India vs Australia 1st ODI: Will Mohali clash turn out to be a testing ground ahead of World Cup for Men in Blue?

Benching Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the first two games of the Australia tour of India, the hosts will have an option to experiment in the middle order. A winning start will be in Australia's agenda in the series opener after their ODI series loss against South Africa. Ravichandran Ashwin, and Marnus Labuschagne will make their World Cup campaign pitch while Mitchell Marsh can run a run riot.

Mohali: India will take on Australia in the first ODI of their three-match series with a team without big names like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The Men in Blue will miss the services of Hardik Pandya who might have played a crucial role for the team with his all-round skills in the Australia tour of India.

As a result, Indian fans are likely to witness India playing with a new team combination against Aussies.

The team management might have to make a difficult choice between Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer to make a selection for the World Cup, which might have a bearing on today's game as well.

Also, Ravichandran Ashwin who was not named in the World Cup squad is making a comeback to the ODIs after a long time and he can present a strong case to enter the World Cup roster.

• Preps before the start of a cracking series 👌 😎#TeamIndia | #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/Jmwm7FkfmN

  — BCCI (@BCCI) September 21, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  Preps before the start of a cracking series 👌 😎#TeamIndia | #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/Jmwm7FkfmN

  — BCCI (@BCCI) September 21, 2023

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  Preps before the start of a cracking series 👌 😎#TeamIndia | #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/Jmwm7FkfmN

  — BCCI (@BCCI) September 21, 2023

Overall, India's batting unit will be tested for sure with Australia possessing quality pace bowlers like Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

Considering Marnus Labuschagne's recent stellar performance, Australia might have to rethink their move to drop him from the marquee event. If he continues his form in this game too, he can draw the attention of the selectors and impact his chances of being included in his national side for the Cricket World Cup.

Also, Mitchell Marsh who has been having impressive run with his bat can pose a threat to the Indian bowling attack in Mohali as the surface is expected to be flat, favouring the batters. Kangaroos would like to bank on the set of quality all-rounders to ensure a win.

1. Time: 1:30 PM IST
2. Venue: Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali
3. Where to Watch: Sports 18 Networks and Jio Cinema

Interesting facts not to miss ahead of the fixture:

• Steve Smith is just 61 runs away from the milestone of reaching 5,000 ODI runs.
• Out of the seven ODIs they have played, Australia have won six in Mohali.
• KL Rahul has scored only 115 ODI runs with an average of 19.16 while leading the national team.