India vs Australia, Preview 1st ODI: India Look To Fine-Tune World Cup Preparation Against Depleted Australia

Distracted by the ongoing controversy relating to the "inappropriate" comments made by Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul, team India will look regain their focus and fine-tune their World Cup 2019 preparation as they take on Australia in the first match of the three-match One-day International (ODI) series in Sydney on Saturday. After a Test high, confident India were all set for the limited overs battle but the controversy involving Pandya and Rahul has certainly brought in a big distraction. The team management on Friday did not announce the shortlist for the game and are awaiting the decision on Pandya and Rahul. While Rahul was unlikely to be in the playing XI after a poor run of form but Pandya's absence will surely dent the team composition.

The all-rounder provides crucial balance to the ODI side with his ability to bowl 10 overs as well as bat in the middle order. Pandya's absence could mean that India might have to rejig their bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah has already been rested for this series, as well as the tour of New Zealand, and this allows the think-tank to conduct one final experimentation with their bowling attack.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a shoe-in, and thereafter it depends if Virat Kohli wants to go in with a three-man pace attack to compensate for Pandya's loss. In such a scenario, Mohammed Shami and Khaleel Ahmed are expected to get the nod, as India continue zeroing on the pace quartet for the World Cup squad.

There is a sprinkling of grass on the SCG pitch and it could push the Indian skipper to opt for a three-pacer and two-spinner combination. Kohli also stated that, in Pandya's absence, Ravindra Jadeja would step up as the all-rounder.

In that light, he would partner up with left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav as India's five-pronged attack, with Kedar Jadhav fulfilling any part-time bowling duties if needed. With the two openers, and Kohli at number three, the remaining batting line-up picks itself. 

Jadhav, MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu will form the middle order, and there will be keen interest in the latter duo's form here.

Dhoni had an off-colour 2018, managing 275 runs in 20 ODIs at average 25 without a half-century. While this is a meagre return for a batsman of his stature, the worrying aspect is Dhoni's strike-rate of 71.42, which is remarkably lower than his ODI career strike-rate of 87.89. The Indian middle-order has often come unstuck with Dhoni at the crease, and the team management will be hoping for a fiery start to the year from the stalwart.

India brought in Rayudu for the all-important number four role, and since the Asia Cup last September, have given him a long run in the middle order. In this interim, Rayudu scored 392 runs in 11 ODIs in the Asia Cup and against West Indies at average 56 including a hundred and three half-centuries.

While he put in a more consistent showing than any of the other previously tried contenders, this run came in conditions different from those in England. As such, how Rayudu fares on this twin tour of Australia and New Zealand will be a closer representation of whether the Indian team has finally cracked the number four quandary.

Similar middle-order issues plagued the visitors when they last toured here for an ODI contest, losing 4-1 in January 2016 when Dhoni was still captain. Sharma and Kohli topped the charts with 441 and 381 runs in the five-match series, respectively, while Dhawan also scored 287 runs. But there were no sizeable contributions from the middle, and only Manish Pandey's fighting hundred in the final ODI had saved India from a 5-0 scoreline.

India's ODI record in Australia is quite poor. Apart from the 1985 World Championship and 2008 CB Series wins, they have lost 35 out of 48 ODIs played against Australia on their home soil.

The absence of David Warner (220 runs in three matches in 2016) and Steve Smith (315 runs in five matches in 2016) might help them again though, as also the absence of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, with the trio rested from this series.

Australia have named their playing eleven ahead of the first ODI, with Nathan Lyon featuring as the lone spinner and Peter Siddle returning to this format for the first time since 2010.

Keeper-batsman Alex Carey will open in ODI cricket for the first time, and will pair up with skipper Aaron Finch, while Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb will form the middle order.

The hosts bat deep with Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell lined up at numbers six and seven, albeit their pace attack seems weak on paper. With Siddle returning to the format after eight years, left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff will make his ODI debut on Saturday.

Teams:

India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.

Australia (playing XI): Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (wk), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle, Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff. Match starts 7.50 am IST.

(With PTI Inputs)