India won the toss and opted to field first in the first ODI match against Australia at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Friday.
Hardik Pandya has stepped up as the stand-in captain for the first match of the ODI series, as Rohit Sharma is unavailable. Pandya has played the captaincy role quite well for the IPL franchise Gujarat Titans. He will be keen to showcase his captaincy skills on a big stage. On the other hand, Steve Smith will also lead Australia in the ODI series. India skipper Hardik Pandya said at the toss, “We’ll bowl first. It is a good track and dew factor will be there. We feel we will do well in the second innings. I got some time off, breaks are like gold dust for me so it gave me a chance to rest and improve.
Playing for India every game and every format is important. With this being a WC year, the ODI format is important. We’ve gone with four quicks – Shardul, Shami, myself and Siraj. Two spinners in Jadeja and Kuldeep.”
Australian skipper Steve Smith said at the toss, “Good toss to lose. Happy batting first because I didn’t know what to do.
We got to try our best to adjust to these conditions, and get our combinations right with the WC in mind. I think we played well in the back end, and plenty of fresh faces to choose from. Alex Carey is sick so he has gone home, so Josh Inglis will come in today. David Warner is not yet fully fit, so Mitch Marsh will open the batting. The rest of the changes will come on the big television here soon enough.
India playing eleven: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya(c), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami.
Australia playing eleven: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (C), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa. (ANI)
