World Cup: India Takes On Australia Today; Match Preview, Head-To-Head, Pitch Report

India will begin its World Cup campaign today as the Men in Blue take on Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Skipper Rohit Sharma shoulders the weight of immense anticipation from a billion people as the Indian team. Under the leadership of Pat Cummins, Australia is a tough team, prepared for a fierce contest at Chepauk.

The grounds have witnessed historic clashes between these two teams in the past, such as the unforgettable tied Test of 1986, the closely contested Reliance Cup game the following year, and the pivotal 2001 Test series decider.

It will be an interesting contest between India's world-class batting and Australia's top-notch pace attack.

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD WORLD CUP:

Matches: 12

India win: 4

Australia win: 8

No result: 0

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD OVERALL:

Matches: 149

India win: 56

Australia win: 83

No result: 10

Records that Indians Can Break This World Cup

1. Skipper Rohit Sharma needs one more century to break Sachin Tendulkar's record to become the Indian with the most hundreds at the World Cup.
2. Virat Kohli needs three more centuries to go past Tendulkar (49) in terms of becoming the first global cricket to strike 50 tons in ODIs.
3. Rohit Sharma is on the verge of surpassing the legendary West Indian opener Chris Gayle (553) to claim the title of the highest six-hitter in international cricket, needing just three more sixes.
4. Shubman Gill requires 665 runs more to become the highest run-scorer in an ODI calendar year, as he would go past former Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar (1,894).
5. Indian seamer Mohammed Shami is 13 wickets away from becoming the highest Indian wicket-taker in World Cup history, as he would surpass Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath (44).
6. If India wins the World Cup, it would become the first team to win the tournament as a consecutive host, replicating their 2011 victory when they last hosted the competition.

Pitch report For Chepauk:
The dry pitch offers a good grip for spinners. As the match progresses, the pitch tends to slow down, particularly in the second half, presenting challenges for batting during the second innings. Opting to bat first after winning the toss would be the preferable strategy at this venue as the team that batted first had won six of the eight matches played here.

Weather Report:
According to Accuweather's forecast, the chance of precipitation on Sunday stands at 12 per cent at the start of the match. As the day progresses, this likelihood decreases to 8 per cent, indicating that the weather might stay cloudy with sporadic appearances of the sun. Rain has been consistent in the city this week, including showers on the day before the match. Although there's a possibility of a passing shower on Sunday, it doesn't seem to pose a significant threat to a full 100-overs contest.

Squads:
Possible 11 For India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

Possible 11 For Australia: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Alex Carey/Josh Inglis, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc, Sean Abbott and Pat Cummins (c).