CWC: Australia win toss, decides to bat first against India; Ishan Kishan replaces Shubman Gill

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India]: Pat Cummins-led Australia won the toss and decided to bat first against Rohit Sharma’s India in the fifth ODI World Cup 2023 match at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.

Both India and Australia are considered one of the best teams in the ODI World Cup. Both teams will be looking to start their campaigns with a win.

Speaking at the toss, 36-year-old Indian skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed that Shubman Gill will be missing the Men in Blue’s opening match of the tournament due to illness and Ishan Kishan will replace him.

“The conditions are there for the bowlers, slightly on the slower side. We need to understand our lines and lengths early. We’ve played a lot of cricket before the WC, played two good series’ and covered all our bases. He hasn’t recovered in time. Ishan comes in to replace him, he will open the batting,” Rohit said.

The Aussie skipper said that they are in a good space currently as they have played a lot of 50-over matches in the last few months.

“We’ll bat first, looks like a good wicket. Sun is out and a good opportunity to bat. We are in a good spot, we’ve played a lot over the last month. Travis Head isn’t here, Abbott and Josh Inglis miss out,” Cummins said.

India playing XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (Wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Australia playing XI: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (Wk), Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa.

The match will kick off at 2:30 PM IST.