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David Warner has made his way swiftly from the anthem line-up to the batting crease. Mitchell Marsh leans on his bat at the non-striker’s end. Jasprit Bumrah paws at the ground at the top of his mark. He we go!
Should be a fascinating start. Oz the fastest scoring P1 team (admittedly with Head); India have been imperious with the new ball. On a dry Chennai pitch, taking advantage of the early restrictions could be crucial. So much on whether Oz can hold their nerve and go hard. #CWC2023
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) October 8, 2023The two teams are out in the baking sun for the anthems.
Australia drape their arms over one another’s shoulders in their familiar all-yellow one-day uniform. This iteration a smidge more golden than recent versions.
India, top to toe in blue with orange trim, opt to stand bolt upright with arms by their sides as they steel themselves for action.
This is unlikely to be the most ballistic of ODIs. Only Pakistan – way back in 1997 – have passed 300 here. It’s a venue where Rohit averages only 23, with a high score of just 36 from seven ODIs.
Teams batting first tend to hold sway, which is good news for Australia. The bad news is it’s also a ground that favours spin, and India have three frontline tweakers of the highest quality in their XI. Overs 11-40 could well be a grind. Hopefully there are plenty of fireworks on either side.
The weather is hot and humid on India’s south-eastern coast with temperatures in the early 30s, helped along by a warm southerly breeze. There is a faint chance of a shower at some point but the lingering monsoonal rain should stay away. The pitch is expected to be dry, slow, and receptive to turn.
Sun’s out, guns out. Photograph: Faheim Husain/ShutterstockIndia’s form is much healthier: 15 wins and five losses in 2023, including that recent 2-1 series victory over the Aussies. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill all average over 50 for the year from a decent sample size, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav have been taking bucketloads of wickets, and there’s versatility aplenty in the squad with spinning and seam-bowling all-rounders on hand to suit the conditions.
That includes Ravichandran Ashwin, a man guaranteed stardom in any other ODI squad in the world, but on the margins of the mighty blue machine, as Jonathan Liew investigates.
What this great career lacks, in narrative terms, is a crowning moment: a signature performance on the biggest stage. Kumble had his 10-wicket haul. Harbhajan Singh had his Australia series. For Ashwin, a home World Cup could be that flourish. But of course there are layers and mirrors to this thing. Ashwin’s place is by no means secure. Axar Patel and Washington Sundar are still pushing him hard and perhaps for many India fans this is a largely transactional question: who fits best into this team in this tournament? But for the rest of us, it feels like a decision freighted with something more: a parable for modern cricket and its quirks, its efficiencies and inefficiencies, its quixotic and often unstable relationship with pure genius.
Despite the experience in the Australian squad, it’s anyone’s guess where they’re actually at in terms of form and expectation – especially on a turning pitch. They’ve played only 11 ODIs in 2023 (compared to India’s 21) winning five and losing six, vacillating between woeful and awesome.
They’ve been in the subcontinent since the middle of September, losing 2-1 to India in a bilateral series before the warm-up matches, so they should be nicely acclimatised. However, because of the length of the tournament those miles on the road (including the trip to South Africa immediately beforehand) raises the prospect of burnout as the competition lumbers into November.
“We’re in a really good spot,” says captain Pat Cummins after calling the toss of the coin correctly. “We’ve got a good balance between game time and being fresh.”
“The conditions are there for the bowlers, slightly on the slower side,” says Rohit Sharma as he explains his XI featuring three spinners. “The ball will turn as the game goes on.”
Pat Cummins calls the toss correctly. Photograph: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC/Getty ImagesIndia XIShubman Gill, the leading run scorer in ODIs this year, is a big loss at the top of the order as he continues his recovery from dengue fever. Further down the list there are three frontline spinners on a dry track that is clearly expected to turn. Australia are unlikely to enjoy either component in that equation – but at least they get first use of the pitch.
India: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj.
Ishan Kishan replaces the ill Shubman Gill for India. Photograph: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC/Getty ImagesAustralia XIAustralia go in as expected with Travis Head a long-term absentee and Marcus Stoinis not deemed fit enough for today’s clash.
The balance of the bowling attack will be scrutinised closely with only Adam Zampa available as a frontline spinner, backed up by Glenn Maxwell’s darts and the who-knows-what of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. If the surface does respond to pace then Australia have five top class seamers to call on.
Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins (capt), 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Adam Zampa.
Adam Zampa could prove Australia’s key weapon in Chennai. Photograph: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC/Getty ImagesAustralia win the toss and will bat firstThe team that has batted first has won seven of the past nine ODIs at Chennai.
Meanwhile, in South Australia, Jake Fraser-McGurk has done a thing – a bad bad thing.
Today’s umpires are Chris Gaffaney (NZ) and Richard Kettleborough (Eng). Chris Brown (NZ) is watching the TV replays. They will have their work cut out on a turning pitch in baking heat in front of a passionate home crowd.
India’s fans will make their feelings clear to the umpires in Chennai. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/ReutersToday’s venue is the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium – AKA Chepauk Stadium – in Chennai. Capacity is 38,000.
Curiously, India’s ODI record here (seven wins, five defeats) isn’t that great. Australia have won four out of five at the ground, including their last visit in March when Adam Zampa starred. The tourists have already won World Cup matches here in 1987 and 1996.
Australia prepare for the start of play at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Photograph: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC/Getty ImagesToday is the first time we will see the tournament favourites – in the eyes of The Guardian’s cricket experts.
This World Cup has faced criticism early on for its empty stands and low-key build-up. The hosts against the most formidable opponents in tournament history should give things a jump start.
This is match five of the 2023 World Cup, but you may only just be tuning in. If you have any questions about the event, Simon Burnton and Rob Smyth have you covered.
Speaking of Geoff, here’s the cat in a hat.
Geoff Lemon is on top of all things Australia, who arrive at the World Cup with a squad chock full of experience.
Seven of the likely best XI at this year’s tournament were in the 2015 World Cup squad: David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood played in the winning final while Mitchell Marsh and Pat Cummins got medals from the bench. Throw in Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green and Alex Carey after Travis Head returns from injury and you could have a team with 10 Test players from this year’s Ashes. England, by contrast, have a maximum of six.
Of the rest, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa started their own international careers within a year of that 2015 World Cup and have been fixtures since. The only players who are anywhere close to new, Sean Abbott and Josh Inglis, are 31 and 28 years old respectively and have played mountains of domestic cricket. It is a squad well seasoned to the point of becoming jerky.
Anand Vasu sets the scene from the hosts’ perspective, lasering in on Virat Kohli ahead of what is likely to be his final 50-over World Cup.
Kohli will know that his country and the world are not looking at his batting alone. He may deliver a bucketload of runs and India could still fall short. On the field, Kohli likes to believe that he leads India, even when he is not captain. He admonishes fielders, gets under the skin of opposition batters and even draws the ire of umpires and match referees.
This is because Kohli believes any team he plays for is essentially his. It is for this reason that this World Cup will be a tour of Kohli’s glories, as India play nine opponents in nine venues across the country.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live OBO coverage of match five of the 2023 Cricket World Cup. India vs Australia will get underway in Chennai at 2pm local time (7.30pm AEDT/9.30am BST).
With apologies to the entire country of New Zealand and the individual brilliance of Aidan Markram, this should be when the tournament comes alive.
It’s the hosts against the World Cup’s dominant force; No 1 vs No 3 on the ICC ODI rankings; the two 2023 ICC Test World Championship finalists; Kohli and Rohit vs Maxwell and Starc. Everywhere you choose to look there’s a superstar and a narrative.
These are familiar foes with the pair having just completed a three-match ODI series, one that ended with India 2-1 victors. There were runs for Shubman Gill and David Warner, wickets for Mohammed Shami and Glenn Maxwell, and by the end of the series a much clearer sense that both these sides should, as ever, be contenders for the biggest prize in the 50-over format.
So settle in while I steer you through the pregame and first innings, with Adam Collins taking over to the end of play.
If you’d like to get in touch while I’m on, please fire all communication to [email protected].
India and Australia clash in the biggest match of the 2023 World Cup so far. Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images