India and Australia will take the last lap of warm-up in the upcoming three-match ODI series ahead of the World Cup. Both teams will aim to get their combination right ahead of the ODI showpiece and sharpen any areas of concern but at the same time, they would not want any injury woes.
We look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.
Current form for India: W L W W W
India was at their best in the Asia Cup and they will be looking to continue in the same manner against Australia. The hosts will want batters like Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav to grab their chances in the middle order. Furthermore, it will be interesting to note how Ravichandran Ashwin goes about his business.
Current form for Australia: L L L W W
After winning the first two matches against South Africa, Australia veered off the track and lost the next three games. However, senior players like Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, and Glenn Maxwell will return to the squad for the India series. But Australia will miss the services of Travis Head, who is out with an injury.
Head to Head: Matches: 146, Won by Australia: 82, Won by India: 54, NR: 10.
Australia clearly holds the advantage against India in the H2H battle.
Players to look out for: KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, and Mohammed Siraj will hold the key for Team India.
David Warner, Alex Carey, Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, and Glenn Maxwell will be the key players for the visitors.
Australia squad: 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
India squad 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
