Australia vs India 1st ODI Prediction

AUS Team News

Australia have called up in-form Ashton Turner as cover for Mitchell Marsh, who will miss at least the first match after being hospitalised with gastritis and could be out for the series. With Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc not included in the squad and Travis Head dropped too, there will be several changes from the ODI series with South Africa in November – including a potential return for Peter Siddle, who last played an ODI in 2010. Alex Carey could be promoted to open given his form so far in the Big Bash League.

AUS Key Players

Australia have revamped their ODI squad, with returns for the likes of Peter Siddle, Usman Khawaja and Nathan Lyon. Their key men against India could be the same as ever, however – not least opening batsman Aaron Finch.

Finch scored 250 runs the last time Australia faced India, including a century, and the limited-overs captain has a point to prove after being dropped from the test squad too. Further down the batting order, Shaun Marsh scored two centuries in Australia’s humbling ODI tour of England – one of few highlights for the tourists – and hit another in their most recent ODI, at Hobart against South Africa.

That series saw Marcus Stoinis pick up eight wickets in three games, including 3-16 from 4.2 overs in the first game and 3-35 in Australia’s lone win in the second. He links up with the squad having taken four wickets and scored 112 runs in his last two Big Bash League matches for Melbourne Stars.

Peter Siddle, Jhye Richardson and Jason Behrendorff have all impresed with the ball in the Big Bash League so far this season too, with all three in the wickets.

AUS Team Form

Australia have not won an ODI series since beating Pakistan at home in January 2017. They have since played 21 completed matches and won just two of them, including a combined 9-1 loss to England across five home games and five away games and a 4-1 defeat when they last faced India, in India.

Most recently, they were bowled out for 152 in their first ODI against the touring South Africans, falling to a six-wicket defeat. They posted just 231 in their second game, but Marcus Stoinis took 3-35 from ten overs and South Africa finished seven runs short. The hosts had no answer to a 252-run partnership by Faf du Plessis and David Miller in the final game, however – Shaun Marsh’s century as Australia replied to 320/5 was not enough, as they finished 40 runs short on 280/9.