India and Australia will face off in Match five of the ODI World Cup 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
Chennai has been a witness to memorable clashes between the two teams across formats, like the one-run win by Australia over India in the 1987 World Cup and the tied Test in 1986. Come Sunday, the traditional cricket venue is all set to add another chapter to its book around India-Australia meet-ups.
For India, they have a first-time World Cup captain in Rohit Sharma, who had missed out on the 2011 campaign. Since then, Rohit has been a destructive opener in the format and even topped run charts in the 2019 World Cup. With Shubman Gill unlikely to be available for Sunday's game due to illness and Ishan Kishan potentially coming in, Rohit's role at the top becomes all more crucial to give India a resounding start.
In-form batters Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul look certain to fill spots three, four, and five, while vice-captain Hardik Pandya will be entrusted with finishing duties. If India considers going in with a three-man spin attack of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin should conditions allow, especially with a black soil pitch, then Hardik will be the third pacer alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
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For Australia, despite having no Ashton Agar in the mix, Glenn Maxwell's more-than-just part-time off-breaks along with a returning Adam Zampa's mastery will help them put up a stern challenge against the Indian batters in the middle overs. Expect captain Pat Cummins, along with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to ask tough questions to the Indian batting order.
With India having a quality bowling line-up, the onus also lies on what answers Australia's batters give in a bid to get a good day with the bat. In the absence of Travis Head, Australia still has an explosive opening combination in David Warner and Mitchell Marsh, followed by Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne at three and four respectively, with Maxwell and Alex Carey coming in next.
They also have to decide in a toss-up between Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis for an all-rounder's spot in the middle-order. But Stoinis, as said by Cummins in Saturday's press conference, is touch-and-go for Sunday's clash due to a hamstring issue, with a decision on his selection to come closer to the game's start time.
On paper, there is little to separate India and Australia as they build up to Sunday's clash. If that translates into an engrossing 50-over game between two teams who have won World Cups previously, then fans coming to the stadium via Wallajah Road will get their money's worth, so as many people seeing the highly-anticipated clash from their TV screens and streaming platforms.