Team India will look to get into the World Cup mode as they play against Australia in the first ODI at Hyderabad on Saturday. The Virat Kohli-led side will be eager to get back to the winning side with six batsmen and five bowlers combination.

As far as the Indian skipper is concerned, he would not like to shift plans for his team even after a 0-2 loss in the recently-concluded T20 series. “Every team will look to fine-tune whatever they need to before the World Cup, and we’ll keep doing that in the ODI series too, but we still want to win every match we play,” skipper Kohli had said after the Bengaluru T20 loss headlining his intention.

At least four Indian players will face a test as and when they are inducted in the Indian team in the India-Australia ODI series beginning today – KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar and Siddarth Kaul. They eye for available slots in the 15-member World Cup squad.

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In Hyderabad ODI, Ambati Rayudu or KL Rahul will look to find spot in the starting lineup. Kohli’s words suggest that KL Rahul could get an opportunity to show his batting skills in this series. “When he plays well, he’s operating at a different level. It’s very difficult to find a consistent player, who can play good cricketing shots and still win you games at a strike rate of over 140-150,” Kohli had said.

India’s bowling attack will be spearheaded by Mohammad Shami along with Jasprit Bumrah. But Bumrah may be rested in one or two matches in the series depending on India’s position. Also, the formidable wrist spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav may work in India’s favour and choke the run flow. For the Indian side, Kedhar Jadhav is another spinning option in the middle overs.

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Australia, who got off to a perfect start winning the T20 series, will be eager to continue their winning momentum. Nathan Lyon’s presence in the team will strengthen the spin attack in partnership with Adam Zampa. Andrew Tye, the late replacement for the injured Kane Richardson, will like to use all the variations learnt during his stints with various IPL franchises.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant, Siddarth Kaul, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja.

Australia: Aaron Finch (captain), D’Arcy Short, Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey, Peter Handscomb, Ashton Turner, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff, Jhye Richardson, Pat Cummins, Andrew Tye, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Nathan Lyon.

The India-Australia 1st ODI match will start at 1:30 pm.