Published: Jan 12, 2019, 07:36 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 12, 2019, 07:36 AM (IST)
Australia captain Aaron Finch won the toss and opted to bat first at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday against India. (Australia vs India Live Score – 1st ODI)
For Australia, the 28-year-old Jason Behrendorff will make his ODI debut after he was awarded his ODI cap by the great Glenn McGrath ahead of the game. The hosts had announced their XI a day earlier and veteran Peter Siddle makes his return after a gap of nine years in the ODI team. (LIVE UPDATES: India vs Australia 2018-19, 1st ODI )
For India, with KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya sent home over misconduct, Ravindra Jadeja retains his place in the XI after featuring in India’s last ODI against West Indies in Trivandrum. Mohammad Shami comes in for the rested Jasprit Bumrah.
Here’s what both the skippers had to say after the toss:
Finch: We are gonna bat first mate. I think the middle overs we have to get it right, we have identified. We need to brush up there and improve. I think we need to keep wickets in the back end. Freshened up after playing BBL.
Kohli: We would have batted first as well but some of the players are inclined towards chasing. It’s a brilliant wicket to play on, with shorter boundary on one side. It’s going to be an exciting chase as I am always inclined towards chasing. That’s always not the team plan, we need to take a collective decision. Anyways we have to bowl first now. We are always looking to improve as a side.
We need to restrict teams to a lesser total, something that’s difficult these days. We need to strike when the big games arrive. When two quality players (Hardik and Rahul) are not featuring, it upsets the balance of the side. There are few guys who’ve got a chance to prove themselves. Jadeja is back in the ODI side, let’s see what he’s got to offer.
Playing XI
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed
Australia: Aaron Finch(c), Alex Carey(w), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle, Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff
