head, having won 83 games to 56 losses, India's recent form makes things even. They won the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka last month and then went on to beat Australia 2-1 at home. 

The two sides are well acclamatised with the conditions and the players in their opposing ranks. The two sides played at Chennai in March this year, and it was a close contest which was won by Australia.

Given the nature of the wicket, spinners from both sides are expected to come into play. While India have Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in their spin department, Australia will bank on Adam Zampa's leg-spinners with some support from Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. 

TEAMS

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Australia: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa