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Kochi: Star-power is missing after heavyweights from both the teams were either rested or ruled out but weather-permitting, a cracker of a contest can still be expected when India and Australia lock horns in the first ODI of a three-match series on Sunday.
Buoyed by the thrilling 2-0 Test series win over the Aussies, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's India would look to carry on the good form when they face a depleted Australia, to be led by Michael Clarke after Ricky Ponting was rested.
The Indians would be without senior stars such as Sachin Tendulkar, who has been in excellent form of late, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.
While Tendulkar has been rested, Sehwag and Gambhir are nursing knee injuries, giving youngsters such as Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Saurabh Tiwary to make a mark for themselves.
But despite being a depleted side due to the absence of Ponting, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, Clarke's men are no pushovers and have the ability to absorb pressure.
Clarke himself is hungry for runs after aggregating just 35 runs in Mohali and Bangalore and would be expected to play the sheet anchor role for the Aussies as they strive to hold to their top ranking in the ICC one-day format.
The teams have been denied their net practice sessions and have decided to do some limbering exercises at the hotel itself.
In case the weather holds up, enthralling cricket appears to be in store in the day game at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay, who have done appreciably well in the just-concluded Test series, looking to make a mark.
The off-colour Yuvraj Singh, who was dropped from the Test team, would be aiming to make his case for a return after performing well in the Irani Trophy domestic cricket.
Kochi has been a happy hunting ground for India as they have won four of the six matches played at the Nehru stadium.
The Australians would once again find it tough against the Indian spinners.
Even the senior players such as Michael Hussey were clueless as to which way the ball was going to turn when Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha bowled in Mohali and Bangalore.
As the aura which had enveloped the Australian cricket team for so many years wears off, Clarke's men will have to come good in the one-day matches to prove that the team is still competitive.
Teams from
India: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Saurabh Tiwary, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar and Vinay Kumar.
Australia: Michael Clarke (capt), Cameron White, Michael Hussey, Tim Paine (wk), Doug Bollinger, Callum Ferguson, John Hastings, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Clint McKay, Shaun Marsh, Steven Smith, Michael Starc and David Warner.
Pitch and conditions
The unrelenting rain has put the first ODI under threat. We have to wait and watch whether it will clear up in time to allow some play. The consistent rain has affected the pitch preparations and it will be interesting to see how it plays.
Stats and trivia
India have a poor record of chasing against Australia: They have lost 34 games and won only 17 while batting second against them.
MS Dhoni has 225 ODI dismissals as a wicketkeeper and stands sixth in the all-time list. He needs nine more dismissals to go past Ian Healy.
Clarke averages 43.03 in ODIs but it dips against India: he averages 37.83 and has scored one hundred from 25 games against India. He averages 33.88 against the Indians in Australia while it jumps marginally to 38.57 in Indian conditions.
Match facts
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Start time 9:00 local (03:30 GMT)
