India Vs Australia 2023

Rahul, who had lost his vice-captaincy in Test cricket and was out of playing eleven for third and fourth Tests against Australia, slammed an unbeaten 75 to rescue India from a precarious 83/5 in 19.2 overs. Along with Jadeja's 45 not out, Rahul was also involved in an unbroken 108-run stand for the sixth wicket to help the hosts take a 1-0 lead.

Rahul said the key to batting in such conditions is good footwork and said he played proper cricketing shots as he struck an unbeaten 75 and raised 108 runs for the unfinished sixth wicket partnership as India defeated Australia by five wickets to take 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Jadeja came up with a superb all-round performance, hitting an unbeaten 45 after claiming 2-46.

After the pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj claimed three wickets apiece to help India bundle out Australia for 188 after skipper Hardik Pandya had won the toss and elected to bowl first, Rahul and Jadeja came together to extricate India from a precarious 83/5 to take them to a memorable victory.

Shami claimed three wickets in a superb spell of seam bowling -- sending down a couple of maiden overs while Siraj struck two wickets from the other end as India came back brilliantly after being smashed around by make-shift opener Mitchell Marsh top-scoring with 81 off 65 balls.

It was a good crowd -- around 20,000 by a rough estimate -- but far short of the full house of 33,000, considering the Wankhede Stadium was hosting a one-dayer after three years. The MCA had started renovation and refurbishing of the stadium in a phased manner after some fans had criticised the facilities at the stadiums in India.

Skipper Hardik Pandya said dew could be a factor later in the day. He said India has done well batting first so far and it was time to challenge his team by chasing a target. India included two spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja while Shubman Gill will open with Ishan Kishan. Australia captain Steve Smith said he would have opted to bat first considering the heat. He informed that Alex Carey is sick and has gone back to the team hotel, making way for Josh Inglis in the playing XI.

With the ODI World Cup to be held later in the year, Bumrah's absence since last year has emerged to be a huge cause of concern for the Indian team. For the series against Australia, India have fast bowlers in Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Umran Malik, Jaydev Unadkat and Hardik himself along with Shardul Thakur.

With Rohit Sharma unavailable for the ODI series opener due to personal reasons, a vacancy at the top will be filled by Kishan, with the left-handed batter set to join forces with the right-handed Gill. While Gill hit a double hundred and a century in India's last ODI assignment against New Zealand earlier in the year, Kishan had an underwhelming run ever since he hit a rollicking 210 against Bangladesh last year.

India's fielding coach T Dilip also hinted at the same, citing the balance Rahul brings to the playing eleven in ODIs. "We all know that KL Rahul is a wonderful player. He has a proven record. Even in ODIs, in the middle-order, he has proven enough as a batter. As a wicketkeeper, he gets a lot of balance into the team."

As per a report in The Sydney Morning Herald, Warner will be examined by the Australian medical staff after batting in the nets before a final call is made on his availability for the opening game of the three-match series. "They will look at Dave in Mumbai for game one and make a call from there," a team spokesman was quoted as saying in the report.