After registering the victory in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, India will now head to play the three-match ODI series against Australia in the home ground. Now, it will be a real ordeal for India to prove the team’s strength. The visitors have arrived at the Indian ground four days before the first ODI match to practice properly. Here, Sportzwiki will give you all the facts you need to know for the first ODI match.
Date:14/01/2019
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Challenging series for India
This three-match ODI series will be a challenging series for India. When Australia last time toured in India in early 2019, the visitors registered the victory in the five-match ODI series by the 3-2 margins. But it is not so easy to register the victory against India in India again. Also, India has constantly won the home series this season. So, Virat Kohli and Co. will be confident to ride on the winning horse in this series too.
But it should be noted that India is not playing with their strong bowling combination as Bhuvneshwar Kumar is out of the game and Jasprit Bumrah is making a comeback in the game after having a long break in international level. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya is also under the rehabilitation period.
Australia is playing first ODI series after World Cup
The Kangaroos have played the T20I series, Test cricket after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 but haven’t played One-Day International yet. So, it will be the first ODI series for Australia since the ICC CWC 2019. Notably, Australia has also a strong home season, defeating the opposition badly in their home ground.
Head to Head
| Team | Total | Won | Loss | No result/Tied |
| Australia | 137 | 77 | 50 | 10/0 |
| India | 137 | 50 | 77 | 10/0 |
Weather Forecast
It will be pleasant weather in Mumbai on 14th January. The spectators will enjoy watching their players without any halt.
Pitch Condition
The Wankhede Stadium produces the batting-friendly pitch in T20Is but brings challenging track in ODIs. The team batting first will likely to set big scores. The spinners will get much help from the game while less bounce is expected.
India’s Predicted XI
| Players | Role |
| Rohit Sharma | Opening Batsman |
| Shikhar Dhawan | Opening Batsman |
| Virat Kohli (c) | Batsman |
| Shreyas Iyer | Batsman |
| Rishabh Pant | Wk-batsman |
| Kedar Jadhav | batsman |
| Ravindra Jadeja | All-rounder |
| Shardul Thakur | Bowler |
| Mohammed Shami | Bowler |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Bowler |
| Kuldeep Yadav | Bowler |
Australia’s Predicted XI
| Players | Role |
| David Warner | Opening Batsman |
| Aaron Finch | Opening Batsman |
| Peter Handscomb | Batsman |
| Marnus Labuschagne | Batsman |
| Steve Smith | Batsman |
| Alex Carey | Wk-Batsman |
| Ashton Agar | Bowler |
| Mitchell Starc | Bowler |
| Adam Zampa | Bowler |
| Pat Cummins | Bowler |
| Kane Richardson | Bowler |
Match Prediction
If we talk about stats, India is far behind in the race of winning the game. Australia has been dominant in the Indian condition too with winning 29 ODI matches among 66 While India has won 27 games. So, the first ODI match will be thriller not like other last home series where the opposition was weak.
Where To Watch
TV – Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD
Online– Hotstar
Time– 7 PM IST