The Indian team is going to face Australia in Chennai for the first ODI in the Paytm series. While the Australians will be looking to win a series in India after a very long time, India will look to maintain their current winning form. Here is the predicted XI:
Rohit Sharma:
The world’s best opener at the moment, Rohit Sharma is one player who reserves his best for the Aussies. He has a double-century against them in addition to tons of other milestones. He will be the opener for the game.
Ajinkya Rahane:
Shikhar Dhawan’s absence means that Ajinkya Rahane might just get an opportunity to prove his worth after not playing against the Lankans. He will have to produce something special as KL Rahul too is fighting for the same spot.
Virat Kohli:
Currently the best batsman I the world, Virat Kohli will be looking to start off on a good note in his first ODI series against the Australians as captain. He will not be friendly in any way against the Australians and they will be wary of his immense threat.
Manish Pandey:
The batsman will get to play after proving his worth against the Sri Lankans. Pandey is in good touch and also scored his first ODI hundred against the Australians last year. He will look to stabilise things should they get out of hand in the first few overs.
MS Dhoni:
Dhoni will relish this opportunity, knowing that it might be one of his last series against the Australians. He has been a fantastic servant for the country and will look to further his legacy as an ODI legend in this series.
Kedar Jadhav:
Jadhav will also start the game as he finished the Lankan series in good form while also providing the extra option of us using a part-time bowler. He has a good record with both bat and ball and will be a threat.
Hardik Pandya:
The youngster was in decent form against the Lankans even though he did not get to showcase his batting skill much. He is a big-hitter and could come up earlier also in order to up the run rate or pick wickets with the ball later on.
Axar Patel:
The other all-rounder in the squad, Axar will do more damage with the ball than the bat and should be able to pick up some wickets if the tracks offer any turn.
Yuzvendra Chahal:
The spinner is another one who had a good series against the Lankans which meant that he found his place back for this series. Will look to get a few wickets from the beginning.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar:
Bhuvneshwar has proven that he is no slouch with the bat but he can cause massive destruction with the ball. He is at the top of his game at the moment and is swinging the ball extremely well.
Jasprit Bumrah:
The fast bowler has made himself a regular starter for the Indian team as his fiery Yorkers can cause a lot of damage. He is an excellent death bowler also and could help mitigate some runs in the end.
By Rohit Nair
