1st ODI: With 2023 World Cup in mind, India take on Australia in ODIs

After retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by 2-1, the Indian cricket team will play Australia in a three-match ODI (One-Day International) series starting today (March 17) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The second ODI will be played at Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium in Vishakapatnam on Sunday (March 19), and the third game of the series will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday (March 22).

Rohit Sharma will not be playing the first ODI, and in his absence, Hardik Pandya will lead the side. Steve Smith will captain Australia in all the three ODIs in the absence of Pat Cummins.

With the 2023 ODI World Cup now just a year away, the series will also be a great opportunity for both India and Australia to see where they stand, and begin preprations for the biggest cricket event in the world.

This is also be the first ODI series beween India and Australia since 2020 when Australia won the series 2-1, with Steve Smith hitting tons in two matches which Australia won.

Head to Head: The Kangaroos have dominated the Indian side for quite some time in the ODIs. It was only after Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership that the Indian team really started winning against Australia.

Overall, India and Australia have played 143 ODIs against each other. Out of that, India have won 53 matches while Australia have been victorious in 80 games.

At home, India have played 64 matches against Australia, and have won 29 games and lost 30.

On the Australian soil, Indian team has a bad record as it has lost 38 out of the 54 games. Which means India have won only 14 games in Australia.

On neutral venues, Indian team has played Australia in 25 matches, where it has won 10 games and lost 12. 3 matches ended without any result.

Indian players to watch out for: From the Indian team, the biggest crowd attractions would be the back-in-form Virat Kohli and the 360 degree hittern Suryakumar Yadav. Kohli, who is in a very good form, is expected to be the main architect of the Indian batting line-up with Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan and Ravindra Jadeja giving him the support.

Eyes will also be on Shubman Gill who has looked good form after his 128 (235) knock against Australia in the fourth Test at Ahmedabad. It would be interesting to see if Pandya includes Gill in the playing XI, or if KL Rahul gets another chance.

On the bowling front, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj and Umran Malik are the leading pace bowlers in the team right now. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who is also out of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a back injury, the Indian pace attack will face another big test against Australia's strong batting line-up that features Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, David Warner and Ashton Agar.

Australian players to watch out for: The Australian batting boasts the likes of David Warner, Travis Head, Steve Smith and Marcus Labuschagne, and have allrounders like Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Marsh, Ashton Agar and Marcus Stoinis.

On the bowling front, Tasmanian speedster Nathan Ellis, Mitchell Starc and Sean Abbott will lead the pace attack. In the spin department, Ashton Agar will team up with Adam Zampa.

India's probable Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Umran Malik.

Australia's probable playing XI: David Warner, Travis Head, Steve Smith (C), Marcus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Marsh, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Mitch Starc and Adam Zampa.

The match will start at 1:30 pm IST on Friday and will be broadcast LIVE on Star Sports Network and will be live streamed on Disney+Hotstar.