India v Australia preview: Aussies assemble strong line-up in vital World Cup tune-up series

By Sports Desk March 16, 2023

India and Australia will renew their rivalry following a gripping Test series with a three-match One-Day International series starting Friday.

It offers an ideal precursor for this year's World Cup, hosted by India in October and November, with both nations eager to rip the title off 2019 winners England.

Australia have assembled a strong squad for the tune-up series, where Steve Smith will lead the tourists as skipper, with Pat Cummins remaining at home following the death of his mother last week.

David Warner returns from the fractured elbow that prematurely ended his Test series, while big-hitting all-rounders Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell are also back following long-term ankle and leg injuries.

They are two of several all-rounders in the squad as Australia search for the best mix for their World Cup side, with Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott and Ashton Agar in contention.

"We've gone in with a structure with eight batters to bat a little bit deeper, we've tried that," said Australia coach Andrew McDonald.

"There'll be a mix of combinations as we lead into the World Cup. A lot of all-rounders [have been] picked in the squad and they can all play in the one team, so we've got to answer a few of those questions."

India captain Rohit Sharma will miss the opening ODI at Wankhede Stadium due to family reasons, with Hardik Pandya to lead the side in his absence, while Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the series with a back injury.

Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will also be absent due to a long-term back injury.

It is difficult to establish any form lines given the disjointed nature of ODIs, but India have won their last seven matches against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, while the tourists have won nine of their last 10 (L1), including their last six on the bounce, having secured a 3-0 win against England in their last ODI series.

India's imposing home ODI record

India are always a difficult assignment at home, having won their last seven home multi-game bilateral ODI series, along with 13 of their last 14.

However, Australia are the side responsible for that one defeat, winning 3-2 in March 2019 in India where Usman Khawaja was Player of the Series.

Warner not a spent force

Warner may be in the twilight of his international career, with speculation about his future in the Test side, but he is not a spent force in white-ball cricket and is targeting this year's 50-over World Cup.

The 36-year-old is one century away from 20 ODI hundreds, with only Ricky Ponting (29) boasting more for Australia. The left-handed opener has scored 50 or more in six of his past eight ODIs against India.

Related items

  • Stokes returns as England include uncapped duo in squad for Pakistan tour Stokes returns as England include uncapped duo in squad for Pakistan tour

    England captain Ben Stokes is back in the squad for their tour of Pakistan in October, with uncapped duo Brydon Carse and Jordan Cox both included.

    Stokes missed England's 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka this month with a hamstring injury and is continuing his recovery, as is opener Zak Crawley, who is also back after missing it with a broken finger.

    Durham fast bowler Carse has made 14 ODI appearances and played three T20Is for England, while Essex batter Cox is expected to make his T20I debut against Australia on Wednesday.

    Spinners Rehan Ahmed and Jack Leach, who has not played since January, are recalled, having also played in the 3-0 Test series away to Pakistan in 2022.

    Seamer Josh Hull is included in the squad for his first senior tour after making his Test debut at The Oval.

    Dan Lawrence, who was given the opportunity to open in Crawley's absence, struggled to make an impact and registered a highest score of just 35 in six innings, with that coming in England’s final Test, which they lost on Monday.

    England's tour of Pakistan begins with the first Test on October 7.

    England squad for Pakistan tour: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.

  • Indonesia 0-0 Australia: Wasteful Socceroos play out stalemate Indonesia 0-0 Australia: Wasteful Socceroos play out stalemate

    Australia's wastefulness in front of goal cost them in World Cup qualifying once more as they drew 0-0 with Indonesia on Tuesday.

    Nestory Irankunda came closest for the Socceroos, hitting the woodwork, as Graham Arnold's side failed to pick up their first win in the third round of the 2026 AFC World Cup qualifiers. 

    Indonesia had an early flurry of chances, with Sandy Walsh and Rafael Struick both testing Mat Ryan inside the opening 17 seconds.

    Australia dominated after that though, with Harry Souttar seeing a couple of efforts saved in quick succession before Irankunda struck the woodwork from range just after the half-hour mark.

    The visitors pushed for an opening in the second half but struggled to create many chances of note as Craig Goodwin had Australia's only shot on target after the break. 

    Witan Sulaeman almost snatched it at the end, but missed a glorious chance in the dying seconds, poking a close-range shot wide of the near post under no pressure. 

    Data Debrief: Socceroos fire another blank

    Australia suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Bahrain in their last match, with a Souttar own goal compounding their misery that day.

    And their lack of a clinical edge cost them once more against Indonesia, as they had 19 shots (five on target); they last recorded more without scoring against the United Arab Emirates in January 2019 in the Asian Cup (22).

    Meanwhile, Indonesia's defence stayed resolute, but they offered little in terms of attacking threat, managing only two shots on target, which both came within a second of each other.

  • De Silva lauds Sri Lanka's bowlers in 'special' England victory De Silva lauds Sri Lanka's bowlers in 'special' England victory

    Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva labelled his side's triumph over England as "special" following their eight-wicket win in the final Test at The Oval. 

    Pathum Nissanka's unbeaten century led the tourists to victory, having started day four needing just 125 runs with nine wickets in hand. 

    Despite the loss of Kusal Mendis (39), Sri Lanka were able to halt their seven-match losing streak in Tests against England, claiming their first win against them since June 2014.

    Nissanka's unbeaten 127 from 124 deliveries also made him only the fourth batter to log a strike rate of more than 100 when scoring a ton in men's Tests.

    De Silva hailed Sri Lanka's resilience in claiming the deserved victory, believing his opening batsman is the best in the business for the Lions.

    "It is very special, winning in England. The boys were tough enough to handle the pressure and get into some scenarios," De Silva told BBC Sport.

    "It is not comfortable. There was hard work put in by the bowlers and batters. We were there in every match - had positive points. The boys wanted to win in the end.

    "Credit to all of the bowlers. They have been on target from ball one. In the second innings, they were spot on.

    "He [Nissanka] was in form the last couple of years and doing well in white-ball format. He has proved he is the best opener in Sri Lanka right now."

    Kamindu Mendis, who struck 113 from 183 deliveries in the Lions' five-wicket defeat in the first Test, was handed Sri Lanka's Player of the Series after the triumph.

    Mendis was consistent with the bat throughout the series, scoring 267 runs across the five innings he was in at the crease. 

    "It's a good win in these conditions. We did really well, especially the seamers and the batters did really well today," Mendis said.

    "In these conditions, you have to face very difficult situations but I just wanted to enjoy it. That's it.

    "I just made small changes, not big ones. It's a big deal but you have to be confident in your ability and enjoy your game.

    "It's always a challenge facing seamers in England."

    Sri Lanka's attentions will now turn to a two-match Test series on home soil against New Zealand, starting on September 18 at the Galle International Stadium.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.