JOIN USFirst ODI: India, Australia renew rivalry
India will look to get their combination right as they renew their fierce rivalry against a confident Australia in the first of the five-match ODI series starting here on Tuesday, marking the onset of a long limited-overs schedule stretching until the World T20.
The short limited overs series, including five ODIs and three T20 internationals, will initiate the Indian team’s preparations for the ICC World T20 in March-April.The T20 games will be played after the five ODIs, and Dhoni’s boys would like to carry the momentum into the shortest format.
While India won both their warm-up games — a T20 and 50-over match each — against the second string Western Australia XI, it is certainly not the best indicator of the kind of challenge they will face from Steve Smith’s men.
India did not have a great 2015 when they came to the 50-over format as they lost back-to-back series to Bangladesh (away) and South Africa (at home).
Skipper Dhoni will like to shape a turnaround in the new year but will rue the fact that one of his best pace weapons, Mohammed Shami, has been ruled out due to a hamstring injury even before the first ball has been bowled.
But there are certain aspects that might also offer relief to Dhoni. David Warner may not be available for the better part of the series and with Mitchell Starc and the retired Mitchell Johnson not there, the Aussie bowling attack comprising Josh Hazlewood, Joel Paris, Scott Boland and Jimmy Faulkner looks thin on experience.
As far as his own bowling attack is concerned, Dhoni has been fretting over the possible playing XI combinations. His most experienced bowler Ishant Sharma did not play any of the two warm-up games, so it’s not known whether he would be playing in the opening game.
With three pacers almost certain to play at the WACA, which is the bounciest of Australian pitches, there are high chances that left-arm pacer Barinder Sran could win his maiden India cap alongside Ishant and Umesh Yadav.
The lanky Sran looked impressive in both the practice matches with both pace and swing in his armoury. With a deceptive short ball, Sran could prove to be a handful, complementing Ishant and Umesh.
The two experienced spin-bowling all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will make up the five-pronged bowling attack for India.
Settled batting unit
The batting unit looks more or less settled with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan in the opening slots followed by vice captain Virat Kohli at No 3. Ajinkya Rahane is expected at No 4 and one might find the Indian captain batting at No 5.
The No 6 slot will see a new face. Either Manish Pandey or Gurkeerat Singh will be playing in a slot that got vacated due to Suresh Raina’s exclusion from the squad.
Pandey, who made an impressive ODI debut against Zimbabwe last year, staked his claim with a 58 in the practice game but Gurkeerat has been a consistent performer for Punjab and India A.
The series is also going to be an important one for Dhoni, who has been named captain till the end of World T20. The selectors wanted to send a message by putting an end to the question mark over his leadership. But the man himself knows that he has to up the ante and perform for his team.
India need Dhoni to produce match-winning efforts, which have been few and far between in recent times. It will be interesting to see where Dhoni comes into bat. For him, a lot will depend on how his pace battery delivers.
The squads: India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Manish Pandey, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Barinder Sran, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Rishi Dhawan.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), Aaron Finch, David Warner, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson, Josh Hazlewood, Joel Paris, Scott Boland.