The star India batsman will be aiming for multiple records when the two teams play each other in the first ODI in Mumbai on Friday. Virat Kohli is on the verge of passing Ricky Ponting in the elite list and is targeting Sachin Tendulkar’s records.
Kohli is just three hundred away from Sachin Tendulkar’s 49, and if he plays well in the series, he may get closer to having the most hundreds in the format.
The former India captain must also score 191 runs to complete 13,000 ODI runs, making him the fifth cricketer after Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, and Sanath Jayasuriya to do so.
In addition, Kohli is very close to surpassing Ponting to take second place on the list of batsmen with the most runs scored at home, which also includes Sachin Tendulkar.
When India begins their three-match One-Day International series against Australia on Friday in Mumbai, the focus will be on the leadership abilities of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya and the overall World Cup readiness of the Indian team.
In the event that regular skipper Rohit Sharma is unable to play in the first one-day international at the Wankhede Stadium due to commitments to his family, Pandya will take over as captain of the Indian team.
Pandya will play his first day-night match as captain in an ODI, even though he usually leads India in T20 matches. In addition, the ODI series’ designated vice-captain is him.
The team’s focus will shift from winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy’s four-match Test series and qualifying for the World Test Championships final in June against the same opponents, Australia, to starting preparations for the 50-over World Cup this year.
Similar expectations will be held by Sharma and co. considering that India had won the title the previous time the country hosted the tournament, with MS Dhoni’s team taking home the trophy in 2011. Because the Indian team is a different beast in any format when playing at home, the expectations will be especially high.
Furthermore, the undesirable record of not performing adequately in ICC knockout matches will be hounding this group of players, and the team will be desperate to improve.
India will also try to capitalize on their incredible home ODI start this year when they won all six matches against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in two different series.
Shubman Gill has had a fantastic start to the World Cup season, scoring 567 runs and three centuries in just six ODIs and averaging 113.40. Sharma’s absence in the first match will increase the spotlight on the right-handed batter, who just scored a quality Test century against Australia in the fourth and final match in Ahmedabad.
Batting maestro Virat Kohli had left the lean fix in white-ball cricket a long way behind, and his 338 runs in six matches at 67.60 demonstrate that the run-machine can be anticipated to add more to the 75 centuries that he has gathered in worldwide cricket up until this point.
One of the battles to watch out for is Kohli’s battle with Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa, as the bowler has had a lot of success against the star India batter.
During an optional training session on Wednesday, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal bowled together in the nets. The two leg-spinners have a knack for taking wickets and a history of dominating white-ball cricket, so they could be a crucial weapon in India’s attack.
Kuldeep has been India’s best spinner thus far, taking 11 wickets in five matches. However, Mohammed Siraj leads fast bowlers with 14 scalps in as many matches.
Despite the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins, who has made the decision to be with his family following the death of her mother, the Indians will be wary of the fact that the five-time World Cup champions Australia have sufficient firepower in their ranks to pull off victories.
The visiting team will be affected by Cummins’ absence as it works to finish its preparations for the World Cup in October and November of this year.
The shrewd Steve Smith will lead Australia in the ODI series as he did in the final two Test matches.
While veteran batter David Warner and all-rounder Ashton Agar, who both returned home during the Test series, are back in India with the national team, Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are not available for this ODI series.
In addition, Australia hasn’t played any one-day international cricket in the last three and a half months because their entire focus is on making the WTC final.
With that goal accomplished, the meeting side will need to move toward these three ODIs with the most ideal chance to plan for difficulties ahead under Smith.
Australia will also be inspired by the fact that they defeated India by 10 wickets the last time they played here when Warner and the now-retired Aaron Finch scored unbeaten centuries.