India vs Australia: Match preview, pitch report and TV listing
Australia are all set to take on India in the 14th match of the ICC World Cup 2019 at the Kennington Oval in London on Sunday. Both the teams have so far have 100% win record in this edition, as it would be interesting to see which of these teams suffer their opening loss of the tournament. Meanwhile, here we present the match preview.
India and Australia riding high on confidence
As for the previous match, both Australia and India registered wins over Windies and South Africa, respectively. The last match saw Australia overcoming Windies by 15 runs to register their second win. Meanwhile, India beat South Africa by six wickets. Rohit Sharma played a mature knock to guide India home. There is little to separate the two sides, with India entering as slight favorites.
Rohit Sharma, Mitchell Starc among men to watch out for
Both the teams are star-studded, making every player watchable. As for India, Rohit Sharma and Yuzvendra Chahal were the architects of the win against Proteas and they are expected to put in another commendable shift. For Australia, the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner will hog the limelight, while Mitchell Starc is likely to dominate with his lethal swing bowling.
Historically, Australia have enjoyed an edge over India
Both the teams have so far clashed on 11 occasions in the World Cup, with Australia winning eight ties, while India have pocketed three. There have been three ODIs between the sides in England, with Australia winning two, while India have won just once. Overall, both the teams have come across 136 times, with Australia winning 77 times, while India have scripted 49 wins.
Another high-scoring match on track at The Oval?
The Oval track has seen three matches in this World Cup already, with two of them being high-scoring (300+). Although the last match saw a moderate total of around 250, the pitch is likely to again assist the batsmen. However, the teams would ideally look to move in with a balanced squad, while the team winning the toss likely to bat first.
Here's the predicted XI for both the sides
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah. Australia: Aaron Finch (captain), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wicket-keeper), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa.
When, where and how to watch?
Match: India vs Australia Venue: Kennington Oval, London Time: 3:00 PM IST Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1, 2, Select 1 and other regional languages channels of Star Sports. Where to watch (Online): Hotstar
