The Australian cricket team’s Ashes preparation continues to ramp up as they embark on a five match ODI series against India starting this Sunday, the 17th of September. After a rocky two Test series in Bangladesh that saw them win one and lose one match, the Aussies will be hoping they can get back on track by causing an upset on Indian soil against the 3rd ranked ODI side in the world.
Australian spearhead Mitchell Starc will remain at home for the series in an attempt to focus on making a complete recovery from a foot injury in time for the Ashes. The pace attack will once again be led by Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins but its in the spin department where the Aussies will have to shine to have a chance in the sub-continent.
Nathan Lyon was fantastic in Bangladesh but as a Test specialist, he won’t be available for selection here, which means the duties will fall on 25-year-old leggie Adam Zampa and left-arm off spinner Ashton Agar. It’s a big ask of the two youngsters to but India will also be without their prominent spin attack with Ravi Ashwin and Jadeja both being rested for the series.
Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel will likely make up the Indian spin combination while 4th ranked ODI bowler Jasprit Bumrah will spearhead the attack. On the batting front, India will likely going in with a pretty standard line-up consisting of damaging top order batsman in Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey and Ajinkya Rahane and of course they will be led by the top ranked ODI batsmen in the world and arguably the best batsman in all of cricket, Virat Kohli.
On the Austrlian front, a few Test players in David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell will make the conversion from the Bangladesh series and are likely to be joined by Aaron Finch and Travis Head. Keeper Matthew Wade might be on his last life in the ODI format, with Peter Handscomb slated to be a potential replacement for him behind the stumps if his batting form continues to waiver.
The Aussies will go into the series with a host of medium pace all-rounder options in Marcus Stoinis, James Faulkner and Hilton Cartwright. Faulkner is a main stay in the ODI lineup and looks like he will get first bite at the cherry but could be joined by Stoinis in the lower order.
The first match in a series is always a tough one to call, especially for the touring side. The Aussies showed some fortitude against the sub-continent spin attack of Bangladesh in the second Test but playing in India is a different kettle of fish. The home side deserves to be favourites but we think there is value in the Aussies at $2.25. It only takes one player to completely turn an ODI on it’s head and both sides have plenty of match-winners at their disposal.
TIP: Australia to win - $2.25 at Ladbrokes
Although Steve Smith didn’t get the runs he would have wanted in Banlgadesh, he looked quite at home against the spin attack and has proven time and time again that he is a well above average player of spin. David Warner has been susceptible early to quality medium pace bowling which is what the Indians possess in Bumrah so we like Smith to top score for the Aussies here.
TIP: Steve Smith top Australian run scorer - $4 at Ladbrokes
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