ICC WC 2023 : Match 5: India vs Australia: Preview & Prediction

India will kick off their campaign in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup against five-time world champions Australia on October 8 in Chennai. The encounter between the two powerhouses promises to be a mouthwatering one. In this article, we will talk about all the important aspects of the match including the pitch report, players to watch out for, possible playing 11, match predictions, and much more.

Date, Time, and Venue

The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and Australia will be played in Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday (October 8) at 2 pm IST

Live stream, telecast details

The match will be broadcast live on Star Sports network in multiple languages. The match will also be live-streamed on Disney+ Hotstar app and website.

India vs Australia head-to-head record

Total number of matches between India and Australia: 149

Number of matches India won: 56

Number of matches India won: 83

No Result: 10

India

India will face the Aussie challenge in their World Cup opener on a spin-friendly wicket in Chennai. Being a day-night fixture spinners are expected to get some assistance from a dry surface in Chennai. The Rohit Sharma-led side has been in great form in 2023 and has won every ODI series they have played this year. 

The biggest worry for India is the fitness of opener Shubman Gill who is doubtful for the opening match after testing positive for dengue. 

The right-hander has been in great form in 2023 and has scored more than 1000 runs this year in ODI cricket, He is someone who can take the Australian spinners to the cleaners with his aggressive stroke play

Players to watch out for

Shreyas Iyer

The right-hand batter was one of the most consistent batter for India at number 4 from 2019- 2021. But it was the shoulder injury followed by a lower back injury that has affected his career to a great extent. The multiple injuries ruled him out of two consecutive T20 World Cups in 2021 and 2022. He made a smaller comeback this year in the series against Australia with a century in the second ODI and helped India to win the match and the series. Iyer has scored more than 800 runs at number four which is the most by a batter at that position since the 2019 ODI World Cup. 

Kuldeep Yadav

The left-arm chinaman has been in great form since 2022 when he made a comeback in the Indian team after having a staler IPL season for the Delhi Capitals. One of the biggest changes in his bowling has been his increased bowling speed which has helped him to fox the batters more as they don’t have enough time to read the ball off his hands which causes the batter to react late while picking the ball after pitching. Kuldeep is coming into the World Cup with wickets under his belts in the Asia Cup where he guided India to a hard-fought win against Sri Lanka.

Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj has been the most improved fast bowler in the recent past. Having made his ODI debut in 2018 against Australia in Australia he has been at his best since 2022 and has emerged as the leader of the pace attack in Bumrah’s absence. Siraj’s impressive in ODI cricket can be measured by the fact that he has replaced experienced fast bowler Mohammed Shami to become India’s first-choice pacer along with Bumrah. The fast bowler recorded the second-best bowling figures by an Indian in the One-Day International during the Asia Cup 2023 final against Sri Lanka.

Australia

Australia has had a poor run of form leading into the World Cup having lost the five-match ODI series against South Africa after leading 0-2. 

They are also nursing some injury issues to key players like Mitchell Starc Glenn Maxwell and captain Pat Cummins all of whom haven’t played a great amount of cricket before the World Cup. 

It would be interesting to see how the team shapes up for the tournament given they have the reputation of doing well in the World Cup.

Players to watch out for

Adam Zampa

Adam Zampa will be a threat for India on a wicket that is expected to assist the spinners. The leg spinner was instrumental in Australia’s ODI series win against India earlier this year. The combination of his healthy strike rate (31.5) and tight economy rate (5.53) will make him Australia’s most important bowler in the 50-over format, where he has taken 45 wickets in the past 20 months. 

Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc and World Cup are synonyms of each other. The left-arm pacer has been the leading wicket-taker in the last two editions of the multination tournament. He will pose a serious threat to India given the Indian batter's poor record against the left-arm fast bowlers.

Steve Smith

Steve Smith has batted predominantly at No. 3 and Australia has plenty of options despite the absence of Travis Head, who was picked in the 15-man World Cup squad despite his broken hand. India has been one of Smith’s favorite opposition as the right-hander has scored tons of runs against them across formats.

Pitch Report

The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai has a longstanding reputation for favoring spin bowlers, earning its status as a spinner's heaven. India also has struggled on this wicket against a quality spin bowling attack. In this context, batting first is widely regarded as advantageous, as chasing becomes exceedingly challenging due to the progressively deteriorating nature of the pitch. 

IND vs AUS Dream11 Prediction Picks:

Wicketkeepers: KL Rahul

Batters: Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer

All-rounders: Marcus Stoinis, Hardik Pandya

Bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

IND vs AUS Dream11 Prediction Captain and Vice-Captain:

Choice 1: Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer (vc)

Choice 2: Adam Zampa (c), Mohammed Siraj (vc)

Match Prediction

Both teams have the resources to do well in the match but India has the home advantage which can play a huge role so we pick India to start their campaign with a win.

Squads

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin 

Australia: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins (c), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Ellis, Sean Abbott, Matthew Short, Spencer Johnson, Tanveer Sangha 

Probable Playing 11s

India’s Probable XI: Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Australia’s Probable XI: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc

Image Credit: ICCofficial