Introduction
It will be an opening match for both the countries. Earlier they had met in 3 ODI match series and India won that series by 2 – 1. But this is a World Cup match. There will be lot of excitement. 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. It will be 150th match between the two nations.
Facts
| Capacity | 50000 |
| Known as | Chepauk; Madras Cricket Club Ground |
| Ends | Anna Pavilion End, V Pattabhiraman Gate End |
| Location | Chennai, India |
| Time Zone | UTC +05:30 |
| Home to | Tamil Nadu, Chennai Super Kings |
| Floodlights | Yes |
Their Last Meeting
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.
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.
Concerns
For the Aussies, opener Travis Head will miss the initial stage of the competition due to injury. In his place, Mitchell Marsh will be joining David Warner at the top of the order. The Australian team will rely on seasoned players such as Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, and captain Pat Cummins to perform well. This promises to be an exciting match as two of the tournament’s top contenders face off against each other.
For Indians, there is some uncertainty around whether Indian opener Shubman Gill will be able to play due to a case of dengue. However, Rohit Sharma’s India is well-rounded and boasts many talented players who can meet the high expectations of their millions of fans.
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
Chepauk Facts
- The first-ever Ranji Trophy match was played here in 1936, and Madras’ AG Ram Singh took 11 wickets in the match.
- For many years, Chepauk hosted the famous Pongal Test, which was played in January each year to coincide with the Pongal harvest festival.
- India recorded their first-ever Test victory at Chepauk in 1952, beating England by an innings and 8 runs.
- The second-ever tied Test in cricket history was played here in 1986, between India and Australia.
- Saeed Anwar scored the highest individual score in ODI cricket at Chepauk in 1997, with 194 runs. This record stood for over a decade, until Sachin Tendulkar scored 200 against South Africa in 2010.
- Sunil Gavaskar surpassed Don Bradman’s record of 29 Test centuries at Chepauk in 1983.
- Chepauk was also the scene of one of Sachin Tendulkar’s greatest Test innings. In 1999, he battled back spasms to score 136 against Pakistan, but India ultimately lost the match by 12 runs.
Chepauk Pitch
The Chepauk wicket in Chennai, India, is traditionally a spinner’s paradise.
In the past, when the pitches were uncovered and unattended to, they would favor fast bowlers. However, since India began fielding a spin quartet of Bishan Singh Bedi, BS Chandrasekar, S Venkatraghavan, and EAS Prasanna in the 1970s, the pitches have been prepared to spin more.
A look at the statistics shows that spinners have dominated the Chepauk wicket. Among the top 10 wicket-takers at the ground, nine are spinners and the only fast bowler on the list is Kapil Dev. Anil Kumble leads the list with 48 wickets, followed by Harbhajan Singh with 42 wickets.
In short, spinners are the ones to watch out for at Chepauk.
India’s record at MA Chidambaram Stadium
India has been part of 15 matches that have been played here. The Men in Blue have a 7-6 win/loss record in Chennai and have lost the last two matches they have played here.
Australia’s record at MA Chidambaram Stadium
Australia has played 6 matches in Chennai. Despite being considered foreign conditions, the Kangaroos have a 5-1 win/loss record at the stadium.
Three of these six matches have come against India. Surprisingly, the Aussies have a 2-1 win/loss record against India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
ODI Milestones within reach for players in the India vs Australia
- Steven Smith is one six away from reaching 50 sixes in ODIs.
- Rohit Sharma is three sixes away from surpassing Chris Gayle as the batter with the most sixes in international cricket.
- Marcus Stoinis is five sixes away from reaching 50 sixes in ODIs.
- Ravindra Jadeja is five wickets away from reaching 100 wickets in ODIs at home.
- Glenn Maxwell is seven runs away from completing 6000 runs across all three formats.
- Rohit Sharma is eight sixes away from completing 300 sixes in ODIs.
- Ishan Kishan is ten fours away from completing 100 fours in ODI cricket.
- Shubman Gill is 83 runs away from reaching 2000 runs in ODIs.
- Ishan Kishan is 114 runs away from reaching 1000 runs in ODIs.
- India and Australia will play their 150th ODI match against each other in this series.