India and Australia will be looking to kick off their campaign of ODI World Cup 2023 on a high as they face off in the fifth match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
Both teams last met in the recently concluded three-match ODI series where India emerged victorious by 2-1 and will be looking to achieve the same result in their first match of the tournament.
India were scheduled to play two warm-up matches against England and Netherlands respectively ahead of their first game but were unable to take the field in any of the matches due to weather interruptions.
The first match against England in Guwahati was entirely washed out and the second match in Thiruvananthapuram against Netherlands had a similar outcome as well.
Talking about the match, India will likely be missing the service of star opener Shubman Gill due to illness while Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is also the one who could miss the match on Sunday.
The three-match OD series between both teams last month also witnessed a few weather interruptions and the fans will be hoping for a different scenario altogether to see India’s campaign taking off.
Weather Report
Talking about the weather, heavy rain was witnessed across parts of Chennai on Saturday, a day before the India vs Australia match at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium.
For the past week, rain has been playing hide and seek with the showers making their way out at regular intervals.
However, as per the weather forecast for Sunday, the match between India and Australia is unlikely to be affected by rain. The weather is expected to be largely clear on Sunday with temperatures ranging between 27 and 31 degrees Celsius.
With the high humidity expected, there is also an eight percent chance of rain in the afternoon on Sunday.
The high-intensity India-Australia match will have a 2 PM IST start at the venue.
Pitch Report
The pitch at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai usually assists both the batters and bowlers. However, spinners traditionally have witnessed a heavy advantage over the years due to its dry nature.
The stroke-making will become more challenging as the game progresses with the wicket slowing down as well.
In ODIs held at this venue, the average first-innings score hovers around 224 while the second-innings score goes about 205.
