Big picture
The SCG. Australia and New Zealand played an ODI here in March, in eerie silence. It would be the last international action in four months.
Cricket has been back for a while, but the silence hasn’t gone away. On Friday, however, we were able to witness something close to normal, something like the old days, with the SCG filled to 50% capacity as Australia takes on India for the first of three ODIs.
Fans on the ground and India. Both have been missed.
The match will open a long and important Australian summer for both teams, who are looking to tackle two big long-term goals: moving towards next year’s T20 World Cup and winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and reaffirming their respective chances. to qualify for the final of the World Trials Championship.
There is also much broader context for the ODI series. It is part of the new ODI Super League, and for the Indian players who will also participate in the Test series, it is also an opportunity to get back to the rhythm of longer innings and longer spells after a long IPL season that followed months. of inactivity. . For once, however, the larger context will be secondary.
The context, on Friday, will be the game itself, and especially for fans of India, all those familiar pleasures that you might have regretted taking for granted. Two of the best teams in the world filled with some of the most competitive characters in the sport, clashing in front of a crowd. What more could you want?
Forms guide
Australia WLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India LLLWW
In the spotlight
An average of 15.42, a strike rate that barely exceeds the stroke of one ball, and there are not six in 106 balls. Glenn maxwell had a terror IPL with the bat, but is back in home condition. And in the ODI format too, which should give him a little more space and time, just a little, mind you, number 7, to get back in shape. He hit superbly in his last ODI series, in England just before the IPL, with 77 of 59 balls in the first ODI and 108 of 90 in the third, turning two dire situations into wins for Australia. But can Maxwell regain that kind of form after a lean patch, and how will he go against his former nemesis Yuzvendra Chahal?
Hardik pandya He didn’t throw a ball until IPL 2020, and while that didn’t necessarily affect the Mumbai Indians’ campaign, it could upset the balance of India’s ODI given that none of their other hitters are a viable sixth bowling option. Pandya was in excellent hitting form during the IPL, but he may have to show a bit more versatility as a top-six hitter in ODI cricket. He has the game for that, but it will be interesting to see how he adapts, especially given that he hasn’t played an ODI since the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July 2019.
Team news
Steven Smith, who missed the ODI series in England with a concussion, is set to return to the side in place of the injured Mitchell Marsh, with Marcus Stoinis vacating the No. 3 spot in all likelihood.
Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (captain), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Alex Carey (week), 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood .
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal is likely to partner Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order with KL Rahul continuing to hold the wicket and bat at No. 5. If India picks Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, they will have to choose between Navdeep Saini’s pace and Shardul Thakur’s lower-order hitting for the third-closing role. Additionally, Chahal’s IPL form may help him outmatch Kuldeep Yadav for the position of the only wrist brace.
India: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur / Navdeep Saini, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal / Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.
Plot and conditions
The game must be high scoring if the release stays true to its recent form. The teams that hit first have won six of the last seven ODI in this field, and the total average of first innings in that period has been 312. The weather is expected to be warm and sunny, with a maximum of around 24 degrees Celsius.
Statistics and trivia
Quotes
“If you look at his record, it’s second to none. It really is remarkable. So I think what we have to keep in mind is that we have to keep looking to get it out. When you walk away from that and you’re looking to contain the players, you can miss out on a Trick there. He’s probably the greatest one-day player ever, so it’s about sticking to our plans and being really committed to that. “
Aaron Finch on how he wants Australia to get closer to his counterpart Virat Kohli this time
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