India v Australia: All you need to know

Australia's quest for a sixth men's ODI World Cup title gets underway on Sunday when they face tournament hosts India in Chennai. The format of this tournament has every side facing off against every other nation once, before the top four sides qualify for two semi-finals. Both of Australia and India were eliminated in the semis at the previous edition in 2019 and both sides will be expecting to make it at least that far this time around once again. 

Match facts

Who: Australia v India

When: Coin toss at 7pm AEDT, first ball at 7.30pm AEDT (2pm local)

Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

How to watch: Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports and Nine/Gem/Go!/Rush 

Officials: Richard Kettleborough (standing), Chris Gaffaney (standing), Chris Brown (third), Adrian Holdstock (fourth)

Live scores: Match Centre

Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live app, the Unplayable Podcast

The Squads

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav

The story so far

Australia arrive at the 2023 ODI World Cup off the back of mixed form in the 50-over format. While the personnel has been extremely consistent across the four-year cycle, commanding series wins against England (2022) and India (2023) have been followed last month by series losses to South Africa and India.

The Aussies' first warm-up match against the Netherlands was washed out, with only 37 overs possible in Thiruvananthapuram. A few days later in Hyderabad they notched a win against Pakistan by 14 runs in a match that was effectively a glorified centre-wicket practice for much of the Pakistan innings. 

Spinner Adam Zampa has been arguably the best bowler in the format since England lifted the trophy in 2019, with 77 wickets at an average of 22.89. Mitch Starc (48) and Josh Hazlewood (44) have been Australia's second and third most prolific bowlers in the last cycle. 

With the bat it's been David Warner who has scored the most runs (1407), with Marnus Labuschagne (1268) and Steve Smith (1244) next down the list.

Hosts India enter the tournament having played more ODIs than any other nation since the last World Cup, with their 66 edging out West Indies (60) and Sri Lanka (53). 

Last time they hosted the 50-over showpiece was 2011, a tournament in which they made history by becoming the first host nation to win the title. Funnily enough, each of the World Cups that have followed (2015, 2019) have also been won by the hosts. 

Both Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli have hit six centuries since the last edition, with Gill's batting average an incredible 70.40. With the ball, three Indians have claimed over 50 ODI wickets in the same period; spinner Kuldeep Yadav (59), bowling allrounder Shardul Thakur (57) and quick Mohammed Siraj (54). 

Both of India's warm-up matches were washed out without a ball bowled.

Local knowledge

Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium (or Chepauk Stadium) holds no fears for Australia, being their most successful ODI venue in India with five wins from six matches.

They also won their most recent 50-over match at the venue in March this year when Adam Zampa's 4-45 inspired a 21-run series-clinching victory.

Chennai hasn't been a high-scoring ground and spinners have been hard to get away.

It's India's second-oldest venue and with a capacity of around 38,000 and you can guarantee every single seat will be filled on Sunday. 

The forecast for Chennai, as it has been all week, is hot and humid with a zero per cent chance of rain. An expected top of 34C is expected right around when the captains will toss the coin, dropping to around 27C by the final ball in the evening. 

The forecast also says that dew isn't expected, just as it was absent in Rajkot, but the general feeling is that Indian weather predictions are as reliable as those in Australia, and should be taken with a large grain of salt.

"On the dew, there was a little bit there when we trained two nights ago," Cummins told reporters in Chennai on Saturday. 

"So it's hard to know how big a factor that is." 

Probable Starting XIs

Australia: David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Mitch Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa 

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

Australia will go into their opening match of the World Cup with a very similar side to the one that played in the third ODI against India in Rajkot. The 'big three' quicks will get preference over Sean Abbott, with Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell to deliver the spin overs. Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis are battling it out for the allrounder spot in the middle order but Stoinis is touch-and-go as he battles a hamstring complaint with Green likely to get the nod at this stage. Travis Head is unavailable as he recovers from a broken hand.

Gun opener Shubman Gill is in significant doubt for the clash after it was revealed he has contracted dengue fever. Should he be ruled out, Ishan Kishan could get the call up to partner Rohit Sharma at the top, with KL Rahul another option to open. Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav are both vying for a spot in the middle order next to vice-captain Hardik Pandya, with Shreyas impressive with a century against Australia just a fortnight ago in Indore. Hardik's presence also means that India can consider going in with a three-pronged spin attack should conditions in Chennai allow, but that would mean leaving out one of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami or Mohammed Siraj.

Recent form

W: win, L: loss, N: no result 

Australia's past 10 matches (most recent match first): WLLLLLWWWW

Australia snapped a five-match losing streak spanning their South African and Indian tours with a win in Rajkot last Wednesday. 

India's past 10 matches: (most recent match first): LWWWLWWWNW

India have been flying in the 50-over format, with victories in the Asia Cup last month and a 2-1 win over Australia at home, although both sides played vastly different teams to what we'll see in Chennai. 

Last time they met

Only 11 days prior to their World Cup clash, India and Australia met in Rajkot for the final match of their three-match series. Australia got the chocolates there winning by 66 runs but India won the series 2-1 with victories in Mohali and Indore.

These two sides are certainly no strangers – since the 2019 World Cup, Australia has faced India (12 times) more than any other team in the format. 

Head-to-head

Overall: Australia 83 wins, India 56 wins, 10 no result

Past 10 years: Australia 19 wins, India 19 wins, two no result

Most runs: Sachin Tendulkar (3077), Rohit Sharma (2332), Virat Kohli (2228), Ricky Ponting (2164), MS Dhoni (1660)

Most wickets: Brett Lee (55), Kapil Dev (45), Mitchell Johnson (43), Steve Waugh (43), Mohammed Shami (38). 

Where to next? 

Australia head north to Lucknow, not terribly far from the Nepalese border. There they have two matches, the first against South Africa on October 12 and the second against Sri Lanka on October 16. 

India also head north but they're off to their capital city, Delhi, where they'll take on Afghanistan on October 11.

Australia's 2023 ODI World Cup fixtures

Warm-up match: No result v Netherlands

Warm-up match: Defeated Pakistan by 14 runs

October 8: v India, Chennai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 12: v South Africa, Lucknow (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 16: v Sri Lanka, Lucknow (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 20: v Pakistan, Bengaluru (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 25: v Netherlands, Delhi (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 28: v New Zealand, Dharamsala, 4pm AEDT

November 4: v England, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 7: v Afghanistan, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 11: v Bangladesh, Pune, 4pm AEDT

November 15: First semi-final, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 16: Second semi-final, Kolkata (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 19: Final, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa