As first matches go at any Cricket World Cup, they couldn`t get any bigger than Sunday`s game between hosts and two-time winners India and five-time champions Australia.
India won the World Cup in 1983 and in 2011 — the last time the tournament was played in India. Since then, it has won only one ICC event — the 2013 Champions Trophy in England — and India is looking to end its trophy drought in home conditions.
Australia is the most successful ODI team, having won the 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015 competitions. It is the only side to win three successive ODI titles.
Pacers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc will lead the Australia bowling, while wrist spinner Adam Zampa has enjoyed success in Indian conditions — 27 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 30.77.
Australian batsmen have a rich experience of Indian conditions, and almost all of them are linked up with Indian Premier League franchises. David Warner, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell spend a lot of time playing in Indian conditions.
Travis Head’s injury is an early blow to Australia, but Marsh and Warner have linked up well as an opening pair. The remaining lineup worked hard to regain form in the lead-up to this tournament, despite Australia losing five of its last six ODIs in South Africa and India.
“Trav Head won’t be ready for the start of the tournament,” Cummins said when asked who might open the batting in Australia’s first game. “But I think the way him (Marsh) and Davey (Warner) started today, it looks like a pretty dangerous combination.”
For India, the equilibrium between pace and spin will define its World Cup combinations. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are expected to lead the bowling attack, with wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja as automatic choices. All-rounder Hardik Pandya fits in as the third pacer.
Along with Virat Kohli, Ashwin was part of India’s 2011 victorious campaign. Back then, his tournament started in Chennai as well and he was drafted into the side ahead of the knockouts. Ashwin was a late entrant into the 2023 World Cup squad — he had only played two ODIs since 2017 — both in South Africa in 2022, before being called up in September.
In home conditions, India’s batting lineup is the strongest on paper and consists of the veritable superstars of world cricket. Kohli is on the verge of breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time ODI centuries’ record, while skipper Rohit Sharma wants to make up for missing out the 2011 tournament.
“In the last few games (against Australia and at the Asia Cup), we have been challenged across different conditions and against different opposition,” Sharma said after the third ODI against Australia two weeks ago when India won the series 2-1.
“We have played really well in these games. We have a good squad and we understand how we want to use it during the World Cup. It will be about keeping our minds and bodies fresh across the next 1 1/2 months.”
