India and Australia are set to play a 3-match ODI series starting on March 17th, following a grueling 4-match Test series. The last time the two teams faced off in an ODI at the Wankhede Stadium was in January 2020, where Australia won by ten wickets with Aaron Finch and David Warner’s unbeaten centuries being the highlights of the match. However, a lot has changed since then, with Finch retiring and India passing on the captaincy to Rohit Sharma. Unfortunately, India will be without Jasprit Bumrah, and Rohit Sharma will miss the upcoming match due to family commitments. In his absence, Hardik Pandya will lead India.
The match will be held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, and a high-scoring game is expected as the average first-innings total in the last three matches has been 324. Furthermore, pacers have accounted for 75% of the wickets in the last three ODIs, and the new ball is expected to provide assistance. Both teams will likely choose to chase after winning the toss as the pitch is not expected to undergo significant changes during the game.
The weather forecast predicts a bright and sunny day with temperatures reaching a high of 33° Celsius and humidity levels around 52%. The match will be telecasted on the Star Sports Network and streamed live on the Disney+ Hotstar application.
The probable playing XI for India includes Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur/Mohammed Shami, Umran Malik, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj. For Australia, the probable playing XI includes David Warner, Travis Head, Steve Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, and Sean Abbott.
