After nine long months of no International cricketing action, India is ready to lock horns with Australia for their first ODI match since March 2020. The ODI series marks the beginning of their first Bilateral series spanning 53-day long-followed by 3 T20Is and 4 Test Matches. After the successful completion of the 13th Edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a team of 30+ Indian Cricketers flew to Australia's cricket bio-bubble. The Indian players underwent 14-Days in quarantine and began their outdoor training shortly after the whole contingent tested negative for COVID-19.
The first and second ODI match will be held at Sydney Cricket ground. The final ODI match will be played at Manuka Oval in Canberra. Team India did not have their best performances in Sydney as they have just won 2 ODIs out of the 17 matches played. The Australian team has won 87 matches out of the 132 played!
Team India ODI squad:
Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-captain & wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur
Four additional bowlers - Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel, and T. Natarajan - will travel with the Indian contingent.
Rohit Sharma would be missing out from the squad due to the hamstring injury during IPL. Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Shikhar Dhawan would be competing to fill Rohit's opening slot. Virat Kohli will also miss the last three test matches as he will be taking paternity leave (Ajinkya Rahane will lead the team after Kohli leaves). The two missing key players might either serve as a chance for the Australian team to win the test matches or as an opportunity for the other talented Indian batsmen to steal the limelight. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are the mighty pacers who are thirsty for wickets. Hardik Pandya may not bowl during this tour due to his back surgery last year.
Indian players practice after testing negative for COVID-19
Moreover, the Indian team jersey will sport the logo of MPL (Mobile Premier League)-The fantasy gaming platform as Nike decided not to extend their sponsorship deal that expired on September 30. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will experience a 30% loss in revenue generated from the kit sponsorship as Nike paid 88 lakh rupees per international match; MPL would be paying 65 lakhs per international match and an annual royalty of 8 Crores.
Shikhar Dhawan shares a picture wearing the new jersey
Results of the last five ODI series between India and Australia:
Australia in India 2019-20: India won the three-match series 2-1
Australia in India 2018-19: Australia won the five-match series 3-2
India in Australia 2018-19: India won the three-match series 2-1
Australia in India 2017-18: India won the five-match series 4-1
India vs Australia ODI Batting Stats in Australia:
990 – Most Runs by Rohit Sharma (India)
66.7 – Best Batting Average (Min 7 inns) by Steve Smith (Aus)
128.3 – Highest Strike Rate (Min 7 inns) by Glenn Maxwell (Aus)
171* (163) – Highest Score by Rohit Sharma (India)
4 – Most Hundreds by Rohit Sharma (India)
5 – Most Fifties by Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, David Boon, and Sunil Gavaskar.
74 – Most Fours by Rohit Sharma (India)
29 – Most Sixes by Rohit Sharma (India)
India vs Australia ODI Bowling Stats in Australia:
33 – Most Wickets by Brett Lee (Aus)
19.5 – Best Bowling Average (Min 7 inns) by Brett Lee (Aus)
2.9 – Best Economy Rate (Min 7 inns) by Simon Davis (Aus)
26 – Best Bowling Strike Rate by Ishant Sharma (India)
6/42 – Best Bowling figures by Yuzvendra Chahal (India) and Ajit Agarkar (India)
4 – Most 5-wicket haul by Brett Lee (Aus)
30 – Most Maidens by Kapil Dev (India)
Courtesy: Times of India
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