Rohit Sharma’s men look to iron out weaknesses for home WC
- India and Australia have won their last five ODI matches.
- Australia will be heavily depleted without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Following an enthralling Test series, India and Australia are set to play three ODIs. First of which, takes place at Wankhede Stadium on Friday, March 17. India, playing in home conditions, head into the match as favourites with the odds of 1.61
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Australia last played the fifty-over format in November last year, where they hammered England by 3-0. They have odds of winning this game at 2.30
Expect plenty of runs at Wankhede Stadium
Wankhede Stadium is known to be a flat and high-scoring venue. The seamers do get some movement and bounce on these pitches but once the new-ball spell is done, there’s plenty of runs on offer. So you can expect a high-scoring contest.
Our pick: India have a bowling attack to restrict Australia even without Jasprit Bumrah while their batting looks strong. We predict India to win the match at 1.61
India are without Jasprit Bumrah but Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami are capable of doing a good job. The likes of Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya form a solid batting line-up.
Australia have a depleted bowling attack in the absence of lead pacers. The batting unit, however, is at full strength. They could go in with a batting heavy approach as they’ve done in recent times.
Keep an eye on…
Shubman Gill has been in magnificent form across formats. In the last seven ODIs, he has scored 580 runs at an average of 97 while striking at 123. He has two hundreds and a double century in the last three games.
Travis Head is in the form of his life and making it count. He has scored 550 runs in nine innings since last year, averaging 69 at a strike rate of 112. Head has smashed two hundreds and three fifties in this period.