The opening ODI between Australia and India takes place at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday with both sides looking to draw first blood in the short and sweet three match series. Whoever comes out on top in Sydney will take control of the series.
Australia will be eager to win this match after they surrendered the Test series relatively meekly, and also to silence the growing band of detractors they have inherited. India are a top ODI side and have another chance to show that here.
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Australia
I highlighted the struggles of the Australia side in the series preview so it will be interesting to see if they can deliver enough runs to be competitive in this match, and then the two that follow it. Traditionally Justin Langer sides rely on the quality of their bowling attack but I’m not sure you can do that in the modern international game.
I get the impression that Australia are weakening with every match that they play and when you look down their side that they are using for this opening game, it isn’t hard to spot the weaknesses in it. With that in mind they are likely to need a good start because without it their confidence and belief could soon disappear.
India
The first thing India must ensure heading into this match is that they have put the euphoria of winning the Test series behind them. In isolation, that series was always going to be a lot bigger than this one with their ambitions in the longer format, but their big aim from here will be to retain the World Cup title and building form and confidence will be a huge part of any potential success.
India play a lot of ODI cricket in the next few weeks as they head to New Zealand for another series straight after this one so they have the advantage of being able to focus fully on the white ball. They probably don’t need that advantage to be fair, because they are a very accomplished outfit in this format of the game.
Team News
Australia have named their XI for this opening match of the series. Peter Handscomb takes his place in the middle order while Peter Siddle and Jason Behrendorff are included. Given how close the World Cup is it is a surprise Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are absent.
India could be without KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya for this opening match as they may well be suspended for a misdemeanour earlier in the tour. That could open the door for Kedar Jadhav to come in. MS Dhoni will be behind the stumps.
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Betting
Often we can expect a high scoring match at the Sydney Cricket Ground but I’m not convinced the signs are there for another one here. I say that because there was a lot of rain around towards the end of the Test match here and there has been a fair bit more since then so the wicket and outfield might not be in the best of states.
The Australia batting in this format of the game has left a lot to be desired for a long time so there is no guarantee that they will score big even if they bat first in the very best conditions so with that in mind a 60.5 boundaries line looks a little on the high side. India will just want to win rather than pepper the boundaries so I’ll go under in the belief that the track will play a bit trickier than normal.
Tips
WON – Back Under 60.5 boundaries for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
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