India are all set to play their final ODI series before the World Cup as they take on Australia in the five-match series starting Saturday. The first ODI will be played at the Uppal stadium in Hyderabad, a happy-hunting ground for the Aussies, who have won both their ODIs at this venue.
It will be do-or-die time for a host of Indian players like KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar and Kuldeep Yadav, who will need to put their best foot forward in whatever games they get if they want to step in England when the World CUp starts in three months' time.
Apart from team selection ahead of the World Cup, a third successive ODI series win over Australia will also be on the minds of the Indian team. Having won 4-1 at home in 2017, Virat Kohli and his men won India their first-ever bilateral series Down Under in January this year by a 2-1 margin.
Overall, since 1984, the two teams have faced each other ten time in a 2-team series, with each winning five times.
Since 2010 though, India have had the upper hand, winning four of the five contests between the two sides.
The last time Australia clinched a series in India was in 2009, when they won the six-match series 4-2. Since then, India have swept three successive series at home.
After his undefeated streak at home as Indian captain was broken post the 0-2 loss in the T20I series against the Aussies, India captain Virat Kohli will look to stretch his unbeaten ODI run to six successive series this time around.
Till now, Virat has led India to ODI series wins at home against Sri Lanka (2014, ODIs), England (2017, ODIs), Australia (2017, ODIs), New Zealand (2017, ODIs), and West Indies (2018, ODIs).
Even though the visitors be high on confidence after winning the T20I series, India will try to forget that result and look forward to doing well in the ODI series, where search for the ideal squad ahead of the World Cup and a proud home record will be on their minds.
from Sify.com
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