India vs Australia: Will 'Men in Blue' start the series with a victory in absence of key players?

India will square off against Australia in the first ODI at Mohali. After winning the Asia Cup, the challenge will be bigger for KL Rahul and Co. as they will face a full-fledged Australian team without key players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have been rested.

Mohali (Punjab): KL Rahul led-Indian team will look to start the three-match ODI series against Australia, which will be played here from Friday, on a winning. However, the task for the Men in Blue will not be an easy affair as they are sans star players, Virat Kohli, regular skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who have been rested for the first two games.

India will be riding high on confidence thanks to their recent victory in the Asia Cup, where they thrashed Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the summit clash in Colombo after Mohammed Siraj wreaked havoc with the new ball. On the other hand, Australia will look to leave behind the recent defeat against South Africa in the bilateral series and start afresh ahead of the all-important World Cup, to be played in India.

• Some positive news on the injury front for Australia with Pat Cummins set to return for tomorrow's first ODI against India, and he's hopeful of playing all three matches in the series!
  
  The skipper also provided updates on Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell | #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/h2Xk6YZwcJ

  — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 21, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  Some positive news on the injury front for Australia with Pat Cummins set to return for tomorrow's first ODI against India, and he's hopeful of playing all three matches in the series!
  
  The skipper also provided updates on Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell | #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/h2Xk6YZwcJ

  — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 21, 2023

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  Some positive news on the injury front for Australia with Pat Cummins set to return for tomorrow's first ODI against India, and he's hopeful of playing all three matches in the series!
  
  The skipper also provided updates on Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell | #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/h2Xk6YZwcJ

  — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 21, 2023

For India, the challenge against the team Down Under will be more tougher. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are excluded from the squad for the first two ODIs and in their absence KL Rahul will lead the national team. Flamboyant all-rounder Hardik Pandya has also been rested for the first two games, the second of which will be played in Indore.

The move to rest key players ahead of a major tournament like the World Cup might backfire as the duo will lack match practice. However, the exclusion of Virat and Rohit might present India with an opportunity to solve the dilemma of choosing one between Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav in the middle order. Also, the series might provide the Indian team with a solution for the choice between wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul.

India has also rested Kuldeep Yadav in spite of having a decent run in the Asia Cup. Kuldeep emerged as the Man of the Series in the Asia Cup and played a key part in the team's triumph in Sri Lanka. The inclusion of off-spinner Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin will provide the team with an option to select an off-spinner, who can make a place in the World Cup squad, in case the selectors decide to change the squad which has been already announced for the marquee tournament.

Meanwhile, Australia suffered a 3-2 defeat in the recently concluded ODI series against South Africa. Batter Marnus Labuschagne was the star for the team as he shined with the bat scoring 283 runs with an average of 70.75. However, other batters faltered in the last three games for the Aussies and they were bundled out for a total of less than 250 on each occasion.

Adam Zampa starred for the Australian team with the ball becoming the joint-highest wicket-taker of the series with eight scalps from four matches. Zampa being impressive with his exploits is a positive sign for the Australian team considering Indian pitches are likely to assist spinners.

The quality all-rounders like Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell make Australia a pretty strong unit and they will aim to seal a series win against India. Also, Australia might consider the option of replacing Travis Head with Marnus Labuschagne in case the former fails to make it to the World Cup. A few of the players will return from injuries and so Australia will bank on their lineup to emerge victorious against India.

A cause of concern for the Australian team will be there as Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell will miss the opening clash as revealed by Pat Cummins in the pre-match press conference. Cummins also added that Stac will be back in the team after the first ODI.

Come Friday, a run feast could await the fans at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium.

Squads:

India for first two ODIs: KL Rahul (captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, R Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, J Bumrah, M Siraj, M Shami, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna, R Ashwin, Washington Sundar

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

Match to start at 1:30 PM IST.