India won the 2007–08 CB Series in Australia against Australia (Srilanka was the third team). This provides an interesting backdrop to the 7-match ODI series between India and Australia which begins this Sunday.
At the outset, it might seem Australia start as firm favorites having won the Champions Trophy and the series in England 6-1. Adding to it is the fact that India hasn't done too well in the last few months. Having struggled to a win in the ODI series against a weak West Indies team, the Indian team was knocked out in the first round of the Champions Trophy. However, form seems to hardly matter in an India Australia series. In the last few years, India always seems to bring it’s A game to a series against Australia. Hopefully, it would be no different this time around as well.
Australia will miss the services of two key players, Nathan Bracken and Michael Clarke. Nathan Bracken, with his ability to bring the ball into right handers with the new ball and bowl cutters during the middle and slog overs, would be sorely missed. With Nathan Bracken out, there is no bowler in the Australian team who could bring the ball back in with the new ball. Both Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson are mainly out swing bowlers with the new ball. That increases the destructive potential of Virender Sehwag, whose main weakness is an in swinging delivery. Michael Clarke is an excellent player of spin bowling. Australia is sure to face a lot of spin bowling during this Indian tour.
India, on the other hand, will be without their leading strike bowler Zaheer Khan. It has to be seen how the Indian pace attack would perform in the absence of Zaheer.
Australia has a very strong bowling line-up. Brett Lee, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson form a strong pace-attack ably supported by the spin of Nathan Hauritz, who has been performing creditably of late. Australia’s batting, though not as formidable as it was a couple of years ago, has a lot of youngster's waiting to prove their potential. Australia would be depending on the experienced Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey to take them through the tricky situations they would surely face. It also has to be seen how the young Australian Batsmen play spin.
On the other hand, India has the strongest top order in the world. Sehwag, Sachin, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Dhoni form a wonderful combination. However, the bowling seems thin in absence of Zaheer Khan. Ishant Sharma is retained in the squad, inspite-of his poor performances in ODI's this year. India would be depending on Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra, the in-form bowlers, to provide a good start. With Harbhajan and Amit Mishra, the spin bowling looks strong. The perennial problems faced by the Indian team have been fielding and slog over bowling. Australian team would hold an edge in the fielding and bowling departments, where as the Indian team has a stronger and more experienced batting unit.
It would also be interesting to see when the teams select to play their batting power play. The trend during the Champions Trophy was to leave it to the end. But, India had success selecting the power play early a few times in the series in New Zealand. This has made the ODI's more interesting to watch.
It will be an important series in more than one way. The recent debate on ODI format viability, with suggestion pouring in from various quarters on how to make the format more interesting, will get a strong push if this series does not attract the crowds. A series win for either team takes them to the top of ICC ODI cricket ratings. India, having had a couple of brief stints, has a chance to grab the top position for a longer period. Will they? Let’s wait and see.
SQUADS:
Indian Squad (For first 2 ODI's): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, , Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Virat Kohli, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel, Sudeep Tyagi.
Australia Squad: Ricky Ponting (captain), Mike Hussey (vice captain), Shane Watson, Tim Paine (wicketkeeper), Shaun Marsh, James Hopes, Adam Voges, Mitchell Johnson, Cameron White, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Jon Holland, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brett Lee, Peter Siddle.
Schedule:
Sun Oct 25 09:00 IST 1st ODI - India v Australia Reliance Stadium, Vadodara
Wed Oct 28 14:30 IST 2nd ODI - India v Australia Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur
Sat Oct 31 14:30 IST 3rd ODI - India v Australia Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Mon Nov 2 14:30 IST 4th ODI - India v Australia Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Thu Nov 5 14:30 IST 5th ODI - India v Australia Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
Sun Nov 8 09:00 IST 6th ODI - India v Australia Nehru Stadium, Guwahati
Wed Nov 11 14:30 IST 7th ODI - India v Australia Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
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